skinut

@ Steven Haines-the lake is in Blackfoot, ID. It is right off of I-15. Thanks for all of your input. When I think about the P.I.A. factor of all the course maintenance it really boils my blood. But, when I consider that we pretty much have a private ski lake that I didn't have to dig, it puts it all in perspective. Maybe the best course of action(no pun intended) is to keep my head down and try and show others that use the ski portion of the lake the impact of their actions when they don't pay attention to what they are doing. There are those that will never give a __ about the damage they do. BTW- the ski course is set in a portion that was specifically designed for slalom skiing. It isn't a chance occurrence. The city was instrumental in helping the ski club design the site when the city was reworking the inlet to the lake. The slalom sight use to be a canal that fed the lake.

@skiboyny That is exactly why I am asking for some guidance. I don't want to become a pest to the city and have them say, well if it's a problem lets just remove the course.

Ok, we have a course on a public lake. The lake was a gravel pit that the DOT used to build the freeways 50 years ago. They told the city they could use it as a lake. Over time the lake was developed and a portion of the lake became used for slalom skiing. There is an open bay for everything, i.e. skiing, boarding, jetskiing, and tubing. On the north end of the lake a bridge and berm were built to create a slalom lake. It is about 2,000 feet long and 180 feet wide(the ski lake). http://maps.google.com/?ll=43.207084,-112.352221&spn=0.014936,0.017788&t=h&z=16 I have a couple of questions about some rules we could bring before the city to try and reduce the amount course damage. In a single day we lost over 12 buoys, no I don't think it was malicious, just retards on the water. We tend to get wake boarders, tubers, and general walleys in the course and they don't seem to give a ___ about the buoys being ripped up or pvc pipes(portable course) that are broken. I know, I know, everyone on public water has the same problem. Currently, the only rules in place are; No jet skis in the course and one boat at a time. I am pretty sure that we can't get wake boarders banned from the course, unless I can prove it's unsafe, but that could back fire on the skiers as well. So my strategy is to have the city implement some rules that might discourage anyone that isn't willing to fix the course after they break it. What do you think if I ask the city to require anyone using the course to pay a maintenance fee to ski, board, etc. in the designated skiing area? These funds would be used by the local ski club to distribute buoys, buoy lines, zip ties, etc. to the members and teach them how to fix the course if they break it. We have attempted to teach some of them how to fix things, but apparently when you strap on a board your brain falls out and you can't quite comprehend how to use a zip tie. Would I be better off trying to limit only skiing in the course? I could make the argument that there should be designated areas for different activities. Wake boarding, tubing, skiing, jet skiing, and general boating in the main bay and skiing only in the course. How would I recommend it be policed? The city does have the lake patrolled. Thanks in advance.

@MS I don't know about your kids, but mine won't fit under the closed bow ;)

Oops, I forgot to turn on Zero off. Did it feel fast? I had you doing 40 at the entrance gates.

Oops, I forgot to turn on Zero off. Did it feel fast? I had you doing 40 at the entrance gates.

I had a business trip to Charleston, S.C. last week. While I was there I skied three days with Seth Stisher. He is a great coach and I really enjoyed his coaching style. He was able explain things in a way that helped me to implement those things on the water. I have skied with a lot of "pros" and I would say that he is one of the top coaches I have skied with. If you get a chance I highly recommend grabbing some sets with him.

Last summer I went from an RCX to the X7. Within three weeks I set a new pb in a tournament by 3 bouys(4 at 35 at 34 mph). The biggest difference in the skis was the off side. The RCX had a tendancy to stall on the offside for me while the X7 kept on turning. I don't think the 7 is as fast cross course but I didn't feel there was a whole lot of difference in speed. The 7 felt more stable in the turns(especially offside) and more forgiving if I was on the tail. BTW I am RFR and weigh 160. I'm on a 66. On thing to note is that the ski seems to have a lot of tip rise coming out of the turn. It could just be me, but I have heard other skiers comment about it.

I'm in for four. qstufflebeam at titlefc.com

Gotta dodge the golf balls when someone shanks their shot!

There is no regulation. I guess the city is hoping for a law suit. I have seen at least 10 or more boats plus 3 or 4 jet skis in the main bay at it's busiest. It is insane and I hear stories about how people almost get killed by other boaters. The funny thing is that when it gets real crowded everyone gets their tubes out. Now that's what I call entertainment! Most of the time on these crazy days you can go back in the course and have it all to yourself or maybe one other ski boat.

The lake is man-made. It was/is a gravel pit that was used to build the freeway 40 years ago. The city then used the gravel pit as a lake. The north part of the lake was a canal that fed water into the lake. 15 years ago the city went in and did some work on the lake. One of our local skiers proposed extending the feeder canal, adding a turn island, and dyke. So we have a man-made ski lake on a public lake.

We have a public course that I ski at. The course is in a man made ski lake but there is a larger lake that is attached and the public uses. On a regular basis there will be the usual wallys that will come in and wakeboard in the course or an I/O that will come and try and slalom their boat through the buoys. My question is, will the Power Buoys hold up in the course. We usually will lose two to three turn balls a year. In most cases they are knocked off by other course skiers. I know that the PB are expensive, but I have hit several of our water filled buoys and have jammed my ankles a few times. I am just wondering if it makes sense to put the PB in or if it will just be a royal pain to fix or replace them when they get hit.

Thanks for all the comments.

I have uploaded some videos of my skiing. 22 off through 35 off. I have several examples of my typical 35 off attempts. Any suggestions on what I can change to improve my skiing would be greatly appreciated. 22 off 28 off 32 off 35 off 35 off

cool, I assume it will work on the ipad as well.

Hey Horton, when are you going to set this forum up on Tapatalk? It's a great app for the ipad.

Unfortunately, a warmer climate is not in my future.

What is everyone using for cold water settings? Our water is already in the low sixties and I expect high fifties over the next couple of weeks.

Did you have water filled Buoys? Do you thing a Goode Power Buoy would have prevented the injury?

Hey Travis. It's me Quinn. It's great to see you on this site. Let me know if you want to see the drysuit I use. I can bring it out to the lake next time you guys are out.

I have been using the O.S. System Drysuit for many years and it has worked great. http://ossystems.com/surface/dwb.html. Where do you live in Idaho. I am from SE Idaho.

How far up on the boat should I be in my pull out?

I have a question about the gate at 35 off. I have been told that you need to set your angle, but not pull your guts out like you can at 32 off and longer lines. I have felt this a few times but I am not sure that I am setting my angle like I should. Here's my dilemma, I pull out wide for the gates and I have started to turn in earlier(when the one ball and left hand gate line up) than previous passes and focus on slowing down the turn in. I am working on having the strongest pull directly behind the boat. The problem is that this seem counter intuitive to setting a good angle. As I slow down the turn in I don't feel the ski is getting the angle it needs. I am getting around one ball and some times two but I wonder if I have miss understood the theory of a slower gate turn in. Does it sound like I am approaching the gate the right way?

How you start the pass is how you end the pass. Which means I am usually fast and narrow!