andjules

Don't really like the A poll choice I chose... simply because it's in feet. We've already got two standards (metric length vs feet-off-75'), so I'm really voting to just go metric. @Horton's idea is interesting but even more complex to a newbie than the already-weird feet-off-75' approach. Like many others, I don't believe this is in any way the main challenge to making slalom more exciting to watch. Like @Than_Bogan said, we're looking at way too many 'warmup' passes in elite tournaments. I understand for recreational guys, driving 4-8 hours for a tournament and falling on your first pass sucks. But at a new-spectator-heavy event like Soaked or Moomba or the Malibu Open, top skiers shouldn't be starting at 32 off (oops, 13m). Boring.

Interestingly, Drew used to make slalom lines as a teen for extra cash (not that I can imagine there was much of market for it...). I think I may still have a trick bridle he braided for me 25+ years ago. He's no stranger to a fid, I'm sure Neilly will get sorted out.

@MS I don't think you can look at a new 10m (-42') length as simply some kind of easy formality for CP and Nate, some inconvenient new hurdle they've got to bang off so they can get back to chasing the 'real' record. To our knowledge, no one has ever run 10m (-42'); no reason to expect it to be easy (or even possible). What you might expect is that somebody might get further than 1, 1.5, 2 balls, and THAT would be good for the sport in the long run. As much as @ral makes a good point about the world's patience with long-standing high-jump records, I think the main issue here (as we approach the physics-based limits of the sport) is that some well-intentioned folks - many years ago - decided (for simplicity?) that after -38/11.25m, we'd just take off 0.5m every time someone makes a pass. Time has passed, performances have improved and we're now at a point where it makes sense to question that decision (people running -41 pretty often but no one ever getting a look at 3 ball @ -43, barely getting a look @ 2 ball). I think a 10m (-42') would make elite tournaments way more interesting for the next 10 years, and I think THAT would be good for the sport. Speaking of things that would be good for the sport/tournament-drama, opening at -32' at elite OM tournaments is also something that should probably change.

Not to dismiss @SkiJay who has clearly gone about it methodically/scientifically... just adding my voice to the crowd, I run mine (RS-1s, actually) fairly loose as well, more like @Horton @Chef23 @rico Love the bindings because they represent a huge safety advantage, while sacrificing nothing in performance (actually perform better than the less-safe bindings they replaced for me).

Not to diminish the awesomeness of Freddy's jump, but Boys 3 - 191' off a 5.5' jump @ 32mph... that's insane. It wasn't that long ago that 191' was a very respectable, world-caliber open men's jump off a 6' @ 35mph.

I'm not at the level of many folks in this thread, but it seems to me that a lot of the open-shouldered thinking applies more to the onside turn and pull then it does to the offside. The emphasis is on the natural mechanics/kinesiology - and in the onside stance, being open makes complete sense. But trying too hard to be open/level-shouldered during the offside pull doesn't seem to be natural (if someone forced you to be in a tug of war but with your feet in an offside configuration, what would you do with your hips and shoulders?). Similarly, I think hooking up too quick and hard (overturning) is predominantly an onside turn problem. Making sure not to crank your head across the lake helps a lot. Not so sure about the offside - and I notice some pros do crank their head pretty hard at the end of the offside turn (Nate seems to be doing this less lately, but if you go back a couple of years, it's more dramatic). If you have a look at the new Terry Winter on the A3 video, the difference between the first offside turn/offside pull and the following onside turn/onside pull seems pretty dramatic to me.

Many more will chime in soon enough. I'll start off by saying leave the fin alone - fin micro-adjustments are best left for those skiing deep shortline. Second, I'll ask you two questions: a) how old are you? b) what speed do you ski when you free ski? Lastly, there is no single right answer in the double-boot or front+RTP debate. You can learn to ski well either way, and world records have been set either way. I personally think that a proper (not too tight, not too loose) double boot setup is a little bit safer, and if your answer to (a) is above 35 years old, I'd personally push you in the double-boot direction for that reason.

@KcSwerver - just remember that we're just coming into the sweet season for buying a used boat. In my experience the best deals/selection pop up between now and the beginning of June (the further north you are, the later it gets its momentum).

Wow. I guess they lost the instruction booklet. Although technically, I think it wins the 'ugly installation' award - not sure the tower itself is the problem (it ain't pretty, though).

Wait, wait. Keep in mind the '92-95 205 that @richarddoane it talking about is quite a different hull from the '96-00 205. The latter is one of the best crossover hulls ever made, but instead of a slalom boat w a tolerable wakeboard wake, I think of it as a great wakeboard wake with a tolerable slalom wake (the same hull as the original X-Star). @richarddoane's advice essentially still holds true, but it's a firmer wake than he's thinking of, and specifically to your question, my guess is anywhere under 32mph the wake is going to start comparing very unfavourably to a 190. I'd still stick with it, but I'm one of those guys who thinks a hard wake builds character (and a stacked position). Others on this site - it would seem - would rather not ski at all than ski behind a boat like yours (princesses!).

Tricking was my best event in my teens. But it took a lot of patience and practice. As I got older and had less opportunity to get on the water, even with only a few sets I felt like I was (modestly) improving at slalom; with tricks, I was really trying to slow the process of getting worse... which eventually didn't seem worth the time. I know it's blasphemy on this site, but I shifted my trick efforts to wakeboarding, partly to encourage/share something with my son, and partly because consistently landing a "I'm still cool" back roll is way, way, way easier on a wakeboard ;-)

You can grab the non-carbon 2012 Senate for cheap here: http://www.marine-products.com/closeouts/water-skis.html?brand=81 I bought my brother one & he likes it - he fights through the course at 32mph, -15off.

I can't say enough good things about RS-1s/Stradas. The recommendation is to wear them snug-at-most (not tight), and for many of us who are used to stiffer/snugger bindings, it takes a few sets to get used to that feeling. But worth it - no meaningful sacrifice in performance and they seem to get the release balance right (release easily, but not too easily). I have trouble imagining a fall (I've certainly not had one yet) where one foot releases and not the other. No binding at the moment is perfect, but to me, these strike the right balance (performance/simplicity/safety/predictably release/symmetrical release [both in or out]) & leave my mind feeling more confident than I think interloc ever could.

oh, and they're really, really ugly. Which may or may not matter to you.

Also looking for advice - just had my first run on a new-to-me 66.5 S2 - I'm 5'7", 175lbs. It was my first run of the off season, and my first time on ZO, but my first impression was that the onside turn wasn't finishing as tight as I'd like (of course I was going from an older, narrower, shorter, deeper riding ski, so the S2 also felt delightfully fast). Anyhow, set bindings to 29.5 but thinking I'll try them one hole back, and maybe try the back foot an extra hole back (RS-1s on a sequence plate). Thoughts?

@Jordan +1 on the 19' JCraft - spent a decade behind one. Despite two fins they don't track worth a damn... but the wake was flatter than the flightcraft and every other other outboard I ever skied. And believe it or not @skihacker - having owned both - the JCraft wake is half the Sportster's and twice as hard in rough water! Makes the sportster feel like a cushy Rolls Royce.

I'd be ecstatic. It's a fantastic sport that would be great to watch and would boost the popularity of the lake/boat/watersports lifestyle. They are not your enemy. Waterskiing's popularity/marketing challenges are its own.

In the 8th grade gym class, as my back landed on the pad, my knee came up and had an argument with my nose as to what space in the universe they were going to occupy in that instant. My nose, of course, found itself displaced. Breaking your nose is one of those injuries where the cure hurts much more than the initial injury.

I think it balances out. Your offside is most awkward in (i) the lean, and (ii) the turn. RFF has an advantage in the lean at the gates (and to some extent the turn-in). But as @skier2788 points out, there are really only 5 full-on turns in the course, and the LFF skier gets to do 3 of them onside.

That'll teach you to get stacked through the wakes.

The part I find craziest: how many people in North America can do wakeboard tricks above-and-beyond the basic 4 to 6 inverts (back roll, tantrum, roll to revert, front roll, scarecrow...)? Because if you learn how to edge, you should be able to learn all of those on ANY DD or VDrive. I bet you if they sell 300 of these, 260 end up overwhelming beginners and tubers, or going 12mph while everyone watches someone stand on a surfboard and do nothing. Don't get me wrong, I've got all the respect in the world for real wakeboarders who can actually use this wake; but I've been on a couple of boats whose wakes are 50% of these and am more intimidated than helped, even when doing inverts.

@Wish I'm surprised you didn't have a 'prefers wakeboarding' option in your poll. That would be my son; I'm sure that makes some of you cringe, but it's fun, with family, on the water, so I've no complaints. Last two years he's shown a touch of interest in slalom, which adds to the fun.

1993 was the first year for all-glass construction (actually, I think there are a few minor panels still made with plywood, but the main part of the floor and stringers are all composite)

+1 for th 99-04 Malibu Sunsetter LXI. Does it all, and does it well, and these days, does it for a pretty nice price.

Grimditch actually won the ABC 'Superstars' (TV-special where pro athletes from different sports compete in a variety of events ) http://waterskimag.com/features/2001/06/14/wayne-grimditch/