30 mph easier than 28 mph

[skiyaker]

so as you guys know I've been working like crazy to get my "first full pass badge" I'm routinely getting 4 buoys- sometimes 1,2 4 and 6 and sometimes 1,2,3,4. My form has already come a long way this season and changing my grip helped a ton- but it just seems like I'm working like crazy to generate enough swing at 28 mph (15 off) to make it to the buoy. I tried it at 26 mph a week or so ago and couldn't get the ski to work for me at all- so today I Got up early this AM and met my ski buddy (and his slalom boat) out at the club before church and just to experiment I tried 30 mph for third set. Not only did it take half the effort but I came just inches away on #s 3 and 5- and that was on my 15th pass of the morning! Best part is I had my neighbor record it and it looks like at 30 mph I can keep more of the tip in the water and a lot less wheelie on the turn.

So everybody keeps telling me to slow it down until I can grab all 6 buoys- but is it crazy to work on it at 30 mph instead?

[maxpower220]

I sometimes free ski at 36 mph, the ski works SO MUCH better. Of course, I can't even come close to Bouy 2 at that speed.

[Matt Glenn]

Yes you can bogged down on the turns at slow speed, but you have more time to make up on the errors. It sounds like it could be your boat , do you not have an outback? If you have a bigger boat, at slower speeds it will put out an even bigger wake then on the outback. You just have to tell your self pull,pull, pull, pull and pull some more to the 2nd wake then lay off and try to lean forward a little so you can perform edge change and don't blow ball the ball, You want start your turn( edge change) way before you think. The course is like crack !

[skiyaker]

. It sounds like it could be your boat , do you not have an outback? If you have a bigger boat, at slower speeds it will put out an even bigger wake then on the outback. You just have to tell your self pull,pull, pull, pull and pull some more to the 2nd wake then lay off and try to lean forward a little so you can perform edge change and don't blow ball the ball, You want start your turn( edge change) way before you think. The course is like crack !

umm... errr... I've been skiing behind another guy's boat at the club. He loves to ski and he's better than me which helps a ton (he's at 28 off) plus his wife and kids don't ever want to come out so he's always needing a driver. I won't say what boat it is because it's a non SC product and I don't want to stir that pot but it rhymes with bamboo LXI.

and yes the course is like crack!

[Matt Glenn]

Those are nice boats. One of my bodies has a 190 and the other LXI and I have the outback. Are the wakes different in there own way yes but as long as you are on edge and have sound / ok tec it should not matter. I bet your body could ski the same behind your boat or close. I ski crappy behind all 3 when im not on my game. You need to focus on your tech and not the type of boat. I would go with the slowest speed possible as long as you dont get bogged down on turns. Maybe 29 or 29.5 mph is right. Keep at one speed to you make all 6 then speed up .5 or 1 mph. You might also consider a few days of open water skiing to work on your forum , it works for me.

[BensonWdby]

Not too surprising. If you are accustomed to faster speeds in open water, 28 mph feels like you are crawling. It was a big adjustment for me to start training in the course at 28. If you need the faster boat speed to get the acceleration - you are relying too much on the boat.

Couple opf things that caused problems for me:
1. Don't look for the bouy - you will ski right to it and be forced to turn at the bouy, when in fact you want to be alread turned by the time you get to the bouy. Instead pick a spot 10-20 feet in front of the bouy and try to turn there.
2. Keep in mind that you don't need to snap the ski around the turn (easier to do if you are turning early). Give the ski time to turn. It seems contradictory because the feeling is that you must get the ski around asap to start heading across course. This actually slows the ski down - instead try to 'let the ski finish the turn'. This keeps more ski in the water after the turn and will start accelerating naturally - as long as you keep your lean with long arms.

As far as speed goes - I was in the boat last year watching Andy Mapple run the course at 22 off at 15 mph on his regular slalmo ski. So you don't need boat speed to make the course.

At the same time - changing things around a bit is a good idea IMHO. You might even want to try 32-34 mph just to see how different things are.

Have fun.
Dave

[skiyaker]

thanks for all the advice
I'll be out in open water for a long weekend this weekend so I'm hoping to work on a few things without killing myself on a roller.

Dave your second point is well taken- a lot of times I end up hooking a buoy and find myself bogged down with a body position I can't maintain.

at the end of the season I'm planning to post "before" and "after" videos