mlusa

The board is a fun board. I got one of the first boards made and thought the kids would be bored after a few days. They still play on it all the time, when done skiing. They pull each other and friends around behind the Sea Doo on it. They like the fact that the handle can be hooked to the board and they can go hands free. Masterline makes the handle and ropes for them. Great board to have around for first time beginners to get out on the water. Much simpler than trying to get a combo set of skis together etc. Overton's is the major retailer selling them right now, but more dealers are picking up the boards. The guys that started the company are out of Williamsburg, VA. Chris Durham (formerly of Wake Tech and before that Kidder skis) is the manufacturer of the board. It's all made in the USA. Overton's is only a Retailer of the board.

70 lbs and 42" ski, you can go about 15 - 16 mph. If he is pretty stable and comfortable you can get closer to 16. If just beginning, keep it just a little slower. Anna is about 80 and 15.2 toes, 16.2 hands.

Beginners should use a slightly larger ski than what is usually recommended by ski manufacturers. Larger ski will be a little more stable and you can keep boat speed slower. Ski size is dependent on weight and by ability and even age. 135 lbs should be at least 42". If they are very beginner, it's very likely 43 or even 44 might help. If they are over 50 I would try a 44". Russell Gay Quantum Skis 407-656-1133

@southernextreme If you need help please call me at Masterline - 407-656-1133. I can help you with skis. I do have some smaller used skis and can help recommend some ideas. My kids started on a Quantum 41" (40 3/4") ski. I don't recommend a wakeboard unless you just want to teach them to get up for the first time and have some experience riding something behind the boat. I started my kids on 1 trick holding them next to the boat and molding them into position. If you haven't done this with trainers then you can use a boom. After skiing beside the boat, I put them on the boom. My son learned ss, rss, back wrap on the boom. You could then go to just a handle on a boom. Less than 5 sets on the boom is usually all this takes and will make skiing behind the boat much easier. One key is use a hardshell boot. Even if it's too large in length, the support at the ankle is the most helpful. I modified a roller blade boot for Anna, but Ryan just used the smallest Reflex boot which seemed like it came to his knee. For the rear binding, I made it from just 2 overlay's and not a rear toe rubber. The smaller size lets them get their foot further into the binding. I've found that the 36" -38" is a little small for the young kids to learn easily. They work for ok for a small 10 year old tricking at a high level, but for starting out the kids can turn a 41" hard edge ski really easy and have lots of surface area for stability. The kids seem to grow into the ski as they progress and by the time they are tricking really good the ski fits them just right. Kids will not need a helmet for tricking. Speed is so slow and falls are usually very easy. 10-12mph at most. Russell Gay Masterline USA, Inc. 407-656-1133

Poly-E is a good rope for tricks. I use Poly-e because I like the feel of having control as the rope elongates and contracts. Spectra is either tight or totally slack. Spectra is also much harder on the body for ski lines etc. It depends on level of your skiing as well. Wakeboarders prefer the spectra, but their ropes are 2 times as long so it is much more noticeable. A good poly-e rope will work fine.

I heard that Al Luck started at 28 off ran 3 pass and then was told by boat crew that he was at 35. Not sure what happened. He then had to take 35 off in the wrong direction from his plan because of the mix up.

@MAD11 If we can come up with a strain gauge we can test Ruth and Bailey on the normal rope to see how much they are pulling. I'm not sure what this does for the junior rope, because none of these types of skiers are going to use it. They will opt up before they get to this level and have a chance of putting this much stress on the rope. It will tell us how much stress they would put if accidentally skiing on the small rope which I doubt will be come close to the max break strength.

@JDM That's my point exactly. We should just keep it simple. Lets design a rule that allows the kids to use what will help them. This is the 4th season selling this rope and we have never had one returned for warranty because of breaking. All ropes break down and this rope should be changed out more frequently than the standard lines due to UV degradation. If anyone has access to a strain gauge, we can easily do some testing here with many of the best juniors. We could also send it to Texas to get some numbers. It would be interesting to get some data on the top women for comparison and just general knowledge. In the end, the reality will be that the bigger skiers won't choose this rope and we won't have to dictate some crazy rule. As we move forward in the future we can regulate if a problem occurs. Without having any breakage problems in the past 4 seasons, we should be able to feel a little more secure in the integrity of the rope. @ToddL I appreciate your passion to getting this going. I would like to see B2 use the rope and do whatever helps get the beginner and smaller kids over the threshold to become successful. So many get frustrated easily and are done before they can appreciate skiing. It takes so much time to get to a proficient level. Once they can run the course they feel good about themselves and will continue to try and get more. When they are getting yanked out the front it's not so much fun. This is such a simple fix to help these kids. I'm happy to help and I would like to see AWSA develop a rule that makes sense. I just don't want to build my rope to the specs of another company because of their limitations. They can buy bulk rope from us to these specs if they need.

@ToddL@JohnN - Brenda is pretty set on her rope construction, colors, and format. There just isn't enough revenue to warrant the cost of a change. If there was to be a standard, Masterline would have to converge to Brenda's format or AWSA would have to specify and both Masterline and InTow would have to decide if there is a reason to continue to offer such a rope. We should work on designing the rule around what is best for the sport - not for In Tow. Masterline developed the idea for the junior rope, supplied the break test data and got the rules approved to use it. Now Masterline is expected to "dumb down" our rope to fit Brenda's lack of interest in developing something new because she lacks the capability, will or sales to make it worth her time? She is an assembler, not a manufacturer. We make all of our bulk rope "in house". We are the official rope of USA Water Ski and a current member of WSIA, all of which costs money and supports the industry. Brenda is neither of these. Check WSIA's website for list of active members - http://www.wsia.net/ . WSIA is imperative to the growth of our sport. We should be supporting manufacturer's that support the sport. Masterline sponsors the Masters, World's, World Cup, Nationals, Big Dawg, Ball of Spray advertiser and too many more to name, yet you are suggesting that Masterline converge to what she is offering. I don't think that is the way to go. I am very passionate about the youth skiers and we are committed to developing products that support them. We will work to support USA Water Ski and others to help approve a suitable rope for B2 skiers. Our rope is designed with a significantly different pattern to what our Tournament mainlines are so they won't be confused. Holding them is enough to see the difference. I don't think that there is any worry that it could be confused for the larger rope. I still don't think that the testing of B2/G2 skiers at 38 off is necessary. I don't think that there is any skier at the G2/B2 level running deep shortline slalom that would choose this rope. This is designed to help the little skier run passes. You will find that the skiers like Kristen Baldwin and Cooper Tate will benefit from this rope. They are very small, but running shortline. Skiers like Ruth, running 38 in G2, would be at a significant disadvantage. I think the skiers will sort it out for themselves. We can do some more testing, but I'm confident that none of these skiers will break it. They also won't choose it. Everything will sort itself out based on ability, size of skier and feel of rope. Those that it helps will choose it and they won't be the skiers that push the limit of the rope. If someone has access to a strain gauge let me know, we could test some of the higher end skiers to see what they are doing. Testing Ruth and Bailey in G2 would be enough data in itself.

I don't see any reason to limit the lightweight line to any length. Kristin Baldwin ran 2 @35 in G1 this past weekend. Why penalize these skiers when they reach 35? She isn't generating significantly more pressure than 32 off. It would be nice to put a gauge on these top skiers to see what they are pulling. I don't think that the max is any more at 35 than it would be at 32. They are actually being more proactive with their pull at 28 than at 35, at 35 they are just trying to hang on to what they get out of the ball. I think the skiers that are putting enough strain to come close to the max break strength will forgo these ropes in favor of something less stretchy. Already at 70 lbs, Anna, Neilly and Brooke are not choosing to use this rope because of their ability. Anna and Neilly prefer the 8mm and I think Brooke is just skiing with the standard rope. I think that will be the progression that will happen. You won't see many strong slalom skiers over 100 lbs opting for the light rope. If they are, it's because they are at long line. The big problem I see is the B2 division. The speed jumps 4 mph and they are forced to the larger rope. That is a lot of change for these young skiers. My son won't be ready for this at the end of the year. I don't see why the skier can't choose to use the smaller rope if they need. Their is no need to force people to change ropes in the middle of the set. I think that will add to much complication to running the event. Keep it simple. Allow B2 to choose what they would like. I doubt that any of the top B2 skiers would choose the lighter line or be effected in any way by allowing this rope. It just helps keep the smaller, younger and newer skiers to feel more comfortable. The break strength of 1,100 lbs is the ultimate break strength of the rope. 3 ropes were tested and they all broke between 1,050 and 1,100. But the majority of the ropes that we used back in the 80's broke at 1,200. Bob and Kris and other legends skied on these ropes at all the major tournaments. Granted they also threw them away after 10-12 sets, but no B2 is going to pull anywhere need the loads that these guys could generate at the height of their careers.

email me at russell@masterlineusa.com Russell Gay

First of all, Masterline's Jr. rope has a break strength of approximately 1,100 lbs. No B1, B2 or W6 skiers are going to break it. The number 1 W6 skier has an avg of 4 @32 off at 32mph and they are not pulling anywhere near 1,000 lbs. Secondly, the skier's that are running any shoreline in W6 aren't going to choose the smaller rope because they will feel it to be a disadvantage because of the stretch. The better and/or stronger skier is going to choose the larger 10mm rope. The lightweight longer line skiers are going to want the lighter rope. 20 years ago, everyone skied on ropes with a 1,200 lbs break strength. That includes Bob and Kris Lapoint etc. No need for rules, let the skiers decide. Open these divisions up to allow skiers to bring their own rope. Anything to encourage more, not less participation. Maybe it's only psychological, but if it's an approved brand that meets the specs, why not? Background for Jr ropes: Masterline developed the jr rope when my kids, the Baldwins and Neilly Ross started running the course at 5-6 years old. They all skied together, all were very small and we saw the difference immediately with all of the kids. For a 5 or 6 year old that weighs 35-40lbs and trying to run 20 mph, the standard slalom rope can be dangerous. It dips and catches the water as they round the buoy and then yanks them off the edge as they approach the 1st wake, putting the skier in a very bad position. Anna is now running 32 off in practice at 32 mph and weighs about 75 lbs. She has been using an 8mm rope that is in between the Jr. Rope (5mm) and the 10mm standard slalom line. Just before Team Trials, she started skiing 34 mph. In her first set out at 34 she ran 28 off. Then we realized that she was on the smaller rope. It took her 6 sets to finally run 28 off after switching from the 8mm line to the standard. The first couple of sets she could run any pass. So it clearly makes a difference even at 28 and 32 for the smaller skiers. The Jr. rope that we sell has a break strength of approximately 1,100 lbs. I don't know anyone that would "want" to use this rope that could break it. As the skier gets bigger, stronger and skis shorter line lengths, they will prefer an 8mm or 10mm rope. The skier running 32 or 35 off at 34mph is not going to prefer the Jr. rope. The idea for the rope is to help the lightweight skier from taking hard falls and progressing. I don't think that there has to be a cut off for B2. I don't think that there are any B2 skiers that can break it. The top skiers won't want to use it because it will feel to soft to them. The ones that are borderline can make that choice if it will help or hurt. I don't think it has to have a cut off for weight or ability. Anna won't use the Jr. rope that we sell because it feels too stretchy for her. I think that is the progression that you will find in reality. The beginner skier, skiing longer line lengths will prefer the smaller rope. The more advanced will want the standard 10 mm rope or something in between. Any way, the point is that these ropes are strong enough that they won't break for these age divisions. If there was a skier that was large enough and had enough leverage, they would never choose this rope. They will have an advantage with the bigger, stiffer rope. We should also do away with the shock tubes for the 1 and 2 divisions. They are useless for these divisions and just get in the way for the shorter, lightweight skiers. Russell Gay Masterline USA, Inc. http://www.masterlineusa.com