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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    St. Albert, Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    164

    Default Skier maximum speed

    Wonder if anyone has clocked a pro on radar. i.e. from shore or stationary boat, to see what maximum speed they reach between bouys on short rope. I've Googled for it, but nothing. Watching some of the short rope clips on Youtube...the velocity is just amazing. This was the subject of weekend chatter at the lake. Anyone heard? Somebody with engineering/spreadsheet skills has probably crunched out approximations at various speeds/lengths.

  2. #2

    Default

    Well there are two speeds for the pros. 34 and 36 mph so we know they are at that speed right behind the boat. I thought I remember seeing an article in waterskimag that said 65-75 mph for some slalom skiers. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Panama City Florida
    Posts
    1,798

    Default

    How long is the course? How far out are the bouys from the centerline of the course? You would think I would know this since I slalom ski down the course.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Pensacola, FL
    Posts
    1,585

    Default Aids

    http://www.jagersport.com/science_1.htm

    http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/...rski_0816.html

    Slalom Waterski Course Dimensions


    Description Dimension Range
    Total Length 849' 8 7/8" 847' 7 38" - 851' 10 3/8"
    Starting Gate to Ball 1 88' 7" 88' 1 5/8" - 89' 1/4"
    Ball 1 to Ball 2 Gates 134' 6 1/8" 133' 10 1/8" - 135' 2 1/4"
    Center of Entrance Gate to Ball 1 96' 3 3/8" 95' 9 5/8" - 96' 9 1/8"
    Ball 2 to Ball 3 Diagonal 154' 2 3/4" 153" 5 3/8" - 155' 1/8"
    Entrance Gate, Center of Course to Ball 4- 4" 1 1/4" 3' 10 3/4" - 4' 3 3/4"
    Center Line of Course to Turn Ball 37' 8 3/4" 37' 4 1/4" - 38' 1 3/8"
    Center Line of Course to Boat Gates 3' 9 1/4" 3' 4 3/4" - 4' 1 3/4"
    55 Meter Buoys 180' 5 3/8" 179' 6 1/2" - 181' 4 1/4"


    At 34mph, a pro may reach 65mph. At 36, 68-70mph.
    1997 MasterCraft 205

    2008 Moomba Outback
    1999 MasterCraft Sportstar OB
    1992 MasterCraft 205
    1999 Malibu Response LX
    1987 Marlin Magnum Skier

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    St. Albert, Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    164

    Default

    MAXPOWER220, I read the "Science of Slalom" link you provided. Good info, thanks. But the part about "The perfect line is a square wave" stumped me completely. Would have thought sine wave, not square wave.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    Posts
    2,102

    Default

    From Palm Beach Post article: "Chris Parrish holds the men's world record for slalom: 1.5 buoys with the line shortened by 43 feet."

    Holy smoke!
    2007 Outback - SOLD June 2016
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    Stuart

    "When you first start out with something new, you're always a little uptight." - Don Rickles

  7. #7
    Sled491 Guest

    Default

    My understanding has always been that in a cut a skier would double there boat speed. This came from people I knew who jumped.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Tallahassee, FL
    Posts
    14,071

    Default

    That's a close enough approximation for me. You could use a radar gun to test the results. You could plot the skier speeds at various points during the cut and graph line length and boat speed . . . Or, you could just enjoy the smooth water.
    My Mom said I'm not allowed to get wet!
    2008 LSV (sold)
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    LLTR!!!!!!!!



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