boarditup

Loads of development in materials and design since back then - about the same as automotive design. Get a new ski, rope, gloves, etc. and don't look back on the earlier gear. Personally, I like the Radar Senate, but there are a lot of good skis out there that are easy to ride, easy on the older body, and make chasing buoys fun.

The Ball State University Waterski and Wakeboard Team is seeking to borrow a portable slalom course for an event in Indianapolis, IN, late August 2019. Sunday will be the slalom portion of the competition but we will need it there on Thursday for setup. If anyone can make this happen for us, please call or text me at 616 530 0442.

Any clubs or skiers looking for a third around Chicago or Northwest Indiana? Sold the boat and still want to ski.

Sean Murray - he has performed this several times for photo shoots. He is also a former 3-event skier and a very accomplished tricker. Good man - very personable.

Complete bolt, nut, and washer replacement with appropriate coating of high-temperature anti-seize is highly recommended.

EZ-slalom - major supporter of BOS and tournament skiing. Nice to give back at a value.

How I corrected this issue is by working on handle control. I actually tried to take my right hand and place it on my left hip after rounding the buoy. This helps force the body into a more aligned position that is stronger heading into the first wake. This is un-natural, but will pay off after a few passes and you can get into a more natural body position. This is a training drill that you won't duplicate in more advanced course skiing - it is just a way to have your muscle memory learn something new.

Slalom geeks.... Just ride.

Don't use salt treated wood. It will eat away at anything metal. I beveled the ends of the boards where they contact the boat, and especially at the stern. As my hull was stepped, I also put a 1/4" thick sheet of solid neoprene rubber on the top of the board and glued/screwed it down.

Heel side and toe side have been used in slalom since I started in the '70's. Essentially, HS and TS are skateboarding and surfing terminology that carried over from one sport to the next. It does have everything to do with your front foot - same as virtually every other board sport - and slalom is just another board sport. We are just riding a highly specialized board over the water at planning speeds.

I highly recommend a northern boat. The interiors have much less sun damage and the short season typically forces a compressed maintenance cycle. Many northern boats only have 80-100 hours per season. In Michigan, a day's drive away, there are typically many boats for sale - look at Craigslist around Grand Rapids, Traverse City, Flint, and Detroit. If you find one, throw it out on the board here and see if someone can perform a look-see for you so you don't waste time on a boat with obvious issues.

I highly recommend a northern boat. The interiors have much less sun damage and the short season typically forces a compressed maintenance cycle. Many northern boats only have 80-100 hours per season. In Michigan, a day's drive away, there are typically many boats for sale - look at Craigslist around Grand Rapids, Traverse City, Flint, and Detroit. If you find one, throw it out on the board here and see if someone can perform a look-see for you so you don't waste time on a boat with obvious issues.

Ty Oppenlander's family has a private site in Lawton, just South of K-zoo. They don't have an "open" sign on the fence, but they do offer coaching. Very nice family and Ty is one of my two favorite coaches. Nice site, well protected from south winds during the summer.

I have seen this issue with local changes in the amount of alcohol in the fuel. It causes the float to dump more gas into the intake - causing the symptoms noted. Using the blue Sta-Bil kept the issue at bay.

Wrong application technique - both products are absorbed through the leaves during growth. When the weeds leaf out, apply in the morning of a dry day, and then the second morning. You should get good results.

All recreational activities will mature and decline over time. When a new sport is starting there is the excitement of exploration - being the first to do something. Snow skiing, waterskiing, skateboarding, wind surfing, kiteboarding, etc., and most other non-contact sports have or will go through this. Early adopters tend to move on once it gets popular. It is not nearly as much fun for the competitive person to enter the field of a mature sport where the margin of victory is fractions of a percentage point. Three-event got there in the '90's. Wakeboarding and snowboarding a couple of years ago. Wakesurfing a long time ago. There will be smaller cycles over time - typically personality or technology related. Think of Tony Hawk and what he did for skateboarding - now that sport is declining a bit, again. Like in our sport, there will be a core of committed participants. The main growth is face-to-face and not in the media. People get involved because of positive exposure - it is fun. Keeping it fun is the challenge. Unfortunately, we, USA Waterski types, have almost gone out of way to suck the fun out of it. Best advice - just ride and share the joy.

Great experience with Global Marine - they understand tournament boat that are actually used for tournaments. The prices are good and the coverage includes competitive use - so if you use your boat to tow practice or an event, you are covered. The fine print in Progressive (I was USAA until the dropped the coverage) specifically excluded sanctioned events (the event had to hold primary insurance) and, by my read, even a sanctioned practice. So, I switched. Lesson Learned: Read the fine print, not just the summary.

I've run a dehumidifier under the trap for a while to get everything dried out. Most have a hose hookup that you can run through the under motor drain plug. If the building has high humidity, you may need some force ventilation to keep condensation at bay when the temperature varies.

Get an overlay of the slalom course and place it over the lake. You can show how many "official" slalom courses can fit in the lake to show it is plenty big enough. If you can, figure out how many you can put in the lake and report that the lake is "big enough to have 50 slalom courses in it at one time." Sometimes absurdity makes the point.

Slammed 'Bu's typically run the Acme 911. It will drop 3-6 mph from the top end and move the rpm/torque curve up about 400 rpm in the boarding range. It will raise the rpms for skiing range by about 400 rpms.

I got over 20 lbs on you and it works well. I use it as an INT Wide Ride ski at 30 mph.

I think it may be able to make a decent ski boat that will track well enough in the course - if the steering has enough torque to react well - and probably tracking fins. I won't be the same as the PS, 200, or LXI, but a $30k ski machine may be the result.

USMC 1988-1992 USCG 1992-2002 Happy belated birthday to all Marines. Thank you to all who served and are serving.

On public water, bright colors preserve your ski after a yard sale.

There already is a pattern out there - skateboarding. It about died as a competitive sport and in the media. It was revived by two events - vert and street. Tony Hawk anyone? Look at vert snowboarding and skiing - very spectator friendly. Terrain is very youth friendly. You want some excitement for slalom - put an accelerometer on the ski and readout g-forces and top speed in real time. Kinda like the section splits in downhill. Make it more than a paint-drying show for the uninitiated. 36-72-36 mph with 4-gs in less than 3-seconds on a piece of plastic composite.... now that is something you can relate to. Remember - in Marcus' story it was not just watching on TV - it was seeing it live, it was participating, it was getting better. We are the teachers and coaches of the kids.... are we up to the task?