MISkier

@Horton, there are now published schedules per event, per lake, per day, with skier running orders on www.waterskiresults.com.

This is a shot of the Saturday Main Lake schedule.

I’m not sure when they will be released, but you should be able to see them at www.waterskiresults.com.  When you go to the Nationals item, there will be a “Publish Results” link.  That should have the running orders in PDF form when they are ready.

One of my ski buddies, who is a promo driver, bought one after I sent him the original video last year.  He is very happy with how easy and effective it is, especially refueling during tournaments.   I think it might be better than the shaker hose as well.

What @6ballssaid.  
 

Regarding the wedge, I’ve surfed mine with a wedge and a couple of strategically placed passengers.  With some ballast bags and maybe a wake shaper, it would be even better.

@MitchellM, did you determine if they had the Z-box upgrade on the PerfectPass?

@MitchellM, this is a private ski lake (one boat at a time), 34/-35, oldest bow occupant is a 15 year old weighing about 90 pounds, all USCG vests on the kids.

Edit:  I'm driving, not skiing.

@MitchellM, I think it's possible to use the bow seating safely, depending on the size of the occupants, the water conditions, and the driver's awareness of bow management when decelerating or encountering rollers.

I wouldn't put any large people in that bow and you absolutely must be aware of how the nose dips when slowing down or stopping.  Finally, any occupants of the bow must be seated correctly.

Many of the incidents also involve poor driving skills (essentially recklessness and/or lack of common sense) and no attention to safety.  A bad driver can even make it unsafe to sit in the observer's seat if they really try.

11 minutes ago, Broussard said:

The issue with these "cutout bows" or step-overs (no walkthrough) is that there really isn't anywhere for the water to go when the bow fills up - totally different than say a 200 with a walkthrough.

@Broussard, the bow is not sealed off from the rest of the boat in my 2009 Malibu LX.  It is open beneath the bow seat and there is a substantial path for water to flow under that right into the back of the boat.  It will drain and fairly quickly.

If it is PerfectPass StarGazer and has the Z-box upgrade, it is intended to be as close to Zero Off as you can get without drive-by-wire and the eControls ECM.

I'm not a good judge on the market.  A few Response closed bow of similar vintage are on Ski-It-Again in the mid-to-upper 20s.  Given its excellent condition and assuming it is mechanically sound (drives/skis well), maybe something in the 20K to 25K range would be appropriate.  Check to see if the PerfectPass is StarGazer (and maybe even Z-box).  I didn't see a GPS puck in the pictures, though.

The letter in the Date of Manufacture is the month (B= February) and the number is the last number of the year.  

The model year in the example would be 2006.

I have a 2009.  Drives great and skis very well - I have video of 34/-22 through 34/-32 if you want to see the wake.

But, my boat does not have the bow rails and it has Zero Off (the boat in the pictures has PerfectPass).  I am questioning the year of your boat as well, due to those differences.  Plus, I had thought it would have the catalytic converters as well and the picture does not look like they are present.

Check the hull identification number.  It will tell the month and year it was made.

Your score at Regionals has no adverse impact on your Nationals qualifications as long as you attend Regionals and achieve skiing position.

The QFY-RPR indicator shows you are qualified for Nationals pending that Regional participation.  The OK qualifier shows how you qualified.

I think your qualification occurred because your high score at some point exceeded the level 8 cutoff average for your division, although the current level 8 cutoff average for your division is higher than your scores.  The 86 you received tonight (I was also there and saw it from shore) was great skiing.

@scoke, I could be wrong, but he seems to be in the 5' 10'  to 5' 11" neighborhood, from my recollection standing next to him on the dock.

@Wish,

And, he trains in Michigan's abbreviated season.

If I recall correctly, this should tie the Midwest Tournament Record for M3, which predates ZO and Sure-Path.  Awesome skiing!

Edited:  One thing I forgot:  his opener was -38.

I don’t think they are users on BOS, but it was incredibly awesome of the owners of Hidden Lake to host the event.  It is an absolutely amazing site.  Great conditions and we saw some new faces from the public lake scene running passes there.

Here is the rule.  Basically, the qualifying tournaments for your National Ranking average are any class C or above (including Regional Championships or other E,L,R sanctioned tournaments).

A skier may also qualify for Nationals after the Cut Off Date by increasing his Ranking List Average above the Level 8 Cut Off Average for his respective event and division between the Cut Off Date and Nationals; or by attaining a score equal to or greater than the Level 8 Cut Off Average for his respective event and division at the Regional Tournament or at any class C or above event between the Cut-Off Date and the first day of Nationals or by being ranked Level 8 at any point between the Cut-Off Date and the first day of Nationals.

I believe you also receive qualification for a podium finish at this year's Regionals or a podium finish at the prior Nationals.

The top five non-elite-qualified skiers in each age division or overall at the current year’s Regionals or previous year’s Nationals shall qualify for Nationals.

If you are not qualified now, you basically need to raise your average or get at least one score above the level 8 cutoff score.  Then, you must attend a Regionals and achieve skiing position to be able to attend Nationals.  You also could attend Regionals (assuming you qualify for that, but didn't have a level 8 average or score) and achieve a podium finish or score above the level 8 cutoff to qualify for Nationals.

There is one other way that you could achieve a level 8 average without increasing your own scores.  If your current average is close to level 8 and the scores of your division suddenly lower the level 8 cutoff score before the first day of Nationals such that your average exceeds it, you would qualify.  Of course, this would depend on a sudden influx of novice skiers posting scores that reduce the level 8 cutoff average score.  And, you would still have had to attend Regionals and achieve skiing position.

@Drago, that is possible, as I know they did change the behavior of the plus setting (supposedly to be like "Trick mode") in Rev S.  I have not seen the chart on Rev S and it may have eliminated or altered the additional gate speed.  The current Driver Clinic materials do not have the newer chart and still just cover Rev R.

@Drago, the ZO plus setting will give you a hot gate speed and let you pull it down into one ball.  Regular ZO has a .8% above set speed factor for the gate.  The plus setting has a 1.6% above set speed for the gate, essentially doubling the amount over actual that ZO will bring you into the gate.

It's true that the plus setting also does a lot of other things to the responsiveness of ZO at every buoy as well, but it does affect the gate in the manner you mentioned.

There is one tomorrow and one on 6/16.  The link below will download a PDF of the officials clinic calendar.

https://www.teamusa.org/-/media/USA_Waterski/Resources/For-Officials/OfficialsClinics.pdf?la=en&hash=C7576C2EF573DC5A8E974C10290CD4A3B74BE4C2

Yes, the performances and history of the team are certainly mysterious.  Who would have thought a college which attracted pro skiers (and/or talented skiers nearing pro level) with offers of scholarships, facilities, equipment, funding, and year round training conditions would produce skiers who would then return to the pro circuit and achieve high placement?

@dammeyer11 might have the answer on their windblock.

22 hours ago, HMan66 said:

And I do take video and I see the same things. I guess my point is more: What keeps us from progressing when we know the problem and the solution? 

@HMan66, I think one of the hurdles to progressing is finding the correct replacement behavior.  Often, we will look at our videos and see something we are doing and think (or are told) "Don't do that".  While that is technically the solution, I think it may be more difficult to adopt if you do not actively introduce the replacement behavior as something other than trying to resist not doing something.  I think the key is to ask what you should be doing instead and, many times, what you should have been doing well before you saw the issue.  Sometimes, the problem manifests itself in something you did or didn't do before the point in time you noticed the problem.

Goode is having a Demo Day on June 17, 2023 at Tivoli Gardens in Gaines, Michigan.  Martin Kolman will be there with the Goode line of skis.