Onside135

Mr Rogers might be lame, but Mr Rodgers seems pretty cool... http://viewdmvideos.com/~jeffrodg/

Sorry to hear about your melanoma, that is a very serious concern, but glad it was discovered and removed. I have my 6 month skin check tomorrow. I've been going every 6 mos since I had a squamous cell removed from my lip 3 yrs ago. I love the outdoors as well, and waterskiing presents serious challenges for minimizing the harmful effects of the sun. Here are a few tips: Dermatologist - Find a good one, that knows you, and the activities you do. Try to see the same person each time, and have pics taken of anything that concerns you to monitor changes. Sunscreen - At least 50spf, and forget that quarter sized dollop nonsense. Use a bunch. Then reapply often, since getting in the lake washes a lot off. Your new musk should be the smell of Coppertone. Bimini - Put it up. Rashguard - For this season, I'm starting to wear an ONeill rashguard. I think it advertises 50-60 spf. Floppy Hat - I have an old golf hat that I always wear to the lake and when driving the boat. Time of Day - Skiing times are very dependent on lake time, drivers, etc, but if you can limit youself to early mornings or late evenings, the impact of harmful UV rays is less than during midday times. In the end, if you have to end up looking like Mr Rogers, at least you'll be skiing. Keep in mind that if skiing success were based on looking cool, Horton wouldn't just be running long rope lengths as a gimmick.

I thought the same thing. Those guys did design an awesome ski. To be that consistent both ways through the course is amazing!

@Chef23...This video had me wondering the same thing... Andy Mapple Will Asher T-Gas Nate Smith Chris Parrish (apparently..now) I'm sure there are some more...

Fellas, thanks for all the recommendations and guidance. I appreciate it. I'm keeping the fin factory for now (bindings are slightly aft of factory). I'm sure 99% of my issues are skier related, versus the ski, but just wanted to learn what was out there about setup theory. @Gloerson...great info! The highly knowledgeable skier I referenced previously is a D3 Demo guy, so he setup and guided me through exactly how to take the measurements with a set of calipers and properly set the fin up. Also, when I scraped the bottom and had to reset my fin, I found the guidance (and pictures) on the D3 website to be a good refresher.

I have always seen the way to figure it out as having someone stand with feet shoulder width apart, and when they aren't expecting it, push them in the back. Whichever foot naturally goes forward to stop them from falling is their front foot.

Glad things went well for you today!. This topic ties into a thread I recently started, so I'll ask the question again. Are the settings that Rossi uses really pertinent to a 15off skier (I'm there myself right now)? My gut tells me that what Rossi demands from his ski is a lot different than what @Ntq206 and myself are looking for, and as such, the fin settings are minimally comparable. Thoughts?

@Brent...I wish I had written the numbers down. The only thing I remembered was the depth was about 2.65". I realize that getting this depth probably changes the other numbers too. Prior to resetting my fin this summer, I was of the mindset that I would never...ever...mess with it, but everyone at the lake that day said my depth was ridiculous, so I caved. I'm inclined to just leave it at factory now, and never adjust it again. Riggghhhtt.... @ShaneH...Considering your comments in another thread about Matt Brown's fin measurements, I was expecting this one about my depth! That comment about his fin and some other setup discussions actually encouraged me to start this thread. I agree to a certain extent that a lot of it is probably just in my head. Just last week I finished a set to find that my fin had a chunk removed and the whole front of the fin pulled out of the box. In hindsight, I remembered scraping the bottom of the lake on pull up, and it either occured then or progressively got worse with each pass. Either way, when I got in the boat after the set, the fin was barely in the ski anymore. Oddly enough, the set went very well! Who knows? Just ride...right?

I have been reading a lot of threads about binding/fin adjustments and settings throughout the discussion boards. I have noticed guys are frequently inquiring about how other folks and the pros setup their skis. It would seem to me that these measurements would be HIGHLY unique to individuals based on a number of variables (speed, line length, height/weight of skier, righty/lefty, individual style). Does it do any good to know how Rossi, Nate Smith, or even Horton setup a certain ski, unless you have a lot of the above variables in common with them? Reason for asking: Last summer was my first in the course. I started on a 68” Obrien Mapple and progressed through 30/32/34/& 36, 15 off (I have no idea how this ski was setup). Once I started having success with 36, I picked up a used 67”D3 Z7/ST and just skied it with the fin setup as UPS delivered it from a Ski-It-Again seller (SIA rocks…as an aside!) I eventually ran a number of 36/22s on this ski before the season was over. Took the winter off, and prior to my first set this year, a highly knowledgeable skier glanced at my fin and was shocked at the depth (I think it was around 2.65”). We reset it to factory specs (6.920/2.515/.785), where I’ve been skiing at for the past month. The ski feels totally different. Some things seem better, but overall I don’t think I’m skiing as well as I should be, or was last summer (probably more than fin settings). Bottom Line: Was the depth I was running last summer totally ridiculous? Should I stick with the factory settings I’ve used so far this summer, or meet in the middle somewhere? Lastly, am I correct in assuming that ski setup is fairly individualistic, and should only be accomplished based on recommendations from an instructor who has seen you ski? At my level, what would you guys recommend? Not necessarily looking for specific fin measurements, but just general thoughts about the topic. Thanks for your help…

D3 Factory Fin Settings...Somewhere to start, if this helps. d3skis.com/v/sitefiles/Tech%20Support%20Ski%20Literature%20Rev%20C.pdf

Screw by the end of summer..Opt up to 28off now and jump in the course. Please have someone record it and post the video here. Just kidding...but not really. Anyhow, keep having a blast, but do find a course. It will be humbling at first, but it is the way to go, and will make you a better skier. I regret not seeking out a course when I was younger.

@travnews As I read your post again, I think you and the article are both right, just thinking differently. The article is assuming the handle is held vertical, and you may be assuming a horizontally held handle...

I'm not sure about your description with "fingers on top for your left hand," but a left foot forward skier should typically hold the handle as if he were batting right handed, and a right foot forward skier would hold the handle as if batting left handed. If you look throughout the rest of the magazine, you'll see mostly examples of this. At least I did, before I switched grips last summer. I free skied till age 31 with what would I guess be the unorthodox grip for a LFF (left hand on top), and just switched mine up last summer, my first in the course, and I'm glad I did. I think it gives me a little more strength, stability, and helps with keeping my shoulders square to the boat, especially on my toe side. It took a few times out to get used to it, but it feels natural now. I figured that there must be a reason almost everyone does it that way, but there are certainly some exceptions. Jeff Rodgers is one of them, but that dude could probably succeed with any grip he wanted!

I'm pretty sure Drew Bledsoe was a skier. During his time with the Patriots, I remember hearing there was a clause in his contract prohibiting him from water skiing. Edit...a quick google search... gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/casual-view-of-new-england-patriots-qb-drew-bledsoe-water-news-photo/84094645

MIRTTB (Where B is for buoys...in this case)

@Jim Neely...Thanks for the response. So far, I feel that SG is a little easier to ski behind too, but I continue to ski with ZBox, hoping that eventually I'll be a better skier for it and perform better in tournaments with ZO boats. Though I don't know all that went into the decision to make ZO the sanctioned cruise control, I would have thought any system that makes buoy times within certain tolerances would suffice. For me at least...SG seems to spread out the engine response to the skier's pull over a longer period of time, which will result in wider range of indicated speeds throughout the course, but as long as it makes buoy times within certain allowable ranges, what is the problem?

@Jim Neely It is my understanding that many people preferred the pull of SG when compared to Zero Off. Whether this was due to a lack of experience with Zero, or that Zero is actually a tougher pull than SG is uncertain. In any event, I thought the point of ZBox was to mimic the pull that Zero Off provided, and allow folks with SG equipped boats to prepare for what they would see at tournaments. Since you mentioned you just ski in the SG mode of ZBox, do you do this because you think the A-C settings are not representative of what Zero Off provides, or is there other logic? Also, what do you mean by "better pull"? Is a "better pull" the one that is easiest to ski behind, is most representative of Zero Off, offers the most consistent average speed through the course, or is there some other criteria?

Only if these guys show up to your lake...

@ODBF Really? It would give people the "option" to pay dues to either one, or both. Fixed it for you...

"Test User" has 2 Awesome posts...wtf? Must be cheap shots at MS or Elee...

@Klondike...You should get a helmet. You should also slap a bunch of stickers on it, or maybe airbrush a rainbow on it. We promise not to poke fun at you...for the helmet anyway.

Watching this video felt like meeting a radio DJ in person...

They don't need to. They have this whole thread.

@Horton...It was more like quibbling about the lack of edit function since the site upgrade, which I actually rediscovered as a result of your typos. In your infinite wisdom you created a typo laden post to teach me a lesson. Well played, sir!

This is why we need our "edit" button back! Edit: Unregard...I found it!