2tracmind

When my Dad bought me my first waterski, an O'Brien Competitor, I was so excited I kept in my bunk bed at the cottage for the first week. I still remember the excitement.

A have followed a boat detailer on YouTube whom gives some great videos on terribly oxidized hulls. He recommends 3m heavy cut then 3m perfect it exac and then fireglaze pluse as a sealant. Using 303 regularly may also be helpful. His YouTube channel is "Local boydidgood".Good luck.

I place an rv dehumidifier and moisture absorber in my bow and storage locker to prevent the mold from forming.

I'm cheering for Joel Howley, it's his first tournament outside of Australia since his world championship in Malaysia. If you have watched his YouTube videos of him coaching young skiers you can't help but be in his corner. Go Aussie!!

Our ski group was just talking about this on the weekend. The tug of war body position BUT your not trying to win against the other team/boat, your looking to fight to a draw. Is that how you see it twhisper?

Assuming your ski was well dialed in before the change you could notice a loss in performance. The foot bed thickness of the front and rear boot should match unless you have one leg that is noticeably different.

Solid advice above. I have compression of the L4-5, L5-S1, "jelly has left the DONUT" due to previous sporting injuries. I keep my core and spine strong and mobile. I switched from double boots to a rtp for performance reasons 10 years ago. Three seasons ago I did a set on a buddies new vapor with double boots, skied well but realized how much more load you take on deep water starts than with one foot out. Then had a 3 hr drive home. Got out of the car and my posture was similar to Quasimodo, it took a week to get straightened out. Keep your hair dry and switch to the rtp one foot start.

All the above is good technical advice and I am in agreement with T_C, your ski setup needs to be safer so these "smack you upside the head" falls don't happen. Good Luck.

Jercane - I agree for sure with the fluidity in alpine skiing. My comment was more related to be confused with the trouble many waterskiers have crossing the wake and perhaps alpine skiing has assisted me in managing the pressures we feel through the legs. By extending/pushing as we approach the wakes makes crossing them more difficult and probably amplifies a body alignment position that is biased to the tail of the ski. 8 passes (successful ones) is 48 turns, that's a warm up run in alpine. We will have 500 turns in well before lunch.... That's why we struggle to break habits or progress. Golf anyone?

I am in agreement with this. I have many more miles ( hundreds more) on alpine skis than waterskis. Attacking the wakes regardless of the size has never been a problem of mine (I have many others..). I have always been a bit confused when decent skiers struggle and complain of wake size. I believe my alpine skiing experience and managing the changing pressures on snow has allowed me to do this easily. When I heard Joel's explanation in a YouTube late last fall it made sense to me. The "tensing" of the muscles is what is called an "isometric muscle contraction"

If you look really closely you can see that all 4 of the Professional skiers are very OPEN... open TOE piece that is. Case closed, you should ski OPEN.

I skied a rtp until 10 years ago quite effectively for limited water time (32 off, 4 at 35) then got a new ski and needed new boots so the upgrade to double was only 60 dollars so what the heck,, almost everyone seems to doubles so why not there must be an advantage. Finally got some video 5 years ago and "ugh" a became very back footed. Switched back to rtp and quickly felt in better position and more athletic. I believe if you can run 35's or better than it is personal preference but i have not seen a single skier on double boots below that level that does not push the ski around with the back foot or who's body position is too far back. IMHO. The rtp needs some personal tailoring/tinkering/adjusting so the fit is right.

I Agree. I find it quite painful to listen to someone giving feedback and coaching when the "Mixing of Buckets" occurs. This frustration is only eclipsed by the coaching the mistake that ends a pass ( i.e. 2 ball ) and not picking up the small changes or mistakes that occurred earlier in the pass vs their successful passes. The "Simple & Obscure" in my opinion is linked to "Rhythm and Timing" which is the key to identifying good passes from bad passes or even a brilliant set vs a bad set. A small deviation on your gate pull out intensity at your hardest pass that you can run maybe all it takes to not complete the pass BUT you might get to five ball and identify the mistake as a bad 4 ball turn.

Great question, I anticipate the top 10 on any given Sunday will be closer with more run offs between 2 or more skiers. Sentimental pick - Will Asher, Patriotic pick - JMac O Canada !!

This is great information,,, I am thinking of this as the "New Stack". For the last 4-5 years i have been stubbornly focused on my stacked position with good progress in my body position but not equivalent progress in slalom scores. A big "light bulb " moment occurred early this spring when snow skiing. I was skiing our favorite run on the mountain, scary steep " double black diamond", one where if you fall your sliding to the bottom of the run. My feeling when i am snow skiing steep terrain is that my head and shoulders are leading me down the hill, as if i am pitching myself down the mountain,, otherwise your in the back seat and on the tails. Two days later I read GUT skiing with efficiency and " Wholly S---" I realized I had developed a solid stack BUT it was a "STACK vs BOAT" and not a "STACK vs SKI". The Fall Line comparison speaks to me,, Thank you ADAMS.