Tom351

@Glydon They appear to still have the 67 in the Black/Olive color. If you select the thumbnail with the yellow bottomed ski then you can select 67 for length. I ordered mine in this color last week because the all black were sold out in 67. The 67s are listed for $369 but that goes to around $330 with the coupon code mentioned in first post.

I have one that I will sell you- just upgraded from paddle wheel to stargazer. I will email you tonight.

@Horton - To me: the GoPro is a LOT better than the Trace- but still not "great". I have played with a Trace puck, but gave up because of sync issues and not being able to access the actual raw data. I do remember some of your videos and that you had sync issues as well. The GoPro has it's own issues: it loses GPS lock easily, sometimes takes a while to get a lock (longer than time from deepwater start to pregates), and the software is buggy, crashes, or just plain does not work on some PCs. But the fact that it is always synced to video, and I can easily export/dig into the data is pretty cool, but probably not yet at the level where it could be a training/coaching aid, it is more of a interesting way to break down passes, and visualize the symptoms of skiing errors. example- 4 runs overlay-ed showing speed over time (data synced to start as I skied thru entry gate)- it is interesting to compare a bunch of the same passes, and look for outliers (assuming the outliers are from skiing and not data errors) https://www.dropbox.com/s/0fey6bvvayzli3v/4passes-TD.jpg?dl=0

Also, speaking of telemetry- I have noticed a Trace tracker mount on Manon Costard's ski lately - links to pics below. I have found the Trace data to be lower resolution, difficult/impossible to synchronize, and with no good way to get to the raw data. Would be interesting to know how she is using the device. https://www.instagram.com/p/BlkyLGtgLRa/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm-upluA-Fl/

@Horton I agree- and to me it is cool to quantify some of the things that I already know, for example the data shows me that I really need to make my gate shot look more like my pull from 4-5ball- the data makes the difference glaringly obvious. @mxhideout - if you want to dropbox or google drive your GoPro file to me I can run it thru my Dashware to see if you captured and decent data. The program is really flaky and the more I read about it the more I realize that I am lucky to have a running/usable install. Also, did some passes on a fully buoyed course today- and added a new gauge for cross-course angle (a reprogrammed "lean" gauge at top left):

I notice in @powbmps photo that the ski has a copper colored tip weight- this appears to be from a 2016 V-Type R. I also found this ebay listing for the same store (link below)- the ski shown has a copper tip weight on black pad instead of green- maybe the "blemish" is the mismatched tip weights? https://goo.gl/2Gx6Qw

Here is another version (same pass) with a gauge showing cross course angle.... for angle I took the skier heading and subtracted the slalom course heading from that number - to give a heading relative to course centerline:

@scorban2 - I'm not sure about the signal frequency, but I see the raw data in 20 logs per second. And if I export to .GPX I can see points on the map at a rate of 18 per second- compared to 1 per second in most GPX logs I have seen previously: That is about every 3 feet while skiing compared to every 45 feet. Just looking at the data is interesting as well: (labels added by me)

@mxhideout Cool, be sure to power on your camera a few minutes before skiing to give it plenty of time to get GPS lock. The little google maps type location marker turns white when GPS is locked on. After you install Dashware- 1.) Put the GoPro.xml (link below) into your My Documents\Dashware\DataProfiles folder. (it might over write an older file) 2.) Select "New Project" and select a template "HD" or "GoPro" (or I can sent you mine if you want)- this just gives you some default gauges instead of having to select them manually 3.) When you import a video file Dashware will say "Extracting GMPF" and then it will display the "Add Data File" window- the data logger file will be automatically selected and you just need to select a data profile...you can use the pull-down to select "GoPro" and then "Add". After this you should be ready to go- you should not need to synchronize since the data and video came from the same unit, but the Synchronization tab will let you trim the data down to just a single pass that you want. Also, I would uncheck the "closed course" box toward top right in Synchronization tab- the data can be confusing if you leave this checked because it detects that you are doing laps, but puts start/finish at the same point- often in the middle of a pass. XML file link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/c9b31tdwkgfs4fd/GoPro.xml?dl=1 Let me know if you have any issues- I am enough of a geek about this stuff that I can't wait to see results from other skiers!

@OldboyII Not as small as in my video because I was using the ultra-wide angle "superview" mode... for a pylon mount you can go to the narrow (called "linear") view angle...it helps, but a gopro is still not very good for pylon mount because of the wide lens angles....

@foxriverat you are correct- I need to switch my grip around, but feel totally lost when I try it.....I just need to make it happen and deal with it.

@mxhideout - yes, you can turn on GPS in the settings and it will encode the telemetry into the video. You can then use the GoPro "Quik" desktop software to then add gauge overlays. I can't get Quik to work on my Win7 machine but I was able to use a free program called Dashware (owned by GoPro) to do the telemetry overlay- just let me know if you have to go that route as it takes a few settings tweaks but I can save you some time in Dashware.

I don't expect my skiing or speed numbers to "wow" anyone here, but the potential for useful telemetry from the Hero6 GPS and accelerometer data looks pretty good. This was skiing at 31.4MPH on a public water course that was missing a few turn balls- but it gives a good sample of the data you can get from the GPS equipped GoPro. The only issue that I had was that on a few runs it did not log data (seems like it lost GPS lock while stopped and submerged on my chest and did not regain lock very quickly after the deep water starts):

https://www.nautiqueparts.com/product/13-nautique-decal-domed/

https://www.nautiqueparts.com/product/13-nautique-decal-domed/

I course ski, wakeboard, and surf (after we are too tired from one of the first two) behind our 99 Sport Nautique.... a DD is the most versatile choice: You can always add weight (within reason) to a direct drive to give it a similar weight distribution to a ballasted V-drive (for wake and surf)....you cannot alter a V-drive to have the lower weight and balanced distribution of a unweighted direct drive (for slalom). You just have to stomach the cramped interior of the DD and delaing with ballast bags, for me that is acceptable compromise to have a boat where the slalom course is at least a viable option. I do feel that "slalom capable" and "surf capable without a ton of sacks" are mutually exclusive- you either need to give up the slalom, or deal with sacks.

Mine locks within a couple of seconds- do you have the receiver (puck) on the dash or underneath? If under- then it may be worth trying it on top. If you already have the receiver above dash then I would call PP. Side note: I have a buddy whose old boat will not run perfect pass at idle (because of low voltage) but as soon as you start pulling a skier the display comes on (from alternator RPM/voltage increase) and his locks GPS before we get up to speed every time.

GZ22- can you move the weight from ski locker to back? With the direct drive engine location you wont need to add any weight up front unless you are well over 1000lbs in the back- to oversimplify: weight in the rear makes the wave larger and gives you more ropeless "push" .......and adding weight in the front will "stretch" the wave so you can get farther from the boat (no need to do this until you can easily go ropeless). More weight in the rear may help engage the wake shaper. Also, try about 9.5mph. Speeding up has a similar effect as adding weight to the front.

I made one for my 99 Sport Nautique- with about 2500lbs of ballast the surf wake is great. Really good if you consider that the unweighted boat is also decent for slalom/course skiing.

I'm kinda surprised that no one has posted this one yet:

I also have a 99 Sport Nautique- it skis very well, we use it in the course a bit (I am a 34mph15-22off skier). It is great for wakeboarding with some ballast, and we even get a solid surf wave out of it (with a LOT of ballast and a surf-gate suctioned to the side) It is definitely not a shortline slalom boat, but if you need more space than a 196-sized boat and are not using it for 100% skiing then it is a great crossover choice.

There are plenty here that are more knowledgeable than me but my understanding has always been that it is the rocker of a ski that primarily makes the ski turn. This probably where the phrase "engaging the shovel" comes in.... the forward portion (talking about regular skis here) is wider like a shovel and has more rocker than the rear/narrow portion of the ski. If you are balanced on the ski and roll it onto edge it should carve a turn. I skied a while back on an antique wooden ski from a combo set (the ski had no rocker other than a slight curve at the tip).....It was amazing how I could come off of the wake, roll onto inside edge and the ski would just keep going outbound...there was no "carve" and the only way to turn on it was to shift weight back and "pivot" the ski. In my mind, I come off of the wake, change edges and let the ski travel outbound while rolling onto edge knowing that as it engages the inside/forward edge it will come back around in an arc to end up between me and the boat. I think that learning to turn in slalom has a lot to do with trusting that when you let the ski continue outbound it will come back around in front of you.....

Also, don't put too much weight on back foot, you can still lean away but keep weight on the front foot to "help" the boat (and yourself) by getting more ski in the water.....I only ski behind direct drives...except this one time behind a jet ski (obviously an extreme case)- on a wide old wooden ski from a combo set (with NO rocker)- I got up on first try after what felt like an eternity of fighting to keep the ski in front of me, but the main thing that stood out to me was how the jet ski would not accelerate past about 10mph until I trimmed the nose of the ski down a bit to reduce the load. Just remember: more ski on the water means more planing surface area and less drag. That being said, I'm not sure if I would have gotten up on my normal ski...maybe we would still be stuck at 8mph trying to plane out.

I use a drill pump and connect the flex tube to a copper tube (probably similar to brake line mentioned above) - I remember reading somewhere that a flexible tube can get caught in the transmission and then possibly shred or come apart a bit when removing- obviously shreds or chunks of tubing in the transmission are not a good thing.