JohnN

So I just kicked off my 2023 season down in Florida, at Jodi Fisher's Ski School. Since these were my first rides of the season I was curious to get Jodi's view on how best to approach starting a new summer. What Jodi gave me was focused more on really dialing in what is happening outside the course to set things up for a more successful competition season. Stance and balance on the ski, really feeling the front ankle flexing, and focusing on working these things in the time from getting up to the pullout and from the end gates to setting down. It was different than my normal approach and something that I think will pay off in the long run - having the discipline to work on fundamentals in the time outside the course (which is more than out time in the course generally). The other unique thing he uses is a set of colored buoys to indicate the optimum pull out width for different line lengths. I found that to be very useful to have a visual indicator of getting the correct pullout width, consistently. Jodi had a relaxed approach, and provided concrete, usable tips to build into a stronger season. There was a fun and diverse group of skiers at the school as well, hailing from all around the US and Europe. If you're down in the Orlando area I would highly recommend doing some skiing with Jodi.

We’ve been running barrels from a car wash for decades without issue, we do use closed cell styrofoam to adjust the length and to float the side curtains.

Agree with these comments. I got on a C85 mid-summer and it is easier on the body even when getting pretty crazy angles. Another bonus is being able to stay in passes even when things aren't going perfectly. Overall an awesome ski.

Our 97 PS 190 will go to the right if you let go of the wheel. And, we have 70 lbs under the passenger seat and 50lbs moveable weight. Tracks great in the course with a skier - not like our 2015 200, but, really good. If you're going straight without holding the wheel you need to add rudder load, if you're out of level, add weight. You should be able to get a great pull from that boat.

Pueblo has a ski lake in town that is the closest - may still be owned by Tommy? Not too much on the south end of Denver, most are north. PM me if you need a contact for there.

I just went through this on a 15 200 and have a few lessons learned. First, connect your computer to the diag port and make sure you have communication before you start anything - this will give you a baseline and verify your computer setup while you can still ski. Second, it sounds like there were a few revisions of the ZO harness so the plugs you actually use may differ from the video. Third, take the time to really look at your harness and understand the ZO connections before you start. Once I unbundled the harness and was able to see it all it made sense and was easy, but not the same as the video. I did use a 1" bit on the deck, taped it and used a new bit just to be sure but that part was easy. Finally, if you have trouble, don't hesitate to cut the zip tie and spread the ZO harness out so you can see what's going on. Came up with 17-20 satellites compared to the previous 7-8 satellites and I'm assuming no more issue with occasionally not finding any.

Dang it, a few years too soon. That's an awesome area!

Done.

Couldn't sign up for a tournament on the new site! Fortunately through google (select the 2nd site, not the first) you can still hit the old, functional, site which works. Surprised there's not more feedback on this. Also, the half screen banner is terrible for actually getting any information out of the site.

Fantastic slalom pull. tricks not so good, and jump (with switch) is ok for low/mid level jumping but a different feel than ZO for sure. Our Accuski has been in service since installing it in 1998 - pretty solid system. Finally moved to a CC 200/ZO boat, getting ready to sell my 97 PS190 with Accuski.

I've got a 97 PS 190, LT1 and slot. It's a fantastic combination. Maintenance has been pretty minimal, did do a water pump but found the cross reference at Napa if I remember right. Sandbag on the passenger side and boat rides level, wakes are soft and spray so much better than the 91-94 hull. The previous hull does turn better, if that's important to you. The boat is a crowd favorite to ski behind at the lake, but ZO would make it even more awesome.

@mwfillmore next time I'm at the lake I'll snap a couple of pics of our curtains. Boxed aluminum framework, and I think the panels are trailer panels? We used fiberglass grid at the waterline to cut the bounce back down (smoothed with a grinder). 2 people can carry a side curtain now.

Too many cool projects in here to count - seeing what you guys are building gives me motivation! @EricKelley Years ago we did a full transom in a 68 Javelin flatty (Summer's Death) because it sank on our first overnight, made it out of aluminum plate and glassed it in - we ended up building a new deck, new dash, motor and tranny mounts, and glassing the top and inside. No more leaks after all that. Seeing those pics was a flashback for sure.

WWU because club team in D1...

On a twist Mid I ended up a little shorter and deeper than stock (6.800 2.486 .740 29.125 vs stock at 6.820 2.445). Stable, turns quickly, fast enough and symmetrical. Interesting thing is it's virtually impossible to blow out the tail, yet my number of releases from stuffing the tip on the offside is pretty close to zero even when jamming a late turn. Pretty sweet! The XTR alternative settings look similar and may have similar results?

@elr For Trick to work you just status on the running order - pending, scratched, on the dock, on the water, pending scoring, scored, whatever. The actual score could come later I would think.

Like many problems, this started with communication and should end with a communication fix. A number of us on this board are active in another sport that runs 200-400 individual starts in a day and maybe we can cross pollinate. Having a set start time for a group or division and adhering to it (or delaying when necessary) would be great, but I understand the reluctance even though I agree with @Than_Bogan. A simpler solution can be implemented in the live scoring: to make the window bigger - recent results at the top combined with the running order (for that lake including all divisions for that lake) down below. That solves the communication factor that we're missing. You're volunteering on Lake 2? Rather than call your buddy on the dock for who's up on Lake 1 you just look at live scoring and see how many skiers you have before you. Scratches can be put in as well with the dock starter calling to scoring in advance to advise of scratches. No rule changes, no planning changes, just a communication change. A software modification to reorganize the data on a lake basis and include running orders (and maybe a radio for the dock starter or assistant dock starter who's herding the cats). You could also throw up a banner for delays such as weather, boat gas, other significant delays, advertising... Life in ski racing before live timing was much like the current state of water skiing. Lots of guessing about when you were up or how fast things were running - we're half way there with the results, now we just need to add the lake-specific running orders. Apologies to Live Timing by Split Second or by Vola for taking the idea from the skiing and biking world.

From reading this thread, the take away from the current status quo I'm seeing is, for the 2 or 3 events that are competitions (not chasing rankings), trust no official, there may not be any "source of truth" that you can go to in advance, and get there early and figure it out for yourself. Kind of crazy for something at this level. I think this can be fixed, and not just for newcomers! Implementing an optimistic no-earlier-than schedule, along with a, in the tournament announcement, place (and lead time) identified for posting any and all schedule and lake changes (like the USAWaterski event information site, which could be consistent across the country?) could make planning a whole lot easier for the loc, volunteers and competitors, and reduce the issues that arise. FWIW, I do believe that if you're skiing for placement you have to ski in your assigned running order as running out of order may grant you an advantage.

I found the same issue, used a layer of metal tape for ducts to shim the fin and then you can still use the set screws. Figured it out after struggling and finally re-measuring the fin, only to find it a lot longer than I had set it...

Ski behind my Accuski boat :-) - always perfect. As a tournament driver I welcome having skiers let me know if they want something different, harder or softer, and as a skier I'll let the driver know if I need something different.

@JeffSurdej I think going to the Uxx model makes sense, and I like the 32mph, but would this mean that M1/W1 are included in a family membership or are junior/senior high school students on their own? One of the consequences of this may be to give 17 and 18 year-olds one more reason to not ski tournaments...

Along those lines, use the ranking list for seeding competitions and keep a second season standings list based on competition results. I'm on the other side of the consistency discussion. It really shouldn't matter how often you hit that high score as long as you do it at the right time (big event, against strong competition, etc).

Is waterskiing the only sport that breaks down the divisions by the in-season performances rather than the normal NCAA criteria?

Interesting thought. In general, more competitiveness leads to more fun so I'd have to say 3 divisions would be a good thing. I just watched @JeffSurdej video on the seeding (which was really cool!) 8-8-8 would still be lopsided at D1, but D2 and D3 would theoretically be more competitive. Really, looking at the numbers, D1 could be the 1-5 seeds, D2 6-15 and D3 16-24 to make nationals competitive on a team basis. Again, that's just from looking at the virtual tournament ranking on the presentation and not having the more in-depth knowledge of how this works in practice. I'm sure there's a reason why it's set up the way it is.

Just got back to Colorado - 5K miles over the last 12 days! A big shout out and thanks to @MarkTimm, @igkya, @Krlee, @nikandsteve for sharing their sites and the great hospitality! And a thank you to the other folks who had great suggestions that I hope to explore on another trip. Skied at 4 different lakes, mtb rides in 3 states and met a whole bunch of great folks. This site is truly awesome for connecting with other ski addicts! John ps - Bell Acqua did a phenomenal job with the NCWSA Western Regionals getting all the skiing done, feeding and somewhat controlling a lot of college kids staying on site. Great Job @Krlee , @nikandsteve and your crew.