At what speed to you slalom? (and other ramblings about my technique...)

[zegm]

Ian don't answer that question about the length of that EP!!!!

He justs wants to see if it might fit him!
Then the next thing you know he will try to buy it from you!!!


PS I sent you an email sort of wanting to know if you want to sell that......

Just kidding!!! I am going to pull out my 10 year old EP tomorrow. Trouble is I have done the reverse of Sled and put on 15lbs since I bought that ski and have since moved up from a 67 to a 69. I guess that is why MrsZ and I are going to run 4 miles tomorrow morning before we hit the lake!

[Canuckle Head]

zegm,

I was drinking a brewski while reading that and I just blew it through my nose I laughed soo hard!

From the pics it looks to be a Comp 1 but I could be mistaken. I'm seriously pulling that one from the vault. I remember my Uncle having that ski and him teaching me to jump the wake on it when I was about 13 years old.

Not functional from a comp standpoint but he claimed it would score me chicks. I think it may have even worked a few times! Ahhhh the 80's!

[ian ashton]

I belive the ski is a 65. I am 5' 7" and 130 pounds.


LOL @it jumping the wake to score chicks! I think my dad said he got this ski in 1978, lol.

[Sled491]

I guess it all depends how od these so called chicks are My question to all these die hard EP guys is, if it was such a great ski what happened to them. Oh by the way I did used to own an EP and yes it was a good ski, but I have skied better since.

[moombabound]

So, what’s the big benefit of shortening the rope, for rec skiing? I’m running fairly proficiently at 15’ off, 32 MPH. As two folks have mentioned earlier in this thread, running a course for the 1st time can be humbling. Took a lesson and the instructor said just stay at 15 off and enjoy. Tried 22’ and 28’ off behind a different boat (Response LXi) yesterday and still , despite that being a “ski” boat (vs my OBV), that hump is very unsettling. Skied way better at 15 off. I’ve heard the “stay on edge and slice through it”. Gimme a break. There’s a clip of Marcus Brown doing 15 off @ 30 MPH and he was air born off the wake. Other than the competitive side of course skiing, what would be the benefit of short rope for rec skiing. I hear guys saying 38 off at 34 MPH. So? Why? On my old outboard, 22’ or 28’ off was fine, but with these bigger boats, that hump tosses you.

[Sled491]

So, what’s the big benefit of shortening the rope, for rec skiing? I’m running fairly proficiently at 15’ off, 32 MPH. As two folks have mentioned earlier in this thread, running a course for the 1st time can be humbling. Took a lesson and the instructor said just stay at 15 off and enjoy. Tried 22’ and 28’ off behind a different boat (Response LXi) yesterday and still , despite that being a “ski” boat (vs my OBV), that hump is very unsettling. Skied way better at 15 off. I’ve heard the “stay on edge and slice through it”. Gimme a break. There’s a clip of Marcus Brown doing 15 off @ 30 MPH and he was air born off the wake. Other than the competitive side of course skiing, what would be the benefit of short rope for rec skiing. I hear guys saying 38 off at 34 MPH. So? Why? On my old outboard, 22’ or 28’ off was fine, but with these bigger boats, that hump tosses you.

There is no benifit. If you're diggin 15 off at 30 mph then enjoy. People go shorter and faster to test themselves that's all. 2 of the guys I ski with found that going back to 15 off and 30 - 32 mph made greater advances in there skiing thatn sticking with shorter ropes and faster speeds would have ever. In fact many people go to shorter lengths and faster speeds trying to make up for very large flaws in there technique. So as your instructor said stick with you like and enjoy

[BensonWdby]

I skied at 15 off at 30 for decades, because someone gave me that exact same advice. In my personal opinion it was the single biggest mistake of my skiing career. I ski shorter and faster because it is just more fun. I love the speed and I love the challenge. I am not fooling myself that I can ski that in the course, I just really enjoy it. I recommended the same to a close skiing friend who had been doingi the same 15 at 30 for almost as long, and he agreed - the faster and shorte mas just a lot more fun.

But it is something you need to work into. Get comfortable at the longer and slower and when you feel like it just try shorter and faster once in a while. When you can ski the shorter faster, similar to how you run 15 off - you will probably stay there.

As far as the bump - on a V drive I can't say. On my DD Mobius I never ski 22 off just because of that.
But on the DD at 28 off - no problem... But I think the speed makes a diff as well. I have not skied anything less than 34 in the lst couple years so don't recall.

Most important is to have fun.

[Canuckle Head]

I like to ski 15 off @ 36 mph when free skiing. I'm 6'2" and weigh 190lbs. Haven't been through a course in years but still try to ski like I am. I start out on the left hand side, visualize the back end of the boat going through the entry gates and set up for 6 solid turns. Sometimes I like to see how many turns I can lay down consecutively without falling.

[BensonWdby]

So here is how it went for me. Started skiing the course at long line at 30 for a couple years. Tried to work up to the 75 @ 36 - but always stuck at 34. That long line pass at 36 is really hard. Then they changed the rule that you could run the course at 15 off at slower speeds and your 36 pass counted double. Well I shortened the rope and liked the easier slack control and the quicker feel. I have never skied on long line since. That was probably 1979. I also never made that 36 pass.

Then I got stuck behind outboards for the next 20 years. During those 20 years I had this natural progression of slalom in my head that needed to be met before you moved on. Since I had never made the 15 @ 36 pass, I had no business going shorter. I believed that for most of those 20 years. But after that I started trying the shorter lines - partially out of curiosity, sometimes to try to impress someone or to give them an idea of what the Pros were having to deal with. I got the Mobius DD in 2000 and got my first rope with a loop at 43. I thought it would be a good joke to run 41 so I did. Nothing to brag about - a couple of really bad turns and no control. But it was not as hard as I thought it would be.

Two weeks ago, in ideal water, I ran a pass at 28 off and one at 41 off. The on-lookers could not tell the difference, which tells me my 28 was really bad or the 41 was not so bad. I prefer to believe the latter.

I have never had so much fun skiing. My biggest regret is that I waited so long and now my joints really let me know it when I get into 38 off and shorter.

On the flip side - In Edged in Water 2 a bunch of pros shot some footage on Lake Powell where they were in open water on a 140 foot rope. That was interesting to watch.

Do what is fun - and push yourself every once in a while to keep things inetersting..

[deerfield]

Do what is fun - and push yourself every once in a while to keep things inetersting..

BensonWdby - I did that yesterday, skiing 22 off @ 36 mph. Kept my shoulders square to the boat and pulled the rope to my hip. Bump is virtually gone. (I have an '07 Outback.) The extra and sudden acceleration is real noticeable compared to 15 off @ 32 or 34. It's tiring, but what a rush! - Deerfield