ozski

I loved the new Nautique at first. We had it (the same boat) again leading up to Moomba this year and something in the setup had changed and it was a pig to drive by comparison. I adjusted the trim and either ran with the Bimini angled way down at the front or took it off. We also had weight in the middle in front of the ski pole and it was a different boat, really really nice to drive but not planted like a 200. It certainly does not track like a 200 or even a 196 but its a very good drive just the same, shame about the price but if I had the money it would be my first choice. I still think its next level and seeing the course record go down at Moomba twice is probably not coincidence. Some big scores have gone down behind it. :)

With the CG fin drag is nothing more than a state of tune, mine is wicked fast side to side by comparison to a stock KD fin. It took a week of tinkering to find the right balance between feeling good at -32 and then doing its job at 38/39 The asymmetrical properties are not to be underestimated either so its going to be interesting to see how the two very different products compare.

Yeah it changed quickly but for some reason Sacha got a re ride which was total bullshit. If it was that bad then why even start T-Gas. Currents and bad conditions are very much a part of Moomba and everything was in order when Sacha went out.

Pigozzi ties the course record first time out at Moomba, that boy is a serious talent. Asher then goes to 5@41 new course record.. I wonder how much the new Nautique is helping, there has been some great first round scores!

Bring it. And let Jacinta have a crack at the male jumpers too.

There has been some press recently about transgender athletes and how they are classified. Martina Navratilova has been dealing with some heat for suggesting a transgender athlete would have an unfair advantage which got me thinking about how water skiing might deal with T-Gas putting on a wig one day and smashing the womens slalom record or Ryan putting on a skirt and smashing the womens jump record - sounds crazy but the way we are heading this sort of scenario might just play out one day. Imagine how you feel as the record holder that gets broken... crazy world. I wonder if the drugs in sport rule could or should be used in some way.. Martina Navratilova, the former world number one tennis champion, has apologised for suggesting athletes who “cynically change gender” to win trophies in women’s sports would be “cheating”. Navratilova, a long-term champion of equality in sport, said she was sorry for causing offence by the use of the word “cheat”, but stood by her concerns about transgender athletes in competitive sport. After being accused of transphobia, she was dropped as an ambassador of an LGBT group which condemned her “deeply troubling comments” calling for further debate of the physical advantages of athletes born as men competing against women. Other female sports stars including swimmer Sharron Davies have increasingly come forward to support an open debate about athletes born in male bodies competing with women, warning that in “some sports it could be truly dangerous”. “To protect women’s sport, those with a male sex advantage should not be able to compete in women’s sport,” Davies said. The comments and apology have followed furious debate over the issue of transgender people in sport, with Navratilova the highest-profile athlete so far to call for rules which ensure “girls and women who were born female are competing on as level a playing field as possible within their sport”. After first airing her thoughts on Twitter earlier this year, Navratilova wrote in a newspaper: "To put the argument at its most basic: a man can decide to be female, take hormones if required by whatever sporting organisation is concerned, win everything in sight and perhaps earn a small fortune, and then reverse his decision and go back to making babies. “It's insane and it's cheating." In a blog post, she has now described how she “certainly stumbled into a hornets’ nest”, receiving a “barrage of quite nasty personal attacks”. “I know that my use of the word ‘cheat’ caused particular offence among the transgender community,” she said. “I’m sorry for that because I certainly was not suggesting that transgender athletes in general are cheats. “I attached the label to a notional case in which someone cynically changes gender, perhaps temporarily, to gain a competitive advantage. “We should not be blind to the possibility and some of these rules are making that possible and legal.” She added: “What I really wanted to do was try to open up the debate about equality and fairness in relation to transgender participation in women’s sport. “There were too many voices that were silenced and shamed into submission and that is not right. “My aim was to encourage a more scientific, rather than emotional, conversation and to search for a solution that would work better than current arrangements. “I was motivated by concern about the future of women’s sport and my worry that by trying to be fair and inclusive for one group, others can be adversely affected, that eliminating one kind of discrimination can inadvertently give rise to another.” Saying it was “obvious that men have certain inherent physiological advantages over women”, Navratilova called for “fair and open discussions can be held without preconceptions or prejudice, and without people being vilified as ‘transphobic’”. Sportswomen including Dame Kelly Holmes, Sally Gunnell and Paula Radcliffe have joined discussion of the issue on their social media platforms, sharing news reports and calling for further debate.

500lbs is not a trivial amount of weight, its a long way heavier than all the other boats.

More room, much better controls yeah I would pick the new model.

And still Nautique is dragging tournament skiers in a direction they really don't need to go in. Kill the affordable option and then deliver a product 3% of the market can afford. Genius.

Find a Moomba skier

Ok my mistake price is $199 on the fin. https://www.denaliskis.com/online-store/ Still worth it.

Jody is correct about the Moomba boats being pre sold and it highlights my point as I've heard they sold at a heavily discounted price (130k or thereabouts). Meanwhile the first boat that came into the country is unsold almost a full year after it landed here. And yes the nine people that are left here in Australia that can afford the new boat should just get on with skiing. The upward price trend is disturbing as we here in Australia are possibly only a few years away from a 200k RRP... Its time for a new player to emerge.

We all want to improve so where is the best place to spend your money to increase your buoy count? Coaching lessons - $60 - $90 a set and more often than not good value and you always come away with something to focus on. Even if you go backwards to move forward. Equipment - New ski - $1500 upwards - Getting a new ski is nice but it does not always mean better skiing, it does not hurt to skip a year here and there. $1500 = a lot of coaching Equipment - New boots - $300 upwards - Boots and the way they are setup can have a big impact on how you ski and safety so investing in the best setup you can afford is a no brainer. Equipment - Denali CG Fin - $150 - Possibly the best investment to performance gain in dollar terms going around right now for shortline skiers. Equipment - New Boat - $100,000 ish - Nothing to see here sorry Physical Conditioning - $0 - very little - For some skiers getting in shape and dropping some weight will deliver a significant gain at a low cost. Do it. Private Lake - Good training conditions help a lot, a private lake is a sound investment and a must have. :) Beer - It helps you forget the money you wasted so whilst not actually a performance gain it can help reset your brain after a bad day at the lake and some of us need that.

@"sandviksland@hotmail.com now its just becoming spammy mate, pretty sure most people here know how to follow a link the first time they see it.

New Malibu is seriously on the nose in Australia, from what I understand the latest iteration skis a lot better than the first release. A lot of tourney guys I talk to are not happy with it. I don't think its the same engine as the US boat.

Fixed :) That was a pre coffee typo. But seriously at 170k I can't see how it fits, ski schools can't make it work. I can't see how there will be enough volume around to get a set behind one if you needed to prepare for a tournament. Even with the base model coming in at say 130k ? its still a huge ask. Aussie exchange rate is not helping things but the door is wide open now for MC to sell a lot of boats and build a strong following in Australia. Its already happening.

Was quoted $170,000 for a loaded 2019 Ski Nautique by a local dealer. You guys stateside have it good. MC is taking over.. MC will take over...

@Booze What ski length are you on? Just curious because the Platinum is anything but slow or draggy.

Sure I'm on a 67 and I've been fine tuning around - 2.495 / 6.855 / .780 / 7 I was shorter and deeper but moving the boots slightly forward has allowed me to run a little shallower and longer which is not what I expected but its working really well.

Riding it over a year now, easily the best ski I have ever been on. Fast side to side, creates space with cracking offside turns and very stable, don't think you could want more in a ski. Takes time to find the right setup like any high end ski, the CG fin from Denali puts the icing on the cake and improves the strengths of the ski considerably. More than any ski I have been on in the past its possible to tune the KD into a state where its almost impossible to run a pass but then on the other end of the spectrum when the numbers are in the right zone nothing is better.

Put Nate behind a 2000 196 with PP on a KD CR7 and I would put money on him running a lot of -41's...

Nate has lifted the bar and with all due respect to AM the data alone tells the story. Nate is anything but big and strong, he's light and fast side to side - faster than anyone and that allows him to do what he does. As good as Andy was he was a different type of skier and that type of skier is less effective today as things stand with bigger HP and modern speed control.

Plus one on Sacha Descuns, dude gets it done and I wonder who Connelly would consider its number one skier.. Joel has a much higher profile

Modified R style is hard to beat.

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