One_Ski

Maybe, but I think that making the FAE the exact right length should solve the problem. The key would be making it just long enough to be at or below the water surface when the boat is not on plane. I know the guys at FAE would have worked with me to add length to mine, but I didn't think it was worth the trouble. Most of my time in the boat is slalom skiing, and for me, wake changes due to my FAE were minimal. It was a reasonable trade off.

@SkiBeKaus, I got it from FreshAirExaust.com. They were good folks to deal with. For me, effect on the wakes was minimal, but I bought it primarily to cut down the noise when I was moving slowly (5-10 mph, bow up, not on plane due to rough water or other reasons); the exhaust noise, especially in the back seat, was loud. I think in the end I didn't get the noise reduction I'd hoped for at those speeds because my FAE was just a bit too short. I ended up with minimal effect on the slalom wake which was good, but also didn't quite get the low-speed noise reduction I'd hoped for. Overall, it was worth it to me, but sizing the FAE is not exact; you take your measurements and until you install your custom-made product, you don't know how those fraction of an inch differences will affect you.

Sold!

Thanks for your comments guys. A potential buyer is driving here Sunday to take a look. If he buys it, I'll update BOS and Ski-it-again. For now, sale Sunday is likely, but not 100% sure.

I am a life-long slalom skier, now selling my boat because retirement and our mountain homestead have become full-time commitments. I still love to ski, but just don’t have the time to do it justice. I am located near Bakersville, North Carolina For Boat details, go to: https://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?endless=summer&topic=Search&category=Boat_3Event&postid=63150 Contact me at 803-412-8929 or oneski156@icloud.com if you are interested in this one-of-a-kind boat.

I'd still like to see 39.5, 40.5, 41.5, and 42.5. Just sayin'.

That's a reasonable point. Conversely, smaller changes at the highest difficulty levels might improve skier safety by not pushing them to (or beyond) their capability limits so quickly. Some 41' off falls are scary. I'm OK with run-off's too, but when they become the norm, it seems worth looking for a better way.

@ral, I don't watch tournaments to see the record broken; I watch because I enjoy the competition at the most competitive line lengths. Watching a single competitor run either one or two balls at 43' is not why I watch. I'd like to see fewer warmup passes, more skiing at shorter line lengths, fewer logjams/ties, and fewer giant runoffs. I'd also like to see line lengths after 39' graduated based on the associated, exponentially increasing difficulty levels, rather than our inability to make ropes with closer loops. Back in PerfectPass days, we shortened ski ropes to make up for the 6" (or so) required to operate the load switch. Why can't we use something similar (i.e., something on the pylon) to shorten the rope in 1' increments, starting at 39? Like @So_I_Ski, I'm not sure this is the best idea, but surely we can figure out something, right? This isn't rocket science. I'm not a tournament skier or a judge; just a lifelong fan who'd hate to see us not overlook an opportunity to make this more of a spectator sport.

OK, @Horton, let me get this straight. Five years ago, @So_I_Ski proposed a rule change because 43' off seemed impossible. Five years later, nobody has run 43' off, and it looks like nobody will. Nate is the only one with a realistic shot at it, and after 19 attempts, has made virtually no headway (e.g., BORING). Instead, we're waiting for a 7' tall skier to be born; until then, we'll be watching 1@43' off. So, subsequent to @So_I_Ski's original post, we have five years of new evidence that his proposed change is worth considering. When did that become a reason to shut down a conversation? Also, I must have missed it, but when did the criteria for a rule change become 'elites get excited about it' or 'rulemakers get excited about it'?' My guess is that elites and rulemakers put themselves at risk if they push back against the status quo. I doubt they'll get on board unless fans demand a change. So, if there's going to be a change, it should be driven by us. We pay the bills. I think @So_I_Ski has done a good job arguing his point, even though some responses to him have been out of line. Disagree if you want, but pose a reasonable argument. IMO, @horton, you haven't.

@So_I_Ski; I agree with you. I think the change from 41 should not be to 43, but to something in between. 43 off is a waste of time because nobody can run it, and we have years of evidence to prove it. If it was 42 off, maybe Nate, in ideal conditions, could do more than just round 1 ball. I also think the 28, 32 and 35 passes are boring and make competitions drag on too long. I'd like to see tournaments held where skiers do all their warm-up passes (as many as they want) on a separate, adjacent lake (off camera), then start their competition run at 35 or 38 (on camera). I love what TWBC is doing, but I haven't been able to get any non-skiers interested in watching. Your suggestion could help change that, but instead it seems like we'll stay stuck in a rut. You and I will watch, but non-skiers won't.

@scoke: Thanks for your comments; I think this is the best overall guidance I've seen for fixing the 'butt back' problem. One thing I struggle with is that, when I'm coming out of my off-side turn with my body in the right position, I'm afraid to fully commit because it feels like my ski is going to shoot out from under me. Any experience with this concern and/or recommendations on how to fix it?

Not to hijack this thread, but does anybody have experience/advice for shipping an EZ-Slalom course (poles, balls, and mainline)?

I'm 64 years old, and have been addicted to slalom since my early 30's. Like you, I'd sought out recommendations, visited instructors, read articles, and tried my best to practice everything I learned. Seemed each 'improvement' would help me for an hour or a day, but within a week or two my skiing would go right back - my videos would look a lot like yours. Early last year, everything changed for me - I started keeping my hips up easily, making my ski finish the turns smoothly, and my wake crossings came fast and stable. The change, for me, was remarkable. It was the first summer I've had where slalom was just plain fun, and wasn't either hammering my body, risking life and limb, or wearing myself completely out. Here's what worked for me: Stand on flat ground in your slalom position - I'm RFF, so I stand with my right foot in front. Now, with most of your weight on your front foot and your front leg pretty straight, push your hips forward until your front hip is 'locked;' i.e., it's pretty much a straight line along the front of your thigh, your hip, and your stomach. This is where I decided my leading hip needed to be. Now, push your front hip back a little bit. You can feel it 'break' into the butt-back position I'd gotten so comfortable with. That's a position you never want to feel when you're skiing. I decided I would ski at all times with my front hip 'locked' into that forward position. I could tell if I had it right, because the change to the 'broken' butt back position is so noticeable. I took that 'feeling' out onto the lake with me, away from the course. I focused on one thing only - keeping my front hip from breaking backwards. It was easier, on a ski, to push my front hip forward, and the 'break' from hip-forward to butt-back was more noticeable and easier to avoid. After my initial pull-out I noticed that, for my onside pull, as soon as I started crossing the wakes I was unconsciously letting my leading hip 'break' backwards - from that point, I could never get it back in the right place. So, I started refusing to let my lead hip 'break' - I kept it 'locked' all the way into and through my offside turn. It took some courage for me, since everything in me felt the the 'butt back' preturn was safer - but it's not. After a few tries, the 'new' hip position felt waaay safer and the turn was waaay smoother. It took quite a few sets to end my subconscious certainty that 'butt-back' was safer, but over a few weeks, keeping that hip pushed forward became a self-reinforcing habit because I was having so much more fun. I'll admit this may work only for me; still, I'm sharing it because, for me, it was a game changer. Each of us knows deep down that it's not our lack of strength, desire or skill that keeps us bent at the waist, yet bent we are and bent we seem destined to stay. I've never pursued a sports-related improvement that looks so easily fixable, yet is so inexplicably elusive, so endlessly frustrating, and so ultimately demoralizing. It adds insult to injury that loads of skiers never seem to experience this problem - to them the fix is obvious and easy. I guess each of us needs that one idea that 'clicks' to get past this limitation. This was mine. Even if it doesn't work for you, maybe it will bring you some hope that your answer's out there somewhere. If I can enjoy this kind of improvement after all my decades of struggle, you can too. Merry Christmas, and best wishes to the 'old guys' slalom community (and for that matter, to everybody else too) for a healthy, happy new year!

Don't screw up this pass.

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