PurdueSkier

Thanks for the comments. Yes I am measuring from the base of the boot at the plate. I guess my question may fit better in the boot position thread @Horton started. My real question how does my actual foot location compare when measuring the old boot at the stitch compared to the new boot at the base? I think I have it close and will just go ski. Just curious if others found they needed to adjust forward or back to match the old bindings.

Has anyone gone from a 2021 or older vapor boot to the new 2022 vapor boot? My old front boot finally ripped and I replaced it with a new 2022. However the heel of the boot is different and I believe is impacting my measurements. I would like it exactly where my old one was but not sure where to measure from or how to convert from the old to new. Any experience?

I have had 3 or 4 different S2s and loved them. Still have one as a backup. Wasn't until I got a C85 that I found something I liked better. S2 is a great ski. I had one of the 67.5 but at 34 mph it was just too big. The 66.5 was a better ski and size for me

Not sure your situation but I mounted a 120v winch from harbor freight to the floor in the back of my garage. I just hook straps to the back of the trailer.It works great to pull the boat into a tight spot.

@ALPJr I had a 94 echelon closed bow. Mine had the 454 which added a lot of power but also a lot of weight. The boat actually tracked really well. It had a pretty flat hull so it was a rough ride in chop. The slalom wake was very weight sensitive. With minimal gas and the back seat out it skied pretty well. The wake was small but it was very hard. If you hit it wrong it felt like hitting a curb. Too many people or gas and it got worse quickly.

I have a 2010 response LXI. I love my boat. It has ZO and an open bow which were musts for my family. Open bow is usable for adults and kids when out cruising. It certainly has a bigger slalom wake than a 196, 200, or a new nautique but I think it is comparable to an MC 197. I slalom from 22 off to 38 off at 34 mph and think it's a great wake. I have a wedge and with it down and a couple adults in the boat I can surf without the rope, no other ballast. The more weight the better it gets. Without some serious weight I don't think you could do much other than just ride. I am not sure it would have enough push for any real tricks. I have never tried to really weight it down. Overall it's a great all around boat.

If you are willing to look for awhile you can find low hour older boats that could work really well for you. I have a 2010 open bow Response LXI that I love. It has more free board than other brands and models, it has a rear storage locker, some storage in the sides, and we actually use the open bow even for adults. It skis really well and has a wedge so you can wakeboard and surf. They had a similar design in the TXI up until 2017 when the changed hulls.

@cacman maybe the universe is just telling you not to wear anything skin tight and shiny!

There is not a club at Mirage. It is a private site. They used to host INT tournaments there but not sure that INT even exists anymore. They do have a course on the lake but never see it used.

I actually have a 2012 and a 2014 66.5" S2 that I would sell without bindings. Just got a new ski but loved the S2. PM if interested.

I just picked these up today but dont know anything about them. I am guessing 50s but don't really know. I think they have either been refinished at some point or the original graphics wore off. It looks like the might have had some red on the tips and tails. Anyone have any idea what they might be or the age?

I am not an expert but throw in my observation....it looks like as you come into the apex your hips remain outbound/open. As you come around the buoy you are rotating your shoulders but much slower to rotate your hips. I know some people ski with more open hips but on your onside it looks more like you are sliding your hips around the buoy and not turning. I think this is causing a slow rotation of the ski, causing slack, causing you to fall back on the rope and ski......or your pull out for the gates was all wrong.

I agree with what @BraceMaker said. I used to have a 94 echelon with a 454. It was set up with dual batteries when I got it and still struggled sometimes. I replaced the starter with a high torque marine starter and it was night and day difference. I went back to a single battery after that and never had an issue.

@Horton and @Wish I couldn't agree more about the S2. @LOTW I had 2012 67.5, liked it but it was too big. I sold it and got a 2012 66.5. That ski was amazing, bought another used one for a backup. Then upgraded to the 2014 66.5 and it was even better. I am still skiing on that ski but it is finally time to give it up and I now have a new ski on order for the spring. I still have a 2012 I would sell you.

I am a civil engineer but dont do structures enough to be comfortable checking the numbers. However I think $500 seems pretty reasonable. There is a lot to consider, like do you have the original house plans or will they have to come out and measure everything? They will have to consider all the local building codes and environmental conditions like snow loads. What is their liability in all this. Are they stamping this design review?

I converted my old 94 eagle trailer using one of the weld on kits. My challenge was the limited space between the surge brake and the Y for the trailer tongue. I actually had to add a short piece to the tongue. Strange as it sounds I had to add a short piece to allow me to install the swing and shorten the trailer. A local steel supplier gave me a scrap piece of tubing. I dropped the entire thing off at a local trailer shop and they did all the work for really cheap. They also had to lengthen the brake lines with a flexible hose and bleed the brakes . Overall was definitely worth it.

My lift is powered by my boat battery and I have to connect and disconnect it with a quick plug each time. I haven't bought a solar setup yet but when I looked into earlier this summer Lake Lite was a very popular brand. Also turns out their factory is only about 30 minutes from my house. https://www.lakelite.com/boat-lift-solar-charging-kits/

@markn I appreciate your dedication and success but would a different structure made that worse? All the top skiers would still be there to motivate you. For those who dont want different divisions then why have any? We have zero ball scoring. Why not let everyone ski whatever speed they want and have one division. Seems we are half in and half out.

I still struggle to understand a single negative of an ability based format. I am not talking about an individual tournament. I know those can be done as fun tournaments. I am talking about the usa structure.

@klindy that sounds good. What about state regional and nationals? Can those or should those be run under an ability based format?

@griff1008 and @klindy if you guys are talking about the ranking list, then I agree. Anyone can sort the data however they want. I believe if we want to grow competitive skiing, we need to grow the actual tournaments; local, regional, and nationals. For the majority of the skiers who aren't at the top of the list, I don't think the ranking list means much. We should focus on the tournaments themselves. Create more competition at the tournaments. @sunperch we already have that solution. With zero ball scoring, all the divisions are compared at the same base scoring. So I wouldn't divide it based on speed or line length, but on total buoy count instead.

Good discussions. @jcamp you might be right, but I would agree with @ToddL that the organization needs to change how we run and structure the major tournaments and then local tournaments will follow. I don't know what happened with INT or how many of those skiers came to USAW or did both. I skied a few of those when they were around and enjoyed them. They were more focused on wakeboarding it seemed.

@Than_Bogan with a PB of 1 at 39 I assume you are already able to be competitive in any event you enter. Even if there was an ability based competition you would likely be in the top division or close to it. So it probably wouldn't change your situation. The bigger impact would be skiers that are running the course but not anywhere near the top of their division. Would it increase their desire to compete? I dont know.

I know this has been discussed a ton before, but with Nationals over and now the new World Elite Slalom I think we should discuss again. Here's my rant... When are we going to just admit that we really do want ability based competition and acknowledge that we already have it and are doing it and just move forward all in? Don't believe we already are doing it? College skiing already has it. Some of the bigger programs, especially in the Midwest have an A team and a B team. That is ability based. They also have a D1 and D2 Nationals, that is also ability based. OM, OW, and Masters divisions are ability based and whenever someone comes down from one of those to ski their age group in Nationals there is always a group to start complaining. The Big Dawg series and now the new World Elite series are also ability based, limiting how good you can be and still be eligible. If you are too good, you can't ski. So Why not just switch to ability based for all divisions? I have heard the past arguments that nobody wants to say they are the best skier that can't run 35 off (or similar). Are these same skiers OK to say they are the best skier between the ages of 35 and 44, knowing that a person that is a couple years older is skiing the same speed on the same course but somehow not competing with them? If you want to grow the sport, then start ability based competitions. It is pretty hard to convince someone to start skiing competitions in their 30s or 40s or 50s knowing they are 20 years or more behind most of the other skiers that have been doing this since they were a kid. The only skiers that can walk into tournament skiing and be competitive are very young kids. Winning isn't what it is about, but the point of competing is to be competitive. Yes, there are grass roots events. So someone can compete in ability based until they are good enough to run the course and then back to competing against someone running 38 off. What is holding us back? What am I missing?