eleeski

I struggled with my first hardshells on a slalom ski. Starts, performance, buoy count - everything but comfort. So I abandoned the hardshell idea (for slalom). I demoed a ski with Fogman hardshells and loved it. The boots had been ground so there was easy fore aft movement. So I tried my slalom hardshells again with no pins and some grinding to allow more forward movement and loved the hardshells after that. Look carefully at your shells to see whether you can adjust or modify them to allow more forward flex. For the rear shell, a lot of people have removed the top cuff completely and there are factory offerings like that. On another note, after hip surgery, I could barely get up. I was profoundly weak for a surprisingly long time. After an injury, you lose strength. Once you recover, too often you dial back the physical therapy. It takes a long time to rebuild strength. Get back with a physical therapist and follow the rehab program religiously. Getting up is actually very difficult and demanding of strength. Eric

Much has changed in the tricking world in 20 years. Ski design, materials, bindings, the non stretch ropes, the boats we ski behind, the tricks we do, the coaching - almost everything. The new equipment IS better. Go all in with a new ski and hardshell. Regarding size, 43" is certainly not too big for you. I'm lighter than you and ski a 45" ski FWIW. Hardshell boots allow more edge control and more fore aft control. This allows you to manage a bigger ski and faster speeds. Plus they are comfortable for the hour long sets tricking needs. And they have reasonably safe release characteristics (note that if you are doing flips you might not want any release). Also note that trickers often prefer boots that are stiffer than a slalom hardshell. You may need a different shell than your slalom setup. The speed is determined by the tricks you want to do and the boat you will ski behind in a tournament. Flips like the harder wakes that more speed offers (don't go too much faster than 20mph as the trick course will only accommodate 23mph). The table is variable with speed and boat (with the ballast figured out). The wakes of the current boats you will get in a tournament seem better at slightly higher speeds. The ski designs reflect this and work well at the higher speeds. Any speed adjustments need a corresponding rope length adjustment (usually longer for faster speeds). Note that different boats call for different rope lengths - make sure you get time behind the tournament boat before the tournament! All the new skis ski well. Demo as many as you can and pick the one you like best. Eric

Very cool Marcus! I missed you at Palisades yesterday but I did get a glimpse of your latest project. I saw Scott Gaffney riding Shane McConkey's Stinger jump skis with alpine bindings in the powder. Waterski crossover to other sports - great fun! Eric

Note that this ski predates my use of boron fibers so it won’t hold up for flips. Eric

Zippy, are you giving up tricking? Make sure the ski goes to a good home and creates a top skier! Eric

Here are the technical reasons for new equipment: Ski dimension rules changed from prehistoric times. Modern skis can be wider. So they have less drag and catch edges less. They are also more stable. Lots of positives for modern equipment. Wider skis might be harder to edge to attack the wake. Edging can be engineered into the ski but that kind of defeats the advantage of the width - it’s a balance of characteristics (which is why I don’t like the first Radars - they edged wonderfully for the experts but were too catchy for developing skiers. They changed the design to a more beginner friendly feel and now get my enthusiastic recommendation.). Instead of messing with the ski design, hardshell bindings allow a skier to edge much more effectively. Hardshells on a trick ski are totally different from a slalom setup - so don’t let your slalom experience prejudice a trick choice. Wiley bindings might support and edge as well and be more durable and cheaper but they are heavier, harder to release and way less comfortable than hardshells. There’s a reason almost all the skiers at Nationals are using hardshells. The bindings @RT1 referenced are reasonable beginner bindings. SDSU and UCLA use them for the team trick skis and develop lots of quality skiers. With proper bungee tension they are fairly safe, comfortable and fit well. Eventually you’ll need a hardshell but this is a decent slalom binding as well. Tricking is a lot more fun with good equipment - and safer. Eric

Forget all this nonsense. Get her a modern ski (D3 Custom X, Quantum, new Radar or KD) with a hardshell. These skis are available used or on sale (do be careful, the early Radars catch edges so don’t cheap out too much). Old rubber boots have some dangerous properties for tricking. Her health is more important than saving a couple bucks (and cheaper in the long run). Tricking is fun - if you aren’t taking painful falls. The modern equipment really is better. And a better deal. Eric

Big project! Absolutely worthy. Enjoy the build. Are you going to add ZO? Some things did improve with time. Old boats with ZO are magic. Do you have a link to the RCB build? Eric

@BKistler I’m hoping to see you and @Horton in Spain! Eric

You still are a tricker. I believe you have qualified for Master’s Men tricks. A couple standup L tournament performances and you probably could qualify for Senior Worlds in trick. Maybe you need me to coach you. Enjoy tricking! Eric

The Prostar 197 was a victim of a PR campaign against its slalom wake - despite many phenomenal slalom performances and development of slalom skiers behind the boat. It was also the trick boat of choice. I was trying hard to “improve” the slalom wake and preserve the hull for tricks. Inspired by the Malibu wedge I tried another crazy experiment. See attached photo. No complaints about the rust as it’s been sitting in the mud for several years. The welds were always ugly but they held together. This mod massively improved the slow speed wake. It was a plate set deeper in the water below the back of the hull. The idea was to lift the back of the boat and flatten the wake. It did that! Except at 34 or 36mph it lifted the rooster tail right into the skier’s path - at those speeds it was unskiable. By this time, Mastercraft was developing the new hull so designing and building the needed mechanism to easily add or remove this tab (plate or wedge) was probably going to be in vain. So this mod failed. Eric

Read @Broussard ‘s link. A new prop was part of the project. The boat has a LOT of use (abuse?) since the experiment. Eric

It’s called the “canoe paddle “. And it rocks! Eric

The hole allows air to be sucked into the prop. This affects the prop wash and rooster tail. Offshore boat racers use the surface piercing Arneson drive to aerate the prop and improve the efficiency and speed. This was the inspiration for the mod. I used the boat for a few years with the mod. I can’t remember what was wrong with the front hole (it’s plugged) but the back hole noticeably softened the slalom wake. So I kept it in service. When I got my new boat, we gave the boat to the UCLA ski team to use. They used it for a few years - with the bubbler. I’m not sure what happened to the prop but the engine died (cracked block from freezing). Waiting for the time and money to convert it to electric. Will probably leave the bubbler in. Eric

The bubbler. It worked well to soften the slalom wake.