BraceMaker

Almost seems like you should be forcing exhaust into the tube.

8 minutes ago, kmenard said:

@RAWSki I think the Tige SLM is a total sleeper boat!

I've looked at two in the last 5 years but they both had rotten stringers.  Unfortunately I feel like the people who bought then worked em hard and put them away wet.

Anyway to separately insurance the jump to mitigate the risk to the main policy?  Like a separate rider policy for the Jump ramp and the use by restricted parties?

Its such a crazy sport congrats to Jacinta on her career.

Any billionaires want to sponsor a Jacinta training center so she can run a physio/weight lifting/waterskiing training academy?

8 minutes ago, swbca said:

On the other hand, in certain falls, the two legs of the triangle on a conventional bridle can act as a guardrail to move the handle away from the neck or arm unless the neck or arm went inside the triangle as happened when I broke my arm.

 

 

Tough to say - a deep water start is possibly the most risk for this situation I'm sure we've all had someone flub a start and launch the handle.  That's something that could easily be modeled using this handle and say a trick ski release.  Set up a ski and a rope tension it and release the handle at the ski (in a tank of water) and see what happens.  I don't know that the polypro bridle is stiff enough to actually move the handle out of the way under this sort of situation.

17 hours ago, MISkier said:

@KRoundy and @JPeckham, I had the same thought about some sort of knob-shaped end to the handle.  Something like the end of a baseball bat, still with curves and rounded surfaces to avoid acting like a hook, might be a positive addition.  It would need to be subtle and not too obtrusive in size, but with enough texture to provide that feedback to the skier's hands.

Really unlike a closed bar you could use slip on grips bit of adhesive new rubber hit em with the heat gun.  

3 hours ago, Ski_Dad said:

along these lines,  did anyone else get the email about a new boat brand being released with Indmar engines?   Probably a surf boat but I don't know.

It seemed like they were going to offer that jet drive option as well.

1 hour ago, stevezie said:

To further your point, show skiing is growing in the Midwest and it’s definitely not all boomers. The problem or problems are mostly specific to competitive skiing. 

And then again show skiing doesn't usually buy these boats either.

WIth the lawsuit more likely that bankrupting would be the potential for difficulty underwriting insurance going forwards again raw speculation since they might still be making boats or perhaps they're just not going to produce the 2024s till later in the season who knows but - the "dear owner" letters and updated capacity plates scream a multiprong strategy to appease insurers likely along with some form of testing and compliance policy.  As I said raw speculation but in large corporation speak losing lawsuits usually comes hand in hand with lots of meetings and a strategy to avoid it which could easily include them testing current models as well.

HOA 21 feet or DNR 21 feet?

Watch out for HOA they measure and sometimes they dont care that the platform isnt included when someone says an Axis is 20 feet and the measuring tape comes in over 21.

http://queenesque.com/FS4.html

their templates are available here for the protractor

flag slalom calling.

Another one I'd like to try this year would be the KDskis options which might be more available in Aus than here.

47 minutes ago, rockdog said:

Ahh no, the Government will decide via legislation. The 'free' market will have to adapt.

Not like the alternative is any different energy subsidized farming subsidized automotive bailed out subsidized.

From auto bail outs to the chicken tax only toss the word "EV" out and all of a sudden its crazy world.

7 hours ago, chrislandy said:

Because of the time difference I get to watch a lot of US live events as it's late afternoon / evening generally - very hard to watch the night jumps / slalom comps live though as they are typically about 2am here

Feel your pain that time change for all the European events is real too.

From the window that's what 78 or 79?  Almost can feel the squishy floor.

I usually have them running on my phone when I'm working around the house or puttering about but I don't sit down to watch TV or sit down at the computer much unless I'm at work (which doesn't block youtube so I'll often run that on a spare monitor)

I think my biggest problem with it is that it is hard to sit and watch lots of dead air to skiing ratio but if I listen to it like listening to a baseball game on the radio I usually can pop my head up from whatever I'm doing for the good bits.

TWBC and anyone else presenting these the videos need better time stamps either someone typing into the comments a time stamp for the skiers + pertinent action moments or a companion page with that list.  I'll miss something and go back and forth and back and forth.  That's doable in the first hour of a stream but when there is a 5-8 hour long video trying to find the skier you missed or a moment is tough particularly on a phone which is how I usually consume this so it can walk around with me in my pocket on an ear bud while I work.

20 hours ago, Horton said:

@Slalom.Steve seriously -  imagine if the whole handle assembly was semi-rigid. It would eliminate some potential injuries. I am not saying it is practical but am saying it might be worth evaluation. 

You could take an old handle and using a fid insert something like PVC tubing and see what the effect was.

15 hours ago, savaiusini said:

When we first brought the Hovercraft to market, during that first photoshoot with the team, we all tried to out-do each other with how slow and how short we could ski it in the course. Don't underestimate what it can do (not just go straight). It's a super playful, very fun ski that folks of any ability can have fun on.

Its a tough ski to categorize I will swear up and down how stinking fun it is to ride.  But I don't use mine at all behind the ski boat.

And that's because if the lake is calm we have 2 ski boats we divide up and go skiing, if the lake is rough we have a pontoon and we load that up with people and go out on the lake.  In the first during the times of day that the lake is accessible I'm going to use the water to take a set and ski, and pull guests skiing (for which we use the hovercraft quite a bit) but once that wraps up for the day and the lake starts to get choppy the hovercraft goes on the pontoon and in ways it is just about as fun to rip back and forth behind the pontoon as it is to rip back and forth behind the ski boat.

If someone can ever make a pontoon track its a perfect choppy water event, and similar to slippery slalom on a trick ski something very unique about the hovercraft is that you do get forced into fundamental line management.

To describe the hovercraft, on a 67" behind a 24' pontoon boat with a 75 horsepower engine at ~190 lbs I use a trick style handle with the braid and as the pontoon boat taking out the slack if I grab that braid and pull I'm up the driver then just goes.

Its not so much a deep water start as enough ski to just stand on.

Best spot I've found is a shelf above the garage doors if you have a bit of clearance up there, out of the way but easy to get do and if you park a boat in the garage you can load the stuff you want right into the boat. 

Oh I've plenty of stuff that's never failed on me *knocks on wood* but when it does I find it hard to mentally return to that gear. 

@Horton funny I was thinking of all the gear I've ever used that's injured me in any sport from the waterski that broke my leg to the hockey skates that broke my ankle or the rifle that decided to blow up in my face and all of those things were immediately discontinued from my usage.

@ToddK I suspect the HO Syndicate Work 01 "cross linked structural foam core" that's a cut above PVC is also probably PMI.

2 hours ago, swbca said:

Without release boots, in the very rare event of an serious injury I will probably just equip my boat with the best tools for cutting boots or removing boots from the ski.  Such as @BraceMaker and @503Kento have suggested.  

 

I've had the joy of having a broken femur and having to hug my knee with a wiggly thigh and push the boot off my heel.  It sucked terribly.

Had there been a scissor in the boat atleast the overlays could have been cut off.  With the new Radar Vapor boot you could cut the boat string.

With the MOB the toe of the rear shell can extend onto the mid plate block so you can get them tight together.

Honestly what you are describing is the reason to have some good medical scissors in the boat.  Cut the overlay.