Waternut

I would never throw this into a pole but I have neutral eye dominance now despite being right eye dominant as a kid...don't really know what causes it but I've heard of other people having eye dominance shifts. Everything else is very right dominant for me.

Vent windows built into the winshield like the old ski tigues! The newer the boats get, the more enclosed the driver is and out of the elements. Good for driving in the rain and cold but that's not really when we drive boats. One of the best parts of being on a boat is the wind in your hair but newer boats make you feel like you're in a car with the windows up...it's summer time and it's HOT!

@Jdubs based on today's skiing with a round handle vs a sharper elliptical handle confirms what you're talking about. Thanks for the help. Guess I need to either stay away from elliptical handles or use them sparingly.

So I tried my same setup with just a new round handle instead of an elliptical handle. Wears my palms a little more but zero problems with my fingers. I'm guessing the point loads on my fingers of the sharp front end of the handle can't take that abuse.

I love the concept but honestly, I don't think our sport can support it. When you can practically count all of the sponsored skiers on your fingers and toes, it makes it difficult. I don't think it has anything to do with fat and lazy vs physically fit people....IMO it's more to do with learning curves. You can teach someone to fish with the right pole and bait in a couple hours and if they get lucky and follow instructions, they can catch that big fish on their first day. On the other hand, you can teach someone to get up on ski's in a few hours and if they're athletic enough, you might be able to get them on a slalom ski in a day but getting them through the slalom course could take years.

@DmaxJC_ski That's actually a tough question. I do know that the worst I get it is on a friends private ski lake because that's when I'm skiing the longest and hardest. When skiing on my lake, it's generally open water so I'm doing an extended ski pass...I figure 3-4 passes worth with only 1-2 deep water starts but all at once. I'll often do 2 sets like that on open water. On a ski course, it's more like 6-8 full passes and 6-8 deep water starts with 2 sets of that. Course skiing is obviously more punishing on everything but I'm still skiing 34mph and somewhere between 28-35 off even on open water. I'm got a bunch of nitrile gloves....I may try that sometime. I'm sure it'll feel weird but if nothing else, might even help with calluses just by keeping my hands dry.

Finger tips...no problems. Just right at the base of the fingers before the first knuckle. Probably should've taken pictures of this earlier but this is after a week. A little bumpy and a little reddish brown still there. Always in the same places and it's always symmetric on both hands. Never had it anywhere else. Starting to sound like a very unique case and not something anyone else deals with though so if new handles and gloves don't solve it, might be worth a trip to the dermatologist.

@gmut it's definitely not poison ivy. Haven't come in contact with that stuff in years thankfully. It happens with way too many gloves for way too long for it to be a contamination IMO. @chef23 Yes that is my next course of action. Planning to try out another glove without Kevlar after I try out a round handle. Thinking since the elliptical handles crush right where I get my rashes, maybe a handle that puts more pressure on my palms will help before dropping more coin on new gloves.

No not wearing a ring but I started wearing the Overtons palm protectors last year. They cut down on the palm calluses but never did anything to ease the finger issues. I do use elliptical handles so I grip the rope more in my fingers....could be part of it.

I get a rash on the base of my middle and ring fingers any time I ski more than one set. Always on the ring finger and on the edge of the middle finger next to the ring finger. It doesn't really itch but usually hard and a little painful like ant bites or something and lasts at least a week. Looks like an allergic reaction maybe from the kevlar in my gloves but it doesn't make any sense that it wouldn't be on the other fingers. I've been through 3 sets of gloves and all do the same thing. Anyone else get this or have any idea what it is?

I would love to have an electric boat but I don't see it happening in the near future and I don't see it being an affordable option either. As for sound....Tow it with a throaty V8 if it makes you feel better. Cons: I don't think solar panels will not be enough to recharge your boat unless you only use it 1-2 times a month or your entire boathouse roof is covered in solar panels ($$$). I don't know about everyone else but I personally would have to rewire power to my dock to handle the electrical usage of a big battery charger. Speed controls would have to be completely re-vamped. Lastly...if it's going to add another $10K+ to the already outrageous price of current boats, might as well just build promo boats from here on.

I'm guessing that model boat has digital gauges which requires the conversion kit? If so, it's probably easier than you think. I did my Malibu gauges earlier this summer with the help of the Mastercraft forum (yes I said that right). There was no conversion kit required but you have to splice into various wires. Just bought all of the gauges and then you just need to find which wires do what. All of the sending units are analog so switching to analog gauges is pretty simple.

Just speculation but the plastic shroud could be as simple as making some people feel more comfortable. If it's thicker, it may look more substantial giving the impression of more strength/stiffness. Remember even the great Andy Mapple didn't like the thought of a single toe loop and openly admitted to a second bar not doing anything other than making him feel better. Personally I think the heel cup and toe shroud are gimmicks used to create confidence in an otherwise skeptical user... Maybe it's just me but I've never had my boot slip in any direction once setup correctly.

Adding a zerk fitting only works if there is enough of a gap in the packing to allow grease to flow in. We did that on our 2000 SN and had to cut the packing short but it works fine.

Out of curiosity, how is the flotation? My basis for comparison is this...without a ski on, if I let out all of the air in my lungs my comp vests will float me at the level of my eyes. Any lower than that and I usually just sink and I won't use the vest.

Lots of good insight and lots of things for you to try and work on. Hardest part for me is visualizing shorter line lengths. Pulling until your eye line gets to the buoy and slowing it down is easier at 22off and possible at 28off. If you try to do that at 32off and shorter you might get you to about 3 ball and then you'll be so late, you'll never make 4. For me, I feel like I can generate all the speed and angle in the world but knowing when to stop pulling and slow it down is tough. The fear of stopping too early and running over the buoy typically makes me pull longer giving me the feeling of being narrow and fast. When I can keep my head and get my timing down, 32off falls easily. If not, even 28off can feel difficult.

If I don't drive something regularly, I always turn it on for a second or two before cranking. In my mind, it's more of a systems check of the electronics before cranking. I think worst case scenario is you have to crank an extra second or two even if your fuel rail does lose it's prime.

Cool idea but it's hard to get behind something that's almost a direct copy of the Reflex design, uses cheaper/inferior 3D printing over carbon fiber and costs more. Don't get me wrong, 3D printing is awesome but let's face it, it's not as durable as aluminum and not as strong as carbon fiber. I don't think bending the toe piece is really a concern but sliding over the ski like I've done several times doesn't look friendly with either the toe piece or all the 3D printed edges and corners. If it was $300, I'd probably tell people looking for a new binding to consider it over Reflex if price was a factor. As it stands though, I can't see any reason why anyone would want to spend $495 when you can get a tried and true Reflex for as little as $383 and the mac daddy version from Reflex for $466. Last but not least...I feel like HO has come up with some cool and interesting concepts in their high end bindings over the last 5+ years but I also feel like they've all been a bit half baked with more gimmick and less engineering logic.

I'm with you. I only run 32off maybe 25% of the time. I see two things and both of them are bad habits and suck a lot to fix. You've got an aggressive turn and pull out but you ride your back foot pretty hard throughout the whole course. It feels secure but when you don't have a lot of weight on your front foot, the ski slips down course more and you end up narrow at the next buoy no matter how hard you try and pull. Start by trying it on open water and just start with riding behind the boat and then progress to a turn in...If you can't confidently ride, in good form (key ingredient), with a little more weight on your front foot, it could be ski setup preventing you from doing what you need to do. Think front knee bent over your toe with your hips forward and shoulders back. The other thing I see is a visual problem. I do it every year at the beginning. It's a confidence thing and not knowing how your ski will react is the culprit. You ski fairly upright in your turns which means you're pretty much skiing until your brain tells you that you can definitely make it around the buoy. Look at the 28off pass...you practically ride flat until you reach the buoy line. The problem is by that point, you can't slow down fast enough and you end up down course and/or 4-5 feet wide at the buoy. Let that ski cast out and use the aggressive edge change to slow you down. Maybe try it a few times with the buoys as low as you can get them just in case you hit one.

@fu_man You are correct. I was looking at barefoot suits. Crap! Almost 4 weeks down the crapper. Totally my fault for not reading but I do despise clicking on sizing information on vests only for it to take me to the barefoot suits section which is in blue with a picture of a blue vest right above it. It is a little deceptive...

So I was stoked today to get my first Eagle vest. Went to go try it on and it made me feel like I was trying to put on a youth vest. My chest is 40.5" under the armpits which lines up to a Medium on their site but there is probably an 8" gap between the zippers. I know most comp vests stretch a little when they're wet but that's a lot of stretching... Is this normal?

Yes any colored hydroturf will fade like crazy even if it's always covered. Colored Blacktip will hold the color considerably better. However, Blacktip is a little more slick. Hydroturf has a grip level closer to wet concrete and Blacktip has a grip level more like wet wood. Both are more than adequate for grip but there is definitely a difference. Any EVA foam will degrade fairly quickly and turn grainy and nasty if you don't cover your boat when you aren't using it. All the ones I've used sand really easily and if one is too slick, some 80 grit sandpaper will give it more grip.

Hydroturf is a leader in water sports EVA foam because they help support it but long term quality is a bit substandard in my book. Blacktip is cheaper, has pressure sensitive adhesive, and doesn't fade and deteriorate as fast. If you want something thicker and softer you can also use the puzzle piece gym mats but you'll have more seams. I used them all and they all have their place. If you can't find what you want out of those 3, just google EVA foam and you may be able to find exactly what you want.

A good point was brought up about the driver position. The RLX has pretty terrible position. At full speed skiing, it's not too bad. Trick or wakeboard speed and you're looking through a 2-3" letterbox between the dash and the windshield frame. You're also so deep in the cockpit that you basically have no airflow even when the boat is moving. I added some 3" tall aluminum rectangles between the seat rail and seat and the position is much much better. I think it cost me around $20-$30 from onlinemetals and took a couple hours.

@Than_Bogan That's the feather frame version. They do make an aluminum frame or at least they used to. I never cared because the feather is plenty strong. I slotted mine and continued using it for 3-4 years before replacing it with another feather when the first one finally started tearing. Radar makes quite a few of their standard boots with that style of frame.