RGilmore

How long ago was this purchase? 1 week... 1 month... 1 year... 1 decade...?

+1

When I saw the post on Instagram I took a quick look to see if it had been originally posted on April 1. Then, when that didn't appear to be the case, I simply chalked it up to the ganga.

I see what I consider to be two unfortunate results of a flawed "preturn" (do we even use that term anymore?): 1) In the first frame you're near or right at the apex of the turn, and your left hand is kinda half to the inside and half forward, which leads to the second frame where the handle is almost back to your right hand and the turn is nowhere near completed. The result is gonna be no finish, no angle, and a slack hit. 2) Your left hip is back a bit, but more importantly it's not even slightly engaged in the turning process. You want to turn the ski with your inside hip, not your shoulders. All of what you're experiencing here is a direct result of not carrying enough potential energy ("load") up to the release of your right hand to allow the ski to cast outward into a wide apex. The fix starts back at the first wake, which we can't see here. Mr. Coke is right; you need to make use of video, and maybe video coaching (givego).

Tony Lightfoot certainly seems to have his critics on this board. However, as it has been said, "a critic is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." So there's that.

When your lift is lowered as far as you will ever need it to be (assumes non-fluctuating water level) is there very much cable left on the reel? if so, shorten your cable appropriately - as each new layer of cable wraps onto the reel its diameter become effectively larger, thereby reducing the mechanical advantage of your gearbox. This is why overhead lifts wind the cable onto a pipe rather than a reel.

@lpskier I think you may have intuitively (or inadvertently) hit on the reason the OP's local govt (and others) want some of the buoys to be reflective - they're probably concerned about night boaters getting tangled up in the buoys because they can't see them. Now it's starting to make a little sense...

I doubt you care too much about doing a great job of applying the reflective coating, but if you DO this may be of interest. Its called "Hydro Dipping" or "Hydrographics", and I'll bet you could have printed clear overlays with a highly reflective "dot" for the top dead center of the buoy, and apply them yourself. There are LOTS of videos showing DIY methods.

@Hortion I'll bet JLP does.

@Horton I was attending a non-tournament waterski event at Bell Aqua in the mid-90's that involved Kris Lapoint, and I got to take a look at his then current ski. The only thing I remember about the ski is that he had filled the bottom gap around his fin with Bondo (autobody filler) and carefully smoothed it flush to the ski bottom. Took me years to fully understand what he was accomplishing with that mod.

One aspect no one has mentioned is, if your thick fin fits the slot in the ski "snuggly", then the thin one will not fit snuggle (duh). So the thick fin will be flexing over a shorter length - since it's anchored edge will be the bottom of the ski. On the other hand, with the thin fin it's anchored edge will be the bottom of the fin block, allowing flex over a greater length. Depending on the tail thickness, this difference alone could allow even more flex differential than the mere thickness difference between the two fins. THEN, there's also the question of alloys - i.e., are both fins made of identical material, OR do they have different moduli of elasticity?

Why not fabricate a "stepped" adapter plate for just the back end area we see in the photo? It would bolt on top of the feather frame with flat-head screws coming UP through the FF and the adapter plate, going into stainless locknuts on top - the flat heads being countersunk into the bottom of the FF. The thicker section would be just past the back of that FF plate, and have two holes that align with the existing inserts. The flat head screws coming from under the FF (I think there should be 4 of those) can be moved to different holes to allow fore/aft adjustment. OR you could have two slotted holes in the adapter plate for the two insert locations, relying on the front screws (toe end) in the FF for fixed locating purposes. Hopefully that's clear enough that you, or someone more handy than you, can fabricate such an adapter plate. I would anticipate the adapter plate might be as wide as the feather frame and maybe 2.5" - 3" long. Made out of G-10, the thin section might be around 1/16" thick and the thick part would be that 1/16" PLUS the thickness of the FF.

Through the second wake and out to the buoy line you need to focus rising on up with your hips forward - don't let them fall back, or you're done. As you approach the ball you want to focus on rising up as tall and hips-forward balanced on your ski as possible. then, at the correct moment you simply drive your inside hip forward and over your front foot while you simultaneously release your inside hand and allow the ski to cast outward to appex. As your ski snaps around you should try to delay grabbing the handle until your ski has passed under the rope and your outside hip has skied back to the handle. At that moment you hook up and remained solidly stacked through the wakes on to your next turn. All of this is much simpler than it sounds and is super easy... to write.

@skihart - If you're planning on wet storage, make the floor a fiberglass shower pan - new is cheap, used is cheaper. If your locker is on a dock, over water, put a fine screen in the shower drain (keeps bugs & mice out) and let your drippings go straight through the dock cracks into the lake. If not over the water run a simple drain pipe to a convenient runoff location, kinda like your roof gutters. Your locker floor will always be dry, along with your wet gear.

@AZ_AB_Skier Yes. PM me.