BRY

Here in Palm Beach it's been much colder than normal. Water is 69 now on my lake, was all the way down to 65 a week or two ago. Think air only got to 75 today. But those Northerner's in Orlando get the brunt of the real cold....

I skied Power Shells for a couple years and the velcro worked great for me. Stayed on when it should and came off when it should. I did replace all the velcro (Interlock 250) at the beginning of each season, only drawback to me for using it. Really worked surprisingly well. I did get a mild sprain of front ankle I believe was from PS's being a single plate system, not from the velcro. Kind of felt one foot holding the other on. I have been on Reflex with R rear for 3+ years since. No issues due to the system. Did take a couple hard OTF from pre-release due to my failing to replace the spring at 2 years as Reflex instructs, went almost 3 years. Replaced and all good again. Stays on when it should and comes off when it should. Both PS and Reflex ski well for me but I like the Reflex with R better. I feel I can get up over my front foot easier and cleaner. The Reflex is a little stiffer than the PS, White cuff seems perfect for me. Tried SuperShell which turned out too stiff for me, like skiing a brick with no touch or subtlety, had to have a sloppy fit for it to kinda work. So back to White cuff which seems ideal and safe. 6'1" 215 consistent mid -38.

@parkerc2112 Go 30" exactly front binding, fin 2.460, 6.960, 0.735 9 degrees. These are killer starting numbers from Nationals.

@Rpc29 A dislike for that? Got an axe to grind against Chet?

@Marcellolipi Chet Raley is 35min south of Wellington (quicker if you drive quicker). Very easy drive straight down 441. http://www.pbtcenter.com/PBTC/Home.html World class coaching with world class site. Make reservation though, then guaranteed a ski spot.

@swc5150 Leave the wing on. Rossi numbers work really well, from Rossi's post earlier in the thread: "My personal settings Boots - 65 28.5", 66 29", 67 29.5", 68 30" Fin - 2.465, 6.940, 0.733 9 degrees I have also been setting 34 mph short line skiers at the numbers below with lots of personal bests posted and is where I set skis at for nationals: Boots - same as my boot recommended location above Alternate fin setting - 2.460, 6.960, 0.735 9 degrees" I am a 34 skier as well. Brooks set my ski up at Nat's with the Alt settings. I am slightly longer and slightly more DFT. Works awesome. If your through 28 you definitely can use these.

@jimbrake HotDog best ski movie ever! Just need to cut/fastforward his guitar ballad scene.

@beancounter I used to ski a 70" Phantom (220+ at the time), great ski. Then went to a Phantom Truth, what a lie! That was not the same ski, the Truth sucked for me. Wished at the time I hadn't sold the original. Anyhow, the 2014-2015 Vapor's (green-blue) ski in a similar fashion to that original Phantom. Fast, arcing turns, not stop-start. 2016 Vapor is more bow down, more stick, but I feel even better, particularly the shorter you go. My 2016 Vapor 68" 34mph 28-38 (occasionally through 38) 215# turns very well though wouldn't mind it a touch stiffer. So for you at 180 32mph -38 I think the 68" would be aces. Talk to Radar, Eddie/Chris/Brooks, they love helping people get set on Vapors. Definitely worth getting a demo.

@gt2003 You, or almost anyone non-pro, doesn't "need" ZO. You don't "need" a beer on the dock after skiing either, but sure is nice. If your at the cusp dollar wise I think your crazy not to get ZO. It is way easier to set up and drive properly which gives a very consistent ride pass to pass, day to day. I think for a developing course skier that is extremely helpful. Crew weight, head/tail wind, skier weight just don't matter. Getting a nice PP boat for slightly less and then dicking around with Stargazer/Zbox (possibly spending $$) to emulate when you could have had ZO doesn't make sense. Lots of skiers ski well with PP. I skied with PP and Stargazer for years. A couple on my lake both ski into 38 with PP (she is right near the top of her list), but sounds like the Titanic is going down at the ends. Lots of beeping going on as they adjust PP to go the other way. ZO is easier/nicer/better if you can.

Between the LXI, 197 and 200 I believe the 200 is the significantly superior boat in regards to slalom wakes (any speed) and ease for inexperienced/weak drivers to give a good ride. Will say the 197 has the best trick/wakeboard wake. Move up to the TXI and 2014+ ProStar and I still like the 200, but strong arguments can (and are!) made for the other TXI and PS. Wife likes the 200, she's 26 to 30 -15, but is happy to ski behind the new MC as well. From a space/usability standpoint I think the new ProStar is best but don't like how it drives (slides laterally, feels big). The above comments answer your question, best open bow with ZO for -15 -22. None are the best "hang out in" boats, DD's suck for that. But the more you ski the more you love them.

@JeffSurdej At the ability tournaments (none AWSA, non-affiliated or early INT's) I have gone to or helped run (long time ago) had a "hidden bump" score. Those who exceed the score of a division are "bumped" into the next. We didn't say or know the bump score beforehand. We pulled a number (usually between 4 and 6) out of a hat afterward, and that was the bump. Say 4 was pulled, then those that scored 4 won and those that scored 4.5 bumped to next division. No sandbagging, worked surprisingly well. Not sure if INT does that anymore but haven't been to one for a real long time.

@eleeski "Is our sport and BOS just slalom? That's a pretty shallow and shortsighted view." I agree it is. Never said or inferred they are. Think my comments apply to all disciplines and overall, and were intended that way. "Perhaps building participation at the top of the sport is good." I would say building participation anywhere is good, including the top. I am not convinced this will build participation at all, perhaps disincent some.

@Dirt sure that math's right? For example for M5 14 is the exact number in L9, which is supposed to be top 7% by percentile. The current COA score for the 7% (93-100 percentile) is 105. So the 3% COA score cutoff obviously a bit higher than that.

That's just wrong. So... video?

@Than_Bogan Some people here on BOS have been asking. How many of them are actually affected by jumping in/out of division/MM-Open? Bet very few to none. Many (most?) are not and many (most?) don't' care. You and I are not affected, we are not anywhere close to competing for the win. Would like @JeffSurdej to hop in and let us know the reason behind it. Sure he will when he gets around to seeing it. Some think hoping divisions is a problem, others don't. I don't. Wanna be M4 champion? Then beat all men 45-52 who show up. My opinion. I get my ass handed to me at Nat's, but 2 out of 3 I've gone to I beat my seed. If "choosing to win (division) instead of competing in (MM-Open)" is really a problem this is to address, it is a bad solution. I believe forcing people to ski MM/Open who never have will upset more people. Forcing the top M6 guys to ski against the top M3-M4? As rule is stated above top M7, M8 need to ski MM? Huh? Do they step up to 34 or what? W7 top 3% ski MM women? Just don't see it being good as written. Needs to be way more convoluted and complex to handle all divisions and events, AKA it's a bad rule. Also, how to stop sandbagging? That 3% bump will be a very interesting score to watch. Every ability based system (that's what this is) I have ever been involved in (INT, local unaffiliated tourney's) needed a hidden bump. There will be major drama without a bump and major drama if there is. My opinion, if ability based is needed/appropriate anywhere, it's at the bottom, not at the top. If "choosing to win (division) instead of competing in (MM-Open)" is really a problem there is a much simpler and better solution. How about this "Once a skier takes a start in MM or Open they have to stay there through that years Nationals?" Simple, clean and no hopping. We have enough rules. We have bigger issues that need to be addressed. Either way some people will be upset, a very few people. This rule does nothing for the sport as a whole or AWSA skiers/potential AWSA skiers as a whole.

@JeffSurdej Why? 1. What is the problem this rule will solve? 2. What is the expected outcome of this change? 3. Why do we want said outcomes to happen? Have you floated this by the top 5% to see what they all think, particularly their answers to the 3 questions above? Another question: How is Top 3% defined? Top 3% of all skiers (assume splitting M/F) or top 3% of each division? By score or by rank? This is important as the top 3% in some divisions crush the top 3% in others. Some divisions don't have any Level 9, or Level 9 is the 3% so Level 9 effectively eliminated for some divisions and some Level 8 are required to ski against true elite and pro's? "Juniors are not mandatory at Level 10 unless they opt into Open, then they stay through Nationals." I see the effect of this as almost all or all B3/G3 will just stay in juniors. Some top juniors enter open for experience even though they are not competitive. With this they won't. Pack filling entries at big/Pro events drop more and young skiers do not gain valuable experience. This rule just moves around the elite. It makes false champions of a very few (best by rule not by performance) and a very few are rendered noncompetitive. The very, very top remain unchanged. The 95% below remained unchanged. The sport is not grown, competition is not enhanced but just shifted and a few skiers may leave.

@Fehlindra Been a while since I played with PP, been ZO exclusive since 2011. Don't know if the switch requires magnets for slalom or not. With a PX of 0 it does nothing, above that it adds the setting as a percentage of skier weight to rpm. I went with a 20 so would get 40rpm added when engaged (200lbs skier weight, I lied, better for opener. Did sound like titanic going down at the ends in tournaments though beep, beep, beep,,,, whole lotta beepin going on.) I recall I could feel it on the pull out, before the gates/magnets, so would assume magnets not needed. I had a single line display that worked with the switch, upgraded to multi-line when I put Stargazer in that boat. So single line head worked, but did have new enough rev for KX -, n, + or ++ settings. One of my favorite quotes from a big gun back in the day responding when asked why he skied ++, "because there isn't a +++!"

Dont recall version but at 2001 you should be good. I always used a switch, at 215+ at the time, without it total crap ride n bad times. With switch you have KX, PX, skier weight and wind correct, all necessary to get a truly good ride. That assumes crew weight and SSD are correct. Lots of variables that take a skilled tech (aka driver) for consistent rides pass to pass much less day to day. Stargazer better but can be a PITA to get the front and back half times balanced. Haven't used Zbox myself but have been told works/skis very well. Simple settings for driver and consistent rides up n down n day to day. That's the way I would go.

My ZO worked great for 3 years in Washington State but when I moved to FL it had issues. Resets and battery disconnects worked and eventually the frequency of failure went down. No idea why. Now every 3-4 months both pucks will come up dead. Disconnect battery (nautique has switch), swap puck connectors, turn back on and they come right back up. Very odd but seems like a bug in the system. Guess is changing plugs changes puck addresses which forces the system to reinitialize.

@nando There is this Schnitz guy who knows a little about fins http://www.schnitzskis.com/finswings.html Pretty sure he was working with various wings long before Australia II in 1983. He has various shapes and multiple wings for sale. Chet Raley has also played with fins/wings http://www.goode.com/wsRALEYVENTRAL.html I have seen Chet put some really whack wing configurations on his ski and still go deep 39 or run it. I bring these guys up as you can go buy their stuff currently. Too many to name for so many years have tested shapes and appendages (wings, tubes, ect) yet seem to come back to the standard shape. Additional fins like anti-drift fins and side force enhancers never seemed to catch on. Schnitz and Chet are in Palm Beach County, and KLP a couple hours up the road in Orlando. Hop a plane, take a lesson from each and they can give you all kinds of fin info.

Don't get the full rear boot. Get one of these: http://www.perfski.com/index.php/ski/slaloms/waterski-bindings/radar-2016-hrt-aluminum-plate49.html http://www.perfski.com/index.php/ski/slaloms/waterski-bindings/radar-2016-hrt-feather-frame50.html Essentially Radar's R-type rear. Your hips will thank you with their freedom and the ease they get forward vs rear boot.

I'm 6'1 215-220 44" chest 34-35 waist (depends on brand, 36 too big). I have used Eagle for years but tried a Radar Decibel vest beginning of summer (killer deal, half off) but took it back as too stretchy. Usually XL but tried L as well, fit tight in store but no good in the water. Vapor and similar O'Neil's too stretchy too. Perfski was great on swaps, ended up getting a Camaro top (XXL, fits tight, perfect) from them on swap plus $. So stepped up, paid full boat to Eagle and got an XL front zip that fits quite tight and stays tight in the water. Eagle doesn't seem to stretch nearly as much as the others in the water, tighter but I like that. Couldn't be happier but they only seem to last 2 years for me, FL year round. I don't recommend pullovers. I had one and it was a bitch when I tweaked my shoulder. Shoulder, arm, neck or back tweak and you will be hating life every time you put it on.

To all you guys with one in the bag or on the shelf, go get 'em wet! Ride 'em! fricken incredible ski! @DanE I'm 6'1 215-220 and ride the 68" at 34 into 38 (through it once on this ski so far). Size is good for me but could be a little stiffer. So for you at 195 think 68 would be on the big, stiff side but certainly work great if that's your preference. Otherwise go 67.

Don't get it into your mind it's harder and/or that you need to do more. Don't overthink it to start, just go ski it. If your 32 is solid you will be good to halfway down 35 at least. Don't do more, just do what you do as clean and strong as possible. Don't pull longer, if anything shorter Don't rush the turn or turn harder, but do wait longer after the turn to go Be ready for higher intensity, particularly in the pull. Don't pull longer or "harder", but own what is there and hold your stack Smile as you go through the gates

Set it stock, with wing, and ski it a couple times. That's how it's designed to go. Then ski it without the wing, see which way you like it. But ski it stock first before you mess with it.