501Brandon

Little Rock! shoot me an email and I will get them out to you Monday...

I bought some gloves early in the year and before trying them on I was like a little kid and tore all the wrappers off and realized they were to big... I will sell the for 40.00 if any of you guys are interested. They have never been wet, just took them out of the bag and ripped the tags off!

@Triplett thanks! I have been curious about what some opinions are with everyday use. I am guessing the towers are 150-200 lbs with a bimini only? If it changes the wake in a negative way I wouldnt consider it. I really do like the bimini being up a little more and do know it appears a lot easier to sell a direct drive these days with a tower on it. I know @ShaneH would probably turn around and leave if he were skiing with us since I have a tower and wedge on my LXI... Altough I am baffled at the wedge statement as my wedge is clearly out of the water when the boat is on plane...

Is it possible that a guy/gal could buy a ski (new or used) and not pay any attention to the fin/wing angles and go ski and actually improve and run some buoys? By this I mean can a skier learn to ski and adapt body position or style a little to the ski and not the other way around? Again I personally made it up to and ran -32 last year a couple times and my setup on the fin is out of the box and verified factory... My bindings placement is at the factory mid point (the boots themselves are the only things not centered and they are twisted a little funny)...

I am just curious as it appears making changes all the time can be a waste of water time and ski time especially if you travel to your site. I dont want to be guessing my change all the time further enhancing the internal mind game... I guess if you ran a relatively hard pass a dozen times in a row and the reaction of the ski was the same 8 of the 12 passes then an adjustment could be needed? I am curious and know the opinions vary widely on this topic but it sure seems like a guy can get wrapped around the axles a little to tight over fin and wing settings.

 

Do anyone know off the top of your head the weight of the MC tower with bimini and mirror when added to the boat? I might start shopping soon and have a tower on my LXI and love the fact I can get things off the floor yet I am curious of how it would ski without the added weight... My next ride will be a PS 197 at some point!

@ntx, thanks as well for that input. I set a couple goals for this year in which may be a little silly to some of you guys but I really want to get my scores up enough to be eligible for the SC Regional (Goal #1). I can ski to the level I need to qualify during practice but I have very little tournament experience here at AWSA level so nerves really had me last year. I have no complaints about my skiing considering where I started out at in the spring of 2011. I have always looked at Regionals and Nationals as a somewhat unattainable goal however I do see it possible this year if I can find enough tournaments between now and the cutoff that dont require a 8-12 hour drive.

Thanks again, I am still trying to learn the details for AWSA competition (at least for skiing) so I may ask some silly questions from time to time. I have been skiing with the INT side pretty much my entire slalom life so I am a rookie when it comes to AWSA competition.

If a fella goes to a tournament that is outside his home region, will it count toward his rankings/score for eligibility for the regional within his region? I am sure this is in the books somewhere but I didnt see it or I didnt understand it... There are a few events pretty close to yet some are in the Southern region, so if I ski over there how does that effect me in regards to eligibility toward the SC Regional? I want to go to as many events as I can but especially all those within a couple hour drive.

My resets have happened a few times even before Z-box installation! @usaski1 I have the same problem with overshoot or it won't even engage at all if we spin at the ends. We too slow way down in the turn around and that seems to help.

Anybody else every have a reset of the Perfect Pass Module? It happened to us today between sets, its not the first time (maybe 2 other times). After restarting the boat it asks for Hours and then on to CAL mode... The crappy thing is before the reset everything was reall dialed in with the Z box and we were not experiencing any over runs heading in to the course, now we may be consistant with what everyone else is seeing "a little hot into the gates"... I went through CAL and then back to Z Box and the times are good but it seems like we might be 34.8-35 at the 55's...

Thanks for all the excellent input (As Usual) I tried today to think "relax and control" and I felt like I had a better and more consistant day running passes and didnt feel like I was fighting from behind before I started...

I know there have been several topics on this and the interpretation quite different in a lot of cases from skier to skier. I feel like I have always had a pretty good approach by getting up on the boat and having a "controlled and progressive turn in" to the gate... I have also heard the term "Hammering the gate" used a lot. I know that each skiers apporach to this will vary pending their individual style but to my curiousity I have to wonder if turning in and digging deep to try and gain as much angle and speed as you can somehow puts you just a little out of control. Where as being in control with with the same angle yet not fighting for speed will accomplish more would it not? Would it be safer to say that embracing the speed you gain by being in control is better than digging in and hammering the gate?

(EDIT: I am sure it will change a bit as the rope gets shorter but for the -15thru -28 guys is what I am kinda curious about)

I did some shopping based on that thread, it appears that they all seem to run fairly close considering the value of of your gear... Boat US, Ski Safe, and Global Marine were all < 75.00 apart for me. The difference I saw was how much coverage on my personal gear they offered. I stayed with Ski Safe since I had already been with them a few years. The exception to this was I did shop my home/auto (Farm Bureau) and they about 400.00 higher per year than anyone else... I carry the 500K liability,500 deductibles, 35000 on boat, and 4000 on trailer and pay 425.00 a year. I did see others who were paying less than this on newer boats than mine so I dont know what other factors come in to play... Maybe years of operation?

I have had a similar issue but only coming out of turns... We had the same issue ervery now and then with SG. We simulate a turn island start sometimes and it seems as if you run the throttle up to hard while in the turn it will not engage once you line up. What I did recently that seemed to work is keep the power down while in the deep part of the turn and advance once we line up and head into the course. I cant make it do it enough to gather enough data to be conclusive...

@klundell how is the fit on the helmet you wear? Do you know the manufacturer/where to buy? I know the wakeboard helmets are all cut short and fit loose... I recall 2 people in Arkansas in the last 10 years wearing helmets, one kid whos ski come aorund and punched a hole in his skull that obviously required medical attention, from that point forward he wore a helmet. Another pretty good older skier wore one also and I believe he had been hit and cut by the ski . I recall both of their helmets fitting fairly nice (like a motorcycle helmet only not as large). I appreciate all the input from everyone. Hopefully my crew @0nside135 wont make to much fun of me if I do wear one.

I hit the water weird last night and feel like I may have blown an ear drum (I can make it whistle)... Do any of you were any helmets or any other devices to stop stuff like that. I know that not crashing is the best solution but sometimes stuff happens.

Done!!

@wish dont look for any breaks on entry fees... it was 40 per round here the last couple years not including your WWA/INT membership.

After making a fin, wing, binding, or any adjustment at all, how long do you typically go to ensure it is the adjusment and not just skiing great/poor?

I had someone tell me my tip looked really high when I was on pull out or in a glide, I also noticed on video that my tip has a tendency to rise a little out of the ball. I moved the bindings forward one hole and think it may have helped a little. Up until today everything was factory settings (68 Strada). It felt fine, just kinda curious if there is a rule of thumb...

Thanks guys, It must default to 0 as I have never heard mine go off and again since I have not been participating in tournaments (other than INT) I had never paid any attention to the function.

skied 2 sets today with @onside135 after a rebuild of half the course... Good day on the water going tomorrow and Sunday! Air mid 70's water mid 70's

OK this may be silly but I have very little skiing experience at C Class or better events... I did a few tournaments at the end of the season last year and have practiced a few times behind a boat with ZO. I have always noticed a series of beeping going on between passes and was informed it was the timer. So is it a function of Zero Off?. So since I have Stargazer with Z-Box, do any of you know if its capable of the same aural warning? I have the manual and suppose I could read it but I find the commentary here far more useful!

I used a cheap plastic 8" flower pot last year and as soon as it became snug it was good, then after the sun was on it and expanded it a little more they looked perfect! Especially since we replaced the entire course at the same time!

This weekend was the first time out (skin) with Z Box. I like it so far, I tried A1, B1, & C1... C1 tried to kill me, A1 no real comment one way or the other but B1 seemed to work well for me today. My question is for the rest of the guys with Z Box, have you tried to utilize the SG mode? I dont know if its lack of attention before but I seemed to hear a bit more RPM change even in SG mode than before I installed the Z Box... My times are good and it engages a lot cleaner than before. I didnt have much experience with ZO so I cant give an honest comparison but I can say there was with out doubt a difference between C and B/A.

@Scotchipman the club I belong to is in the same scenario as yours... Talked to USA WS today and am still as confused as ever on how we insure our club without having every possible person to be behind a wheel "Rated". I did find out that there is a difference between a Rated USA WS Driver and an AWSA Rated driver. Either way, to compund the problem all NEW individuals who are trying to obtain "Rating" must submit the MVR. If anyone has any insight our a way to put this all into basic terms please throw it out there. The only thing I see this doing is taking clubs like ours and making them even more obselete as we are a lont time club but have NO members rated at anything...