Triplett

Most pro shops have demos you can try.

It was awesome to meet you Anthony, and it was nice to know Horton is a real person, haha.

Since @mattp_evil_twin did tag I feel I can help add to this. @mattp_ also states that there will be article soon that will shed light on this, which is also true. Every ski on the market is obviously different, but every ski that is born from a previous model is improved from said model. The A2 is not a radically different ski than the A1, it improves upon the difficulty of the A1 and makes it an easier ski, it is softer and has some differences in the bottom. The S2 improved upon the S1 and so on, I hope you can get my point. You can argue the A1 was radically different, but Dave Wingerter scrapped the monza and started fresh, kind of like what Adam and Andy are doing. AM skis is able to do what no one else really has, they have a new shape and a new process. Like @mattp_ I am not allowed to say much about the process of how it is made but is for sure a departure from the norm. Now as to offer a custom ski, it is exteremely difficult to do outside of flex. Right now the most custom you can get is getting a ski from Goode and getting the asymmetic series with the specific bevels with a specific flex. For nearly all skiers out there, this is way more than it needed. With AM I am sure you will be able to tell Adam or Andy how you ski and they will give you the appropriate flex pattern. Shape is far to hard to change, mainly because of the engineering time that goes into getting the shape right. Time = Money. And to correct Evil, there is really no way to model the behavior of a ski within a computer program, the ski is far to dynamic and there are countless variables to account for, we just don't have the technology, time, and money for this. The only way to test is to try it. And to finish, every ski complements a different style. Not everyone can ski on the A2, Strada, Nano, Carbon V or even the AM 33, so that is why you have so many different options. If I am wrong somewhere please correct me, I have had a crash course on ski design over the weekend haha. Why is it called the 33 anyway? @horton

CP in rough water?????? Where have you been? But he wants it and he has been killing it. So I am going with CP on this one.

I kind of skimmed but read all of the original post @horton about this Open ordeal. I don't if anyone mentioned this but you can ski in Open no matter if you qualify or not. The qualification is just for regional, national, and pro competitions. So if you want to ski at 58kph and your over 34 just have the scorer enter you as OM, that will give you the 58kph score you need to get your open ratings. @clemsondave, 108.83 is only 6.83 @ 38 (11m). And the open rating floats as the scores change throughout the summer. Look at the rankings for M1, M2 and OM, they are all the same. http://www.usawaterski.org/rankings/View-StandingsHQ.asp?pvar=National I am in complete disagreement for making it easier for 55kph guys to get Open ratings. If you want to be open ski 58kph, if you want to be MM, 55kph. It is totally harder to run 10.75m at 58kph than it is at 55kph. If you can run it at 55kph please try to run it at 58kph and tell me its easier. If the rule is to change then the Mens Masters division needs to go, since this was the answer to a 55kph open division. I know you guys work hard but it would cheapen the Open division to allow 55kph guys at a lower score, or even a 3 buoy handicap.

I wish I could give you an opinion on stargazer but my experience with it is limited. However, to get an idea on GPS based systems, Zero Off doesn't have a problem on short lakes, it really depends on your engine and how you enter the course. I am not sure this helps you much.

Put the 67.5 on stock settings all throughout. I think you will like it. It will be fast through the wakes but still maintain a good turn. 30" is stock for the boots. I am at 29.75 on the boots on my A2. Back is better, especially if you were at 29 on the 66.5. Let us know how it goes.

A little off topic of where the post is headed but the weather killed this event. It started to rain to scattered a good amount of the people. If it was as sunny and hot as it was during the prelims it would have packed. I think Soaked might change some of this wakeboard on tv "dominance"

I wish you guys would actually look at the density numbers between 50F and 80F, it varies so little. Start thinking VISCOSITY! Look! http://www.epa.gov/apti/bces/module4/gravity/images/table2.gif 10C is 50F 30C is 86F However this is a graph of viscosity, you can see that where 50F and 80F are there is a difference, more than density! http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/images/visc.gif

Warm water is for sure slower. Viscosity in this sense concerns the displacement of water. As the viscosity decreases the water is displaced easier, making the ski slower, riding deeper. There is a decent difference in viscosity between 60 and 80 degrees. Colder water will be more viscous meaning the water is not as easy to displace (given similar load to warm water), making the ski ride higher and faster. Just trust me. I am sure @Than_Bogan can back me up on this. I have heard he is a engineer.

Being from Michigan and now in Florida I think I have decent experience with cold vs. warm water. Cold water is FASTER!!! As the temperature drops the wing angle should increase. Density of water changes very little as the temperature and really if you look at the numbers viscosity doesn't change that much. I don't really feel like doing any calculations at 10:30 so we will leave it at that. Go off of feel. Go from skiing in 50F water to 80F water, as most mid westerners do and leave wing angle constant, you will notice as the water gets warmer the ski will move through the turn slower and acceleration will decrease. Personally I have went from 9 to 8 to 7 as the water has went from 75 to 85 here in Orlando. I would not ski my wing at 7 in Michigan right now, too much speed would be generated. Now another thing for you guys to think about, the type of water your on, if it is clear or has a lot of sediment in it, like blue water from clay. Also the depth, if you ask any wakeboarder about ballast he would say you need more for shallow lakes then in deep lakes. At the Wake Games at OWC a few weeks back they had a new G23 loaded with ballast along with 3 fat sacks inside to get the wakes they wanted. OWC is about 8 ft deep. There is definitely a difference in shallow vs deep lakes. This is due to the fact water is liquid and liquids are in-compressable.

Used to be hockey, but Florida allows me to do only one thing all the time!

@mattP, have @horton do a poll. I am right handed and hold a hockey/lacrosse stick left handed and am LFF. It is just one of those things. In hockey you throw a kid a stick and he will grab it the way he feels comfortable, kinda like when you push someone they will lead with their dominant foot, not necessarily the same as the dominant hand.

I am surprised those are only 50lbs, aluminum is an amazing metal. @klondike, it does nothing to the slalom wake, if anything it helps lift the back a little bit to shallow the draft of the boat.

Skier supplied equipment is not subject to a re ride if I remember correctly. Please correct me if I am wrong. So this leaves the rope, lake, and boat being valid for tossing the handle. Contacts being f'ed up is not a valid reason, but you might find some pretty awesome judges at C tournaments.

We just got our 2012 PS 197 in at the school this week with the Ilmor. I will say this engine is way more powerful than our 2011 with the MCX. It has power out of the hole and solid in the course. Having experience with the MCX (indmar) and the PCM Excalibur (nautique), I would say overall this is the better motor. The engine seems better engineered as well. To discuss the tower on the PS 197, our 2011 has a tower and I will say it is way better in wind and for handling. The 2012 has the standard bimini and today happened to be windy so it was definitely lifting the boat a little bit, making it a little loose. I would for sure do the tower, adds weight and looks great. Puts the bimini higher which is nice and is was more versatile.

This got me too, immediately was like this makes no sense. After being told the vertical thing I got it but still, for the masses it should have read, "Left foot forward skiers should have their left palm down, and for right foot forward skier the right palm down." This makes more sense to me at least.

@horton Weather is pretty good here. Wont be any wind because it will be roasting hot. Great time to come down.

@killer, quite a few of the Red Wings have boats bought from local dealers. I never hear Babcock was a good skier. Interesting

I was told Tim Tebow is a great waterskier. Heard was hanging at the Radar Tent at the Denver boat show.

I second @AB on Pelican, that lake is absolutely amazing. Although I have to put in vote for my home lake. Hidden Lake in Clio, MI. Just don't have any pictures on my laptop.

I second @Ed's comment. I was taught this method by someone and I can get a repeatable measurement every time. Just use your thumb to hold the caliper tight to the flat portion behind the tail, and make sure if the tail isnt perfectly flat you are measuring the peak. Let me know if it works. If you end up filing down the edges be careful, they are meant to have sharp edges and those are what the measurements are based off of.

Three anchors would make sure it doesn't move. Just make sure they have appropriate angles and tension to hold the camera still.

Pushed it again, 2 @ 41 today. Video will be seen soon enough @chrisrossi. I could just come ski with you when you are back in town! @sully, I missed you by a month, come back down!!

@mattp, my bad, just saying. I forgot to mention we did over estimate. No reason to raise rates for matt @OB haha.