xrated

Never tried it but I've heard several baseball players say a 5 gallon bucket full of rice. Sit and make a fist and just push your hand into the bucket and twist. My personal suggestion since I don't go to the gym would be to go run a chainsaw for a few hours a day...nothing and I mean nothing I have ever done from the gym to dirt biking can wear out hands and forearms like a day running a saw with the subsequent moving of the blocks of wood and splitting them.

So I've been breaking terrible at the waist this year. After reading Hortons "ski at my lake" deal the last two times I have just concentrated on keeping my back leg straighter...I don't know if I am passing the visual test, but I feel like I am not breaking near as bad and in turn I am feeling much more in control. I think maybe I am not turning as hard but it definitely feels better.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg9/yz125x/D2E0A42D-53DF-440E-8987-3028019EB5AC_zpsrwmkp6hd.jpg Couple hours of swapping pulls this morning with the weekend crew.

Good luck. Unfortunately I only know people in MN or eastern WA so no help on the contacts.

@OTF public launches haven't been the same since everyone started driving 4x4 or AWD!!!! That said I'm glad I use a relatively empty and quiet launch!!!

Here's ours. Spent the first few times using a tractor pushing it from the bucket. http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg9/yz125x/73D5B698-AF32-4422-8F6A-3C7CFA7A3521_zps453fzsk4.jpg

Can you flip em and get a smooth surface? Then you might consider a light colored stain. And if you can't and replace why not just go with 1x decking? Rounded edges and so much lighter. Unless of course you get to keep that dock in, then who cares about weight.

@MS I just filled the fridge with a case of Schmidt....

You guys think keeping a wife happy during ski season is hard....you should try duck and goose hunting which has a range of dates from September through December.

I thought once we had a boat it would be ski every time it was calm like @MS turns out the hassle of launching and pulling prevents that. So maybe when we have a lift and it is 5 minutes to lower and raise the boat it will be go time. Plus the wife and 2 kids ski and the other kid loves being in the boat so it doesn't steal away from family time!

I bought one a few years back from a SUP shop. Asked him the difference between like a BIC and Connlley or the like and top SUP brands. He said the BIC was pretty cheap, (yeah he wanted me to buy his stuff) and that the stuff from ski companies was mildly better. That said I ended up buying a Starboard 12'. Super stable, I can bury the rail and have water covering 4" and not issues. Paddles well, not as fast as a touring or race style but it goes well. Best part is that the wife and I can put a kid or two on it with one of us and just go. While not suggested we can also grab some drinks and a cushion and I paddle while my wife sits. Granted we are light and under the weight limits. That said I am glad we spent the extra dough after looking at what Costco and places like Dicks or Scheels sell. And I can stop at the local shop with questions, service or if I want to sell mine and upgrade. And when we do it will be for a smaller more challenging board or a touring model. Naish, Starboard, Idol all seem to make good boards.

One bottle of Old Crow or Granddad showing up @OTF door step next time I head down!

well that screws us locals who wonder your way @MS!!

I free ski and last year was the first year I would actually stop when I was shot. Maybe this year now that I can ski all week as well as weekends I will keep it up. Or I will get back into the good condition I used to be and grab the rope and point all the way across the lake and tell the boat to go until I fall.

Roosevelt is high on the list of places to visit again but with a ski along next time.

Thanks everyone. Got my first pulls in yesterday, wifes first time towing. She needs some work but nothing worth complaining about since we had the lake to ourselves!

All 3 of my kids hated the nylon horse collar but once we swapped to neoprene we have had zero issues. Never found a way around it pushing up but my theory is that neoprene or some Overtons deal that was Bioprene was softer on the face than nylon.

@epnault this one was in Buffalo

@Wish imagine buying it on Friday, driving from the metro to Rochester and listening to kids all weekend and 3.5 hours on the drive home Sunday asking for a ride!

Opps We paid 7k. Could we have found a better deal? Maybe. But something just felt right after seeing the boat and spending time with the seller that made us feel comfortable with the price. I haven't bought lots of toys in life but I've been around enough snowmobiles, motorcycles and dirt bikes and boats to know the signs of a person who takes care of and is meticulous about what they own and have learned those are the types you want to buy used from.

Well after 16 years of longing for an inboard all my own this weekend we picked up our families first tow boat!!!! 1992 Ski Nautique. 1591 hours, Perfect Pass, the vinyl honestly looks amazing considering the age, same with the rest of the interior. Got it from a 3 event guy here in MN, last name of Swanson. http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg9/yz125x/6F2BF49C-088A-48F4-8895-15CC41CBECBD_zpsjq45fjbm.jpg Happy wife and kids. Wife even said when the discussion came up of boat or house upgrades that she wanted the kids to have memories of being on the water!!! http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg9/yz125x/C3B16BB5-59AA-460E-B102-C396FA1C97F6_zps78bcmwpg.jpg http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg9/yz125x/498122EF-80AD-4C0C-91B9-D1A4BA9A6E38_zpsr3lfphwd.jpg The face of feeling inboard power while behind the wheel for the first time! http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg9/yz125x/328115C5-1972-476E-8871-51D401786CB6_zpsisnars3l.jpg http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg9/yz125x/1B593A9D-A35E-447D-947B-C5A47C330CDC_zpsu7hpms4m.jpg http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg9/yz125x/9078DCEA-CE0E-4576-A9B1-0DA91AA696A7_zpsuaorkcjg.jpg Thanks @Shell @jlittle @6balls and a few others for fielding questions. Now to get some rope time on it!

@bojans you gotta be a doc to do it, xray techs just run the fluro. @TustinTom about the only type of injection I'm aware of being done not under fluro is either a knee, a trigger point or sometimes some are done with ultrasound. I would run far and fast from anyone who says they can place a needle and steroid in the right spot of a spine without it.

The Doc here knows more than me as I'm just the X-ray tech who helps with these. But IMO and from what many docs have said injections usually aren't a fix. It is like taping plastic over your broken car window until you get it replaced. It works and it allows you to return to normal use but it doesn't fix the problem. That said we see a handful of people who get one injection and it lasts 2 years. Others get 2 months. Definitely worth a shot though and if you get good relief it can help postpone the knife.

Put our first dock and lift in in northern MN yesterday. Pushed it through skim ice and the waves kept splashing one of the bolts so I couldn't drop the leg as the ice on the bolt made it impossible to move! Also discovered that my waders leak.

@MS nothing but good clean air up north and the water is open. But suspect yours is warmer