dave_n

Fun? definitely, also sense of achievement when you increase your PB by one or two balls takes some beating.

@aswinter05 seems to me that you have a sound plan going there. Have fun.

The heading at the top of the page says ' What's the best way to progress in the course? ' NOT ' what's the best way to have a fun day at the lake ' We all like to enjoy time at the lake with any other skiers, maybe spend time in the boat helping others. But, the fastest way to 'progress in the course' is to spend time with skiers better than you. Ask questions if you don't understand something, but mainly watch and listen. Pro coaching is money well spent also. Often a better skier can explain to you in ten minutes what it took them three years to work out the hard way. There's no substitute for time on the water, but there's a big difference between time spent improving, verses time wasted making the same old mistakes over and over until they become bad habits. ( been there, done that ) The three most important things to concentrate on are : 1- Stack 2- Stack 3- Stack Working on anything else until you can ski the course in a stacked position is time you could have spent improving your body position. I wish I had listened to better skiers when they were telling me that 6 years ago.

Eminent domaine in the US = Compulsory purchase in the UK.

Liquid Leisure in London. Note the name of the road above the lakes.

Live in the UK, just outside London. First saw a course 6 years ago when I was only a 53 year old youngster. Took me 6 sets on the first day to run the course at 26mph. Running 13m is still a hit or miss thing. My best is 4@12m. I have run 12m @ 33.7mph. I know it doesn't count, but it was great fun. I think it would be helpful if all BOS members put in their profiles where abouts in the world they are. That would give the rest of us a better idea about their climate etc.

Just pulled my 6 year old Hammond drysuit out of the bag for the first time in 3 years. All the seals had gone like stiff plastic, almost solid, they would have cracked if I'd tried to move them around too much. Looked at the price of new seals, more expensive than a new reasonable drysuit. With nothing to lose I tried them in hot water for 10 minutes. Perfect result. Tried the suit for two sets, good as new.

We use CC200s running on LPG. Large storage tank on site. Bulk buy, under half fuel costs I think. LPG storage at lakes in some European countries is restricted by red tape and the need for permits that are difficult to obtain, eg. Poland. Pretty sure it's common in France, I seem to remember they run their Malibus on gas at Lacanau ( that's Liquid Protrolium Gas )

Maybe.

@Morg - I would respectfully disagree with @douglaslbrady - Skiers of all levels need all the help we can get. You already have one of the most forgiving skis on the market, one that is super stable and won't punish us too much for the mistakes we make. Now it's time to find a binding system that's comfortable. I use a Reflex with RTP, I have friends that have Stradas and others that use the FM that you've mentioned. All these bindings are so comfortable we could wear them for hours. If I ski from the boat with friends I'll leave my binding on between sets. Your performance may or may not improve but you'll never go back to rubber. Be prepared for it to take quite a few sets to get used to skiing on any of these, particularly the hardshells.

@fu_man They do look very similar. I know the Roosters work well. Never tried these ones.

I use Rooster Hot Socks on my back foot with an RTP, warm enough for double sets in January, water temp around high thirties. The socks have a titanium layer between the outer neoprene and the inner lining. These socks are only 0.5mm thick so no need for a bigger rear kicker. I don't know if these socks are available in the US, if there're not it'd be worth paying the shipping from Europe. http://www.roostersailing.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=1&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=RWSHT EDIT..... Just noticed on the website there's a link to a US site..

@Marco - Do I understand you correctly, you pull out earlier as the line gets shorter ? I pull out a little later for every shortening. I do a one handed gate, maybe that makes a difference ?

Voted. Best of luck.

@SDNAH2OSKIER ........meant to add; I was advised to take the foil off until I could run 16m.

@SDNAH2OSKIER I think if you put the foil back on at less than about 4 degrees it will actually be at a negitive angle due to the attitude of the ski riding in the water.

Thank you all for your help.

@bhs Actually the Psycho I wear the most is a 2mm all over. That's good down to mid 40s, but I believe it's not made any more. It's so flexible I really don't know I'm wearing a wetsuit. The Psycho 2 that I was talking about is a 4/3 I've had for 4 years. Most sets very little water gets in, even after a decent crash. I can do a triple set, 18 passes dropping in each end, in any water temp. I do agree with @jipster43 about getting cold standing around between sets. That's why I have several suits. This sport cost us thousands a year, a few hundred dollars to stay comfortable doesn't seem too much. Whilst on the subject of staying warm, my sets were limited to how long I could put up with the pain of cold hands wearing slalom gloves. I started wearing O'neill 1.5mm neoprene gloves. At first it felt like I couldn't get a decent grip on the handle, the gloves were bunching up and almost pulling off my hands. Many people feel this way about these gloves I believe. After about the third set I began to realise that if I couldn't grip well enough in these gloves it was because I was loading the line too much. After a few more sets I found I was consistently skiing on a much lighter line. When the water warmed up again I was reluctant to go back to slalom gloves. In April I was back skiing in shorts, and rubber gloves. Not a cool look. The best I've ever skied is 4@ -35. With the neoprene gloves on I got 3@ -35 on several occasions so they can't be so bad to ski in when you get used to them. I'd recommend trying the gloves, maybe you can extend your ski season a month each way.

@bhs Spend the extra money. They're worth every penny. With the Psycho 2 and the Freak we can ski all winter in the UK, comfortably, and the Psycho 3 looks even better. Water temp down to 2 degrees celcius, that's mid 30s to most of you. They're so flexible they don't restrict your movements. We only stop skiing if the lake ices over.

@ToddF I love my Strada. Very predictable, fast, stable. Come to think of it, can't remember why I fancied a change. New toy I suppose. Regarding the S2, I've only had one set on it so haven't had a chance to form an opinion yet, but early impression is that I'm going to love this ski even more. Thanks for your suggestions.

I wonder if anyone has an answer to my newest problem ? Just came off a Strada and bought a new S2, mainly because of the reviews on BOS. First set on the new ski tonight, feels really promising, but, although I seem to be in a decent position going into my offside, the S2 stops underneath me around 2 and 4. ( I am still trying to learn to ski in a stacked position )This is happening at -22, -28 and -32. Ski is 66.5". Fin is stock. Front Reflex boot 29.25" DFT. RTP as forward as possible. LFF. 175 lbs. The front binding is back a tad from stock, I don't know if that's a good thing on a 66.5" though . I would appreciate any suggestions on set-up.

@ShaneH , would you say that once you learn to control your core in relation to the handle you no longer feel it necessary to pull long at the slower speed ?

@Zman I think everybody has stuffed the tip at some time, I try to avoid it if I can. The system has released every time it should have and never when it shouldn't have. After initial set-up, if it releases too easily, just tighten down the screw a couple of turns.

@spesh I've been running the same setup as yours for 5 years, no problems at all. It's going to take you five or six sets to get used to it, but when you do you'll never look back.

I agree with @webbdawg99 . It's my understanding that to score a 1/4 you need to get the centre of your ski outside and downcourse of the buoy whilst still holding the handle. To score a 1/2 you need to bring the ski back across the buoy line towards the centre of the course ( I guess before the next set of boat guides ) whilst still holding the handle. If that is right that would effectively make the 1/4 buoy zone 42 metres long. Maybe I've got something wrong.