Tom351

Interesting how he starts 180-ing on every wake crossing to keep each turn heelside...makes total sense

I also think that the way people have adapted to skiing with ZeroOff & higher horsepower engines has contributed to less spray. Every bit of energy that you divert into displacing water gets replaced by the boat engine almost immediately and you and your muscles have to handle it. In the old days you could spray a bunch of water and slow the boat down a bit and then maybe the engine would not "hit you back" until you needed it to reel in some slack in the rope anyway. Now it is a much better strategy to not fight the boat so much.

The Hero9 "GoPro labs" firmware also lets you burn-in the current speed into the video. It displays in M/S but could be useful for skiers that run multiple speeds and might not be sure what speed a given pass was run at.

 

Also, the Hero9 has the removable lens for the "Max lens mod" which makes the viewing angle wider- so it is not useful at all for waterskiing, but now that the camera has a removable lens I assume that before long someone will make an aftermarket mod lens that does the opposite to give you an optical zoom that snaps on easily.

@skialex I don't know, vehicle comes down the ramp with reverse lights on, and driver door open.... those are clues, but I am not sure what they mean.

 

Be sure to watch until you see the tow vehicle arrive at the waterline:

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQNCcshha0-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

A few years ago (when I did mine) they had instructions that said specifically not to use UPS or FedEX:

 

I am pretty sure that was AccuSki:

https://epicmarine.com/docs/AccuSki%20Operating_Manual9_0.pdf

@B_S is probably onto it....I would bet that the baggy drysuit floats you a lot more than the wetsuit...making your deepwater starts "deeper" when in the wetsuit.

@Horton It would be great to see a pass with the turn balls floating for reference...obviously it would be difficult to time the OffCourse to be totally in sync with the actual course as it passes by, but seeing the buoys for width and timing reference would be revealing.

@Zman right on, the best tip I have heard for chest zip entry is to keep your arms and hands close to your body- hand into sleeve going straight toward ground....people tend to flail by trying to get arms in by reaching out to the side or upwards and that just makes it harder and makes ripped seams more likely.

Photos would really help- keep in mind that you can approach the problem with diffusion or absorption (or both). Diffusion might be easier and more effective depending on size/orientation of the floating docks- they must be pretty large if rollers are bouncing off of them instead of passing under.

Chest Zip is the way to go....the only tradeoff is that it "funnel" point for entry is at the chest instead of waist...

 

A great tool for learning deep water starts is a rope with a deep V rope handle...so you can put the ski in the V instead of off to one side or another.... with side to side motion out of the picture just focus on trim and riding the ski up.....too much weight on rear foot will increase drag for the boat so try to put most of your weight on front foot.

 

https://www.the-house.com/wshradvdg15sw20zz-radar-waterski-handles.html?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=Radar_Deep-V_Diamond_Grip_Waterski_Handle&utm_campaign=PLAs&utm_content=brand%20-%20radar&gclid=d51c5f1cf48c1bb254a73f6cbbc6ca9d&gclsrc=3p.ds

I was just about to post about this- raw footage here: 0:45seconds in:

Not only is that the most insane pull I have ever seen (on or off side), but it happened thru the gates....which makes it even more impressive.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CI-6YVkDghi/?igshid=14uopo198imas

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJJ2HoZDQCm/?igshid=gwqioewuchp8

@MISkier the GPS data is from a GoPro- I believe it was Hero6 in that video, but I have done the same with my newer Hero7. I have a Hero9 but have not been able to do anything with the GPS data yet. The video overlay was done using a program called Dashware.. more info on that in the thread linked below. Also, if you have any questions about GoPro/Dashware feel free to message me as I can probably save you some trial/error if you start to do your own:

 

https://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/20292/slalom-telemetry-gopro-hero6-black

 

Here is some telemetry over video of a pass at 32/15off... The gauge in the top left is cross-course angle (I set it up to show difference between skier path and course heading- so it is a negative value when pulling 1-2/3-4/5-6)

 

Increased resolution and overcapture will soon make mechanical tracking obsolete...I don't think we are there yet, but cameras will soon capture enough pixels to be able to zoom in without losing too much quality.

 

see this thread for an example: (a fixed 360 degree camera captures everything and you do the panning later....in front of your PC or phone)

https://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/comment/388060

 

another example posted here a while back:

 

quality could be better on both of those examples for sure, but that seems to improve drastically with every new camera release.

 

 

 

Do you have a single point marked on GPS? Or do you have both ends marked with a line between them? I ask because I used to have similar problems finding a submerged mainline to a course that lived on the bottom....most other users just did a radius search from a single point- I found it to be a huge timesaver to have two GPS points along the line, so I could start clearly on one side of the GPS line and just drag a pole with hook across the GPS line. Seemed much easier than trying to find a single point.

Incredible- and so asymmetrical... it's as if she uses perfect on-side turn/pulls to make up for some wild off side action.

The size of the hex sure looks like engine mount size...I wonder if it was something that was used during engine installation to keep the nut in place on the mount.....then typically removed/discarded, but yours got away and lived in the bilge for a few years... total speculation on my part there.

O'neill outlaw is great, good flotation, compact, does not absorb water/dries quickly, and it still has a strap/buckle.