Old Guy Learning To Ski
Printed From: CorrectCraftFan.com
Category: General Correct Craft Discussion
Forum Name: Ski, Ride and Foot Talk
Forum Discription: Share photos, techniques, discuss equipment, etc.
URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=39166
Printed Date: April-25-2024 at 4:01pm
Topic: Old Guy Learning To Ski
Posted By: Poorhouse
Subject: Old Guy Learning To Ski
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 11:18am
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Some of you may have followed my boat shopping posts over the last couple years which lead to a purchase this spring. We now have the boat pretty well dialed in and are comfortable driving it, so it's time to ski! I'm making this thread to track our progress and solicit feedback, pointers, suggestions, criticisms, face palms, etc. My goal is to get up on two skies, get comfortable on them then move on to one ski. Wife's goal is to deep water slalom ski start and get better on the slalom ski. My wife is 44 and I turned 45 yesterday. She grew up skiing, I have never water skied, but have snow skied since I was 5. I thought my snow ski experience would help in the water. My wife wasn't so sure. First step was buying gear. The wife handled this. Pai of thrift store skies for 10 bucks, rope from Amazon 20 bucks, nice PFDs on sale at Costco. We are outfitted for under $300. We spent more on an inflatable and rope for the 6 year old. Tuesday of this week wife had the boat out with some girlfriends who planned to ski. This would be the first ski outing. Wife ended up not skiing but learned a lot about how hard to "hit it" in an inboard ski boat vs the old out boards she grew up with. After pulling the rope out of people's hands she got the throttle figured out. The high school girl had skied behind her dads fishing boat. She could slalom ski but not deep water start. She successfully deep water started. She said the pop of the inboard made it easy. The other woman was a bit younger than my wife and a slalom skier. She failed to get up in about a dozen tries and didn't want to try on two skies. The other woman did not ski. High school girl also tubed with the six year old. He is fallen in love with her. So day one was a good outing. Gear all worked, boat did well, and wife got a feel for the boat. Yesterday for my birthday the plan was an afternoon on the water with family and my first day water skiing. Late start had us to the lake about 2pm. The crew was me, wife, kid and my Dad to act as spotter. It was pretty windy and a lot of boats out including several surf boats so the water was churned up. I didn't think it would make much difference for me as a newly. I was right and wrong about that. We cruised the lake to find a spot with less traffic. Found a quiet spot and the wind died down, perfect. Wife went first, she gave me some pointers on the throttle and how fast she wanted to go if she got up, 20 mph. She was up on the first try and had a nice long ride. She was about catching up to the boat when she would finish her turns on either side. She did another similar run then it was my turn. She had given me some pointers on what to expect. I had done a few dry land pulls and watched a few learn to ski videos. I was ready right? We'll sort of. Getting skies on and manoevering in the water was trickier than I thought. It's hard to fight the urge to use your feet to kick when the skies are on. I also had a bit of trouble maintaining balance I while holding the handle in the ready position. Time to do it. Wife's technique was to drag me for a bit to get used to the feel of the skies pushing the water then hit it on my command. This worked well. First time when she hit it I pushed my legs to much and the skies went out in front of me. Second time I popped out of the water then the skies again went out in front of me. Third time was the charm, popped up and stayed on the skies. Rode in straight behind the boat for 15 seconds or so. Such an awesome feeling! I could have kept going but I saw we were going to have to turn and I started thinking about how that would work and went down. Took a break to celebrate. Back out 30 minutes later. Wind was up and surf boats all over. Up again, worked on turning in the wake and wiped out. The idea of putting the ski on edge is like snow skiing but the feel is different. Next ride was a good long one. Made good turns back and forth in the wake. Tried to get out of the wake, was a bit to tense and went down. Tried again and got out of the wake and found out why skiers want smooth water. The chop and wakes made it really rough, down again. Tried another couple times and had some bad timing. Would try to start just as a wake came by and submarines my skies and I went over the front. Same result twice and called it a day. Feeling good this morning. Shoulders a little sore but not bad. Will be camping this weekend at the lake with the boat and friends with their boat. They are both very good slalom skiers. Video of first ride coming and pic of gear. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Replies:
Posted By: Blamey
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 11:47am
Personally I think it will help. It won't make you an instant expert but you should progress a lot quicker than if you didn't have the snow ski experience.
What exactly does this mean? Are you saying the power of the inboard requires a little more finesse than just going WOT? I skied as a kid but haven't skied since I was about 10 years old. My boat came with an old pair of combos that I tired to get up on on my birthday and couldn't do it. Not sure what the issue was but I just could hold onto the rope long enough to get up out of the water. I do want to get to the point where I can slalom again, so I'll try again soon but I really didn't expect to not be able to get up. ------------- 96 Super Sport Previously: 95 Sport Nautique, 1980 Ski Supreme |
Poorhouse wrote:Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 12:17pm
Yes WOT was to much and would,pull rope out of their hands. We were going a bit more than half throttle. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: 75 Tique
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 12:53pm
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Sounds like you are doing everything right. Just keep with it. Before reading the whole thing I thought maybe you were doing what a lot of beginners do, which is pull up on the rope by bending your elbows, That is a sure way to have the skis go out from under you, but it sounds like you have your riding form down. As far as maneuvering and going in and out of the wake, keep your knees bent at all times (sitting in a chair) and let your knees absorb the bumps. Also, you can not be timid crossing the wake. Its all or nothing, you cant creep across it. You have to commit or it will catch you and knock you down. Too bad about the wife's friend that insisted on learning on one ski because she was too proud to do 2. That's just silly. A couple rounds on two and she could easily move to one. Like I said, Keep it up. Videos next time would be invaluable for us to provide more feedback. You know the rules.....pics or it didn't happen. Nice the wife is comfortable running the boat and quickly learned some of the nuances of driving an inboard. I just shake my head when I watch rookies trying to learn and the driver is doing everything wrong, either ripping the handle out of their hands or dragging the start out half way down the lake by going too slow. I see it all the time. Oh, and "old" pffft, at 45, you're just a kid. ------------- _____________ “So, how was your weekend?” “Well, let me see…sun burn, stiff neck, screwed up back, assorted aches and pains….yup, my weekend was great, thanks for asking.” |
Posted By: NCH20SKIER
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 12:56pm
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So, welcome back to skiing albeit on water. Some thoughts out of the gate for you- This is new to the body - do not overdo it to soon, you will not heal as quickly as a teenager (applies to both you and your wife) Give your body (especially your arms and legs time to condition.to the skiing position On the starts you should only need to ease into the throttle about 1/4 tp 3/8 of the way if you are coming up on 2 skis If your grip is not that strong right now a pair of gloves will help. However, gloves are not the answer to a WOT start. ------------- '05 206 Limited '88 BFN |
Posted By: MrMcD
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 1:08pm
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Glad to hear you had success. Of all ski memories none are more precious than the first time to get up. Enjoy what you have learned and play hard. Don't worry about moving on to a single ski till you are bored on the double ski. I would advance till I could jump the wakes, throw rooster tails with both ski's on turns and really master the two ski's. Skiing double skis is a skill that will always be good to have in your pocket. You will find the beginner skis are terrible. Pick up a couple good slalom skis and use them as your new double skis you will find much more fun, faster turns and far more control. When you are bored with the doubles lift up one, left or right going down the lake on smooth water and find which your are more comfortable on. This will end up being your forward foot once you go to a single ski. If you feel like it while skiing doubles you can shake off the extra ski and put your foot into the back boot to start single skiing. When the extra ski falls off take your time putting your rear foot into the rear binding. Many people crash trying to do this fast. There is no rush. Put the rear foot in the binding once you are comfortable. Then start playing around on one ski. Have some fun out there and enjoy every minute of your new sport. Glad your boat is working so well. |
Posted By: Air206
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 1:20pm
Good slalom skis prefer to be on edge, not flat. Stay with what you got until you need a fancier slalom. Your current skis don't care about direction, flat or on edge..... and that's just fine. Double slaloms are gonna be a pain.......... As Larry said - Arms out, knees bent, don't look at the water and I would add - "Ski Proud" (chest up). Live it up! (Having someone around that skis already would be a tremendous help getting through the learning curve). ------------- https://tinyurl.com/y6t5e3bu" rel="nofollow - 04 Air206 http://tinyurl.com/9urzgls" rel="nofollow - 91 Barefoot 78 SkiTiq |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 1:54pm
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Thanks everyone. Video below. Edit - I don't see how to embed the video, so link below. This is the third attempt, my first ride. I'm pretty stiff here. Subsequent rides I softened my knees and started make small turns. Was also working on chest out and bringing the handle down toward my waist. https://youtu.be/j8VrFfnK3Gk" rel="nofollow - First Ski ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: Dreaming
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 2:11pm
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glad to hear that you are having some success! For your wife and deep water starts, I would suggest that if you don't have a deep v handle you should look into getting one. They are very nice for learning. When you deep start on the slalom ski, I found that it was difficult at first to control direction of the ski, but by putting the tip of the ski into the "V" of the handle, the rope tension will help to keep your ski straight as you figure out the other parts of your start. For starting, both Slalom and on doubles, I try to keep my bum on the ski(s) until it the ski's begin to plane, and then stand up. trying to get up on your feet too fast can pull you off balance (ski's out the front) and will require more muscle, so patience is going to serve you well in the process. |
Posted By: rebel skier
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 2:34pm
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Way to go! Thanks for sharing. When you want to go out of the wake, turn your head to the side you want to go and look at least 45 degrees away from the boat to the side. Your shoulders will follow you head. When you want to go back in, first pull out a little from the wake, then initiate going back in by turning your head and looking at least 45 degrees across the wake from the direction the boat is going. Once you have this down and want more speed crossing the wake, turn your head 90 degrees and grin ear to ear as you take off. |
Posted By: Air206
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 2:47pm
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Fun to see new skiers - you did great! The rest of this post is going to be like trying to tell someone how to drive. So take it with a pinch of salt. You all are doing great.... Just like skiing behind the inboard, the right equipment makes it easier. The rest is practice,practice,practice.  ------------- https://tinyurl.com/y6t5e3bu" rel="nofollow - 04 Air206 http://tinyurl.com/9urzgls" rel="nofollow - 91 Barefoot 78 SkiTiq |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 3:41pm
 ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: AAM196
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 4:11pm
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haha... nice... Sounds like you guys are having a ball getting into this! Best part is, you realized you could drop a ton more money on equipment but wouldn't make much difference. On our lake... between DC in Pgh, it is common to see beginners out on a new $150k wakeboard boat they just bought with all new expensive gear, yet have trouble just getting across the monster wake or in some cases, even get out of the water. Have fun! |
Posted By: 63 Skier
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 4:28pm
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Hey Jake, nicely done! You looked pretty comfortable back there for first time up. Your wife's friend not getting up slalom, even though she was experienced - I had a slalom skier struggle to get up on my ski last night, he didn't have his so borrowed mine. Took a few tips for him to get the hang of it. Sometimes using a different ski can defeat a deep water start for a while, she really just ought to drop a ski and have fun next time. I'm another one that's taking offense at the old guy title - 45, are you kidding me???!!! Keep at it and have fun! ------------- '63 American Skier - '98 Sport Nautique |
Posted By: dwouncmd
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 6:31pm
Looked good to me. I don't have much to add to what has been said above (lots of great skiers/teachers, several of whom have taught me as a learner in my 40's). Keep it up. It is loads of fun, gets you outside, involves developing a real skill, is a workout, and best of all, does not involve looking at a back-lighted screen attached to a CPU. My biggest issue has been getting enough time on the water; not much left after pulling everyone else  The whole gearhead/boat thing is just a bonus  ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=6535&sort=&pagenum=2" rel="nofollow - 89 SN <a href="http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=6567&sort=&pagenum=1" rel="nofollow">7 |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 7:34pm
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Thanks everyone! It was really fun, I can see it will be addictive. Good tips on crossing the wake and not watching the water. I an doing that now and checking my body position, both of which lead to getting off balance. One thing I'm struggling with is where to have my weight. In snow skiing you have your weight on the balls of your feet and lean into the slope. Getting pulled by the boat you obliviously lean back but where do you center your weight? Evenly over your foot, more toward the heel? I felt like I was doing a lot of forward and back adjusting trying to figure that out. More practice will be fun. I was happy that it didn't hurt to hit the water at 20 mph. That gave me a lot more confidence. The bummer compared to snow skiing is that you can't get right back up after a fall. You have to wait for the boat and start the whole process over again. I just wanted to keep riding. As to age, I should have said 45 years young. Trying something new has me feeling younger today. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: 63 Skier
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 8:32pm
Just wait, it will hurt at some point! What speed did she pull you at? ------------- '63 American Skier - '98 Sport Nautique |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-01-2016 at 9:44pm
Lol I'm sure. I did get a couple sinus enemas. 18-22 ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: 63 Skier
Date Posted: July-02-2016 at 12:06am
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As you go a few more times bring the speed up to mid 20's, you'll find it easier to control the skis and cross the wakes. ------------- '63 American Skier - '98 Sport Nautique |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-02-2016 at 12:11am
Will try it this weekend. Going to a lake with less traffic. Hopefully the conditions will be better. If my wife wants to slalom should we use the same speed? ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: 63 Skier
Date Posted: July-02-2016 at 12:22am
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She is on 2 skis as well? 20 is pretty slow. I've pulled kids slow, high teens to low 20's to learn, but for you guys mid 20's will let the skis ride high, respond well when you turn. It also depends on the skis, the newer wide combo skis let you get up easier and ride slower. Even so I think you'll quickly adjust to the higher speed and enjoy the feel. Faster and slower signals from the skier will let you play around with speed during a run and get it to a place that feels good. ------------- '63 American Skier - '98 Sport Nautique |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-02-2016 at 12:34am
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She is going to experiment with 1 ski this weekend. She has experience on 1 ski but can't deep water start. In my mind the reduced surface area of 1 ski would require a higher speed. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: td_in_nc
Date Posted: July-02-2016 at 10:04am
| +1 on the v rope to make getting up on a slalom easier. Even April Cobble suggest them for learning. |
Posted By: MrMcD
Date Posted: July-02-2016 at 10:39am
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When your wife gets up on one ski you will need to increase the boat speed. I suspect you will need 28 - 30 mph for a single ski. As mentioned, communicate with hand signals to get the speed right for her. A thumb up means more speed. Thumb down = ;less speed OK sign, speed is good. One other tip that may help, when your skier is ready to go teach them to say HIT IT. This means hit the gas, lets go, I m ready. If they yell GO, that can be dangerous since GO and NO can sound the same. HIT IT is unique and you have less chance of error. Go have some fun out there, glad you guys are so excited. |
Posted By: Morfoot
Date Posted: July-02-2016 at 10:40am
Bought a nice Slalolm V-handle from her at the Atlanta Boat show last Jan. Got my 17 year old Daughter up with it on the second try. +2 on the training handle. ------------- "Morfoot; He can ski. He can wakeboard.He can cook chicken.He can create his own self-named beverage, & can also apparently fly. A man of many talents."72 Mustang "Kermit",88 SN Miss Scarlett, 99 SN "Sherman" |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: July-02-2016 at 10:51am
 ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: bkhallpass
Date Posted: July-02-2016 at 12:15pm
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Pics, or it did not happen. BKH ------------- Livin' the Dream |
Posted By: spiralhelix
Date Posted: July-02-2016 at 1:04pm
Awesome job!!!! Also, what a terrible setting to go skiing. Who really wants to look at that beautiful sight all day???  I think everyone is hitting the nail on the head with instruction. Being a snow skier myself, I feel that that helps get the muscle memory going quicker. As Air206 said, chest up and lean back a little. You want the skis to ride the rollers/wakes like you would with mogals. With your knees bent already, there isn't much room to go and end up pounding them. And constantly hitting rollers tires you out quickly. Not saying you guys do this as the vid wasn't long enough, just remember (if you have to turn around a lot) Make the boat path a dumbbell shape, Not a nascar race track. That way the center of the wake will always be smooth(er). Keep an eye out on either Amazon or woot.com for action cameras. I got mine for $50 and they turn out pretty awesome (maybe a bit less quality than a gopro, but far less expensive). Then you can either purchase or build a pylon mount that will track you as you move from side to side. Here is a http://correctcraftfan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=35931&PID=477859%20" rel="nofollow - thread discussing mounts. Lastly, to embed video, copy the youtube link, then when composing the post, add the link between the {tube}http://youtu.be/j8VrFfnK3Gk{/tube} command or can be shortented to {tube}j8VrFfnK3Gk{/tube} (*note i used incorrect brackets on purpose so you can see the code. so you would just use a normal straight open and close bracket. |
Posted By: dwouncmd
Date Posted: July-03-2016 at 2:38pm
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I got my kids a v handle pretty cheap on Amazon (Jobe, about $35). Ordered and had it in two day (the local Overton's did not have one in stock). Has been a god-send for all 4 kids (the 7 and 8 year old are about to move to the standard rope). ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=6535&sort=&pagenum=2" rel="nofollow - 89 SN <a href="http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=6567&sort=&pagenum=1" rel="nofollow">7 |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 1:46am
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If you thought that scenery was bad you will hate this. Hungry Horse Reservoir, Glacier National Park in the back ground. Camped for the weekend there. On the water Sunday and today. Conditions weren't great. Low 70's and windy. I was the only one who skied Sunday. Up on the second try and had a nice ride. Outside the wake and cutting across the wake. Felt great and was really fun. Water was choppy but at this point I don't know any better. This morning the other guy in our party took advantage of a break in the wind and took a ride on the slalom ski. Fun to watch him lay it down. I didn't have the video camera ready when he took off. After lunch the wife tried some deep water slalom starts with no success. She then tried to drop a ski and had a couple good wipe outs. That was enough of that and she had a nice run on two skies. Here is one of her deep water attempts, just plowing. she was feeling like she needed more weight on the back foot. Our friends were telling her to keep both feet weighted equally. She made a couple more attempts with similar outcomes. https://youtu.be/HrQMpQqAr0k" rel="nofollow - Mrs. Poorhouse deep water start Here she is trying to drop a ski. She couldn't find the back binding. https://youtu.be/gulk_nxyr8s" rel="nofollow - Mrs. Poorhouse dropping ski. And her run on two skies. https://youtu.be/_aYd4Nqi0iQ" rel="nofollow - Mrs. Poorhouse on two skies I took another run when she was done. There were a couple spots out of the wind with some glass that she had hit. I found a couple of those. Totally different experience than the chop. Sound, feel everything. I get why people would get out on the water early when its still cold to ski that, so awesome. You can see start to push the turns more toward the end of the run and pick up my right ski a couple times. The turns felt great, picking up the ski felt pretty wobbly. https://youtu.be/QVt6qbAN-o8" rel="nofollow - Poorhouse's run Will order deep V handle rope this week to try out next weekend. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: IAughtNaut
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 2:28am
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This may seem counter-intuitive, but the middle of the wake is the absolute worst place to learn to drop a ski, especially if you have good water. If you have glass outside the wake, use it. Its hard to get caught in prop wash or a rooster tail outside the wake. Its not impossible, but its hard. It looked like she dropped her right ski and was going to have her left foot forward, no? (If I saw that wrong, reverse everything that comes next) She should go outside the wake to the left. Or port side of the boat, whatever makes sense to you. The reason is, cutting that direction will give her something to pull against. She'll be leaning out and away from the boat and that will give her additional pull for balance. In the dead center of the wake she will have to stay perfectly balanced straight up and down on her own, which is a difficult transition for a new skier used to being on two. You're going from 3 points of balance two two (ski, ski, handle to ski, handle), so use the rope tension, it will help. Last thing, nothing needs to happen quickly. She popped that foot out of the ski and fired it at the back of the slalom. Relax. This is also easier outside the wake. Go outside, pull all the way out, and just take a little pressure off her right foot. Then a little more. When she gets comfortable, she'll be able to lift that right ski up off the water. Ankle height, this isn't a contortionist show. But if she can do that, its real easy to slowly slide out of it, then SLOWLY place the back foot on the ski, and it doesn't have to go immediately into the footpiece. We tell beginners to just set it down somewhere. On the ski, on top of the footpiece, in it, wherever it lands. If she is too focused on getting that foot in the hole she will lose concentration, start leaning over to look, and take a drink. None of that applies only to the misses. Now that you are going back and forth across the wake, do the same thing. Go left, pressure on the left, lift the right. You don't have to kick off immediately, but get used to feeling the skis independently. Keep up the good work. And the pics/vids. ------------- bring the ruckus http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=5347" rel="nofollow - 2000 Pro Air |
Posted By: MrMcD
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 5:02am
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You guys are doing exactly what you should be doing! Using the boat while having old times with friends! The rest will come along soon. When you drop a ski never rush, take your sweet time getting your back foot in and it will work. Mark |
Posted By: dwouncmd
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 9:39am
I had the same thought All of the above is good advice, especially slow moves when dropping, don't worry about finding the rear binding. Make sure the dropped ski binding is loose enough to get out of without too much difficulty. For Mrs. Poorhouse, I definitely think it is worth rediscovering the sense of balance on one ski by dropping a ski (or boom if/when you have it) before trying deep water starts. Some time on the water after the drop will help train/strengthen muscles, which should make the deep water starts easier to achieve. Thinking about the advice your friends were giving, one of the hardest things for me to "get" for my deep water starts was not "pushing" the ski against the pull of the boat, or said another way, trying to straighten my legs too soon. The skier has to let the boat pull them up, not try to pull the boat back to them. For me that means really focusing on keeping my knees bent/arms straight until the ski is beginning to plane, then standing up. Because I start with both feet in, and that is how I have taught me kids, the way I try to get it across to them is to tell them to keep their back foot as close to there backside as possible. A few other things that could help, if the skier is sitting low in the water, some extra flotation might help (a few examples, I find it easier to get up with a wet suit plus a life vest because I am sitting higher in the water, my non coast guard approved competition vest sits lower than my CG approved vest, and make sure the weight rating for the CG approved vest is adequate). Make sure to keep plenty of ski out of the water (don't start the pull with the tip under water or close to underwater) so the tip doesn't submarine; for this I tell my kids to roll on their back just a little (but keep the back foot close to their backside so the ski can go horizontal when it needs to). If the ski falls to one side or the other, the skier ends up pushing a wall of water, which is difficult to overcome. As the driver, I make sure to take up the slack in the rope before starting the pull; one way to teach this to the skier is have them ask the driver to go "in gear", get settled with just a little drag, then "hit it". Finally, for me, a pull straight behind the boat instead of slightly off to one side is much easier; as a driver, I always try to center the skier, especially learners. ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=6535&sort=&pagenum=2" rel="nofollow - 89 SN <a href="http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=6567&sort=&pagenum=1" rel="nofollow">7 |
Posted By: 75 Tique
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 11:51am
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I also support the Mrs. Getting comfortable on one by dropping a ski, but when it's time to resume efforts getting up on one. She and you reported too much weight on her back leg. That does make it tough to get up. Most instructors , books and guides suggest getting up on one ski with rear foot out - two benefits: less weight on back of ski letting it plane quicker/easier. The out leg, stretched out behind you serves to balance the skier and give you more surface area to push you to the surface. Body position is also important. Keep your in the ski knee right up into your chest till ski starts to plane off. Much less strain on the body and promotes you letting the boat do the work. ------------- _____________ “So, how was your weekend?” “Well, let me see…sun burn, stiff neck, screwed up back, assorted aches and pains….yup, my weekend was great, thanks for asking.” |
Posted By: 63 Skier
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 12:01pm
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All good advice, and congrats on working hard on progressing so quickly! You really looked comfortable on the 2 skis for your 2nd time out. I've gotten up on one ski for more than 40 years and I still fall at times when I try. When I teach people I tell them the first 4 or 5 tries are just to get the feel of it. In other words, no shame in taking a bunch of tries on multiple times out to get the hang of deep water starts. ------------- '63 American Skier - '98 Sport Nautique |
Posted By: 63 Skier
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 12:01pm
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I forgot to mention, the boat sounds great too. ------------- '63 American Skier - '98 Sport Nautique |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 12:26pm
This makes a lot of sense. Both the slow pacing when transferring to one ski, and to start lifting outside the wake (we are both left foot forward). The videos have been fun and I think are helping us learn as well. A friendly rivalry is taking shape about who will get up on 1 ski first.
Thanks! We are having a great time.
Good stuff. It seems like forcing that back leg straight to early is the crux of her problem at this point. Good advise on centering the skier. We usually do that. Our friend was driving who is used to being out with better skiers. She was giving us driving pointers while either I or Mrs. Poorhouse was spotter. We've been debating about our 6 year old acting as spotter. He understands the job and has been doing great at it. We are concerned about safety but are beginning to think that he is up for the job if just the 3 of us can go out. Any thoughts on that?
This make complete sense to me. Mrs. Poorhouse will be reading this later today. Will report back with her thoughts. I don't think we will be able to get back on the water until the weekend. It's going to be tough to wait.
Thank you! It feels great. I think you can see Mrs. Poorhouse's balance and posture are better than mine. A product of her experience. I'm thinking about body position for her it's natural.
I agree, it is intoxicating and not to loud. Our friend's boat, also 351 powered has a different muffler set up and doesn't have the rumble ours does. I believe they had some exhaust envy this weekend. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: spiralhelix
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 1:08pm
Personally, I'd be fine with a 6 year old being a spotter. When I drive, I am constantly keeping an eye on the skier in the mirror. I have the throttle pulled back before my spotter even mentions the skier is down. If you have to hold up a flag when skier is down, I might think twice. I'm surprised no one has mentioned it, but we always boost the speed a few mph once the ski is dropped, or at least start boosting the speed before the drop. When I drop a ski, if i go straight for the boot, my foot tends to find the ski wake and not the boot. I started bringing my foot to my calf, then sliding down and inching back to find the rear toe plate. All in all, you guys are doing a fantastic job, and I would be in heaven to ski in that setting. so beautiful. |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 1:40pm
I keep my eye on the skier when I'm driving as does my wife so I think it would work. The 6 year old is really into it and keeps a close watch, so is a good helper. We are borrowing an easy ski for him next weekend, he is beyond excited to try it. I like the idea of using the attached let to help the free let find it's position. Will keep that in mind. Good point on speed. We will keep that in mind. We upped our speed this weekend from 18-20 to 20-22 and up to 24. Getting comfortable going faster. The choppy conditions make going faster harder. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: MrMcD
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 1:58pm
| Some states have laws that regulate the age of your observer. My boys were trained observers by age 5 but not legal observers till age 12 |
Posted By: GottaSki
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 2:28pm
|
I concur, my girl when 7 was much more alert and on-task then most adults, who usually looking around blabbing away and talking about someones new fence/shed/landscaping and trying to remember who lived where. but 12 to be legal. Sh|t at 12 I was driving skiers. ------------- "There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worthwhile as messing around with boats...simply messing." River Rat to Mole |
Posted By: dwouncmd
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 3:32pm
When I am driving, I usually know the skier is down at the same time or before the spotter. In North Carolina, the skier either has to have a PFD or a spotter, but not both, so my wife will pull me alone from time to time; we always have a spotter for the kids. I think the age has less to do with the job than does the temperament. My 7 year old is probably a better spotter than my 8, 11, and 12 year old. I have been teaching all of them to drive (the young ones just idle with me behind them hands on wheel and throttle, the older ones I hope to have pulling each other and me soon). ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=6535&sort=&pagenum=2" rel="nofollow - 89 SN <a href="http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=6567&sort=&pagenum=1" rel="nofollow">7 |
Posted By: spiralhelix
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 3:45pm
Or, like my 20 year old nephew, who spends most of his "spotter" time staring at his phone, FBing, Snapchatting, Instagramming, etc... This is how it is stated in the https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/boating/Documents/BoatDigest.pdf" rel="nofollow - Illinois DNR Registration and Safety Act : "When towing a person on water skis, aquaplane or similar device, the towing vessel must have a capacity of at least three persons and must be occupied by at least two competent people. " Competent people?!?! well there are a number of my friends that might fail to meet this criteria  |
Posted By: Donald80SN
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 3:47pm
|
One great thing that I picked up from this site concerning driving the boat when pulling a skier is telling the new boat driver to think about pulling away from a green light with a car. The driver does not need to do a burn out they just need to pull away from the light nice and easy but consistent.. This also seems to apply very well to pulling skiers and wake boarders. When people are pulling me, they want to slam the throttle to WOT and rip my arms out of socket. LOL !! I also heard from Hollywood about starting out with one foot out when learning on one ski. This does seems to help with some folks. I do all of my teaching of young people to ski with the barefoot boom. I start them on the boom and then move them to the five foot rope from the boom, and then to the back of the boat with the long line. Using the tower, fly high or extended pylon also helps with a new skiers to get them up and going with the higher pull point.. I had always heard the Vee training handle be called an Easy Up Rope with handle. I have also been told not to use it but so many times or it can set back your learning, but I do not know if this is true or not. JMO, Donald ------------- 1980 Ski Nautique SOLD Back to Cypress Gardens 2002 Sport Nautique, GT-40, FCT2, Cover Sports, Tower Bimini, Inc., Wet Sounds Audio System, Star Gazer Wake Edition S. 1968 Ski Nautique, Project. |
Posted By: MrMcD
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 5:29pm
|
We learned to ski behind a 13'9" wood low profile ski boat with a 75 HP Evenrude hanging on it. The engine in those days was huge for a 13 foot boat. To pull up a slolom skier we would have to drag a foot. Front foot in the front boot, rear leg loose and pointing out the back. In those old high powered boats you would yell hit it, Take a deep breath and tuck your head in low behind the tip of the ski. Speed would start to build slowly while you drag. After about 30 seconds we would pop our head up, take a quick look around as we took another deep breath and went back into the tuck. After about 100 yards of dragging you would be about half way up, my left foot is forward so my left knee is at my chest and my right foot is straight out behind me with the toes pointed. As the speed built you could use the right trailing foot as a second ski but with the leg and toes still pointed out the rear. You add pressure to the foot helping lift your body up on plane. This dragging a foot method was the only way possible to get up behind that old ski boat. Once the boat got on plane it had plenty of power to ski hard behind it and we even barefooted off that old boat but man was that first 100 yards tough. Dragging a foot gives you almost double the lift on a single ski take off and as others have stated it lets the ski come on plane naturally as the speed builds. With two feet in the bindings many people add weight to the rear foot and end up fighting the whole process. When I bought my first Nautique a 1978 351W powered boat it was a real powerhouse compared to the old outboards we skied. Behind this Nautique we taught my best friend to ski, this guy is an unbelievable athlete and a gym rat. At 6'3" and 195 lbs he was squatting 560 pounds at the time we were teaching him to single ski. He would battle the boat, pressing with all that leg strength so hard he pushed a wave in front of the ski before he would pop up. He would fight till the vacuum operated secondary in the 4 barrel carb opened, I have never heard that with anyone else unless I had 4 people trying to come up at once. He always said he could not understand how any women could ski because coming up took so much strength. Then we taught him how to drag a foot and he started popping out like all normal skiers. |
Posted By: GottaSki
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 6:00pm
|
Well explained Mark, Yes, pushing square against the boat provides no lift.. Angling ski and leg like a planing surface provides lift, less drag, more lift, less drag, etc heh, both my ladies close their eyes on a oneski start, they say that's the secret to dw start ------------- "There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worthwhile as messing around with boats...simply messing." River Rat to Mole |
Posted By: Hollywood
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 6:12pm
| Plenty of friends can do a 2 foot dw slalom start but cannot do a hop dock. Clearly they are making it harder than it needs to be. |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-05-2016 at 9:05pm
|
Had to look up "hop dock", found this guide with a bunch of other good stuff. http://www.usawaterski.org/BasicSkills/LearnToShowSki.pdf" rel="nofollow - Hop Dock Mrs. Poorhouse read through everyone's suggestions and took a look at her videos again. She was pushing with her back leg not sitting on it and the ski was pretty low in the water. She's thinking pulling the back of the ski up to her butt will make the difference. She said she tried the one foot out with leg out behind and toe pointed and couldn't get up, but may try it again as well. We'll be out on Saturday to give it a try. Going to a lake that is usually pretty quiet so should be able to experiment dropping a ski as well. Then she and Poorhouse Jr. are off to MA and NH for 3 weeks. I'll be there for a week on Lake Winnipesaukee to celebrate her folks 50th anniversary. Her brother will be there with boat and skis. He and her sister are (or were) slalom skiers, should be a great time. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: MrMcD
Date Posted: July-06-2016 at 4:26am
|
Poorhouse that introduction to show skiing was a pretty cool link. We used to do 3 and 6 man pyramids on the river just for fun back in the 80's. We were skiing 2-3 days every week and I guess we got bored of just skiing. We learned how to do the 360 degree spin around the boat too. There is a lot of fun to be had on the water and it can all be family oriented. |
Posted By: Hollywood
Date Posted: July-06-2016 at 11:48am
| Mrs. Poorhouse [insert any skier ever here] will be better off in the long run getting comfortable with the 1 leg start. She'll eventually see how effortless it can/should be. Don't fall into the 2 foot start trap. |
Posted By: GottaSki
Date Posted: July-06-2016 at 12:26pm
|
What Hollywood sez. ------------- "There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worthwhile as messing around with boats...simply messing." River Rat to Mole |
Posted By: GottaSki
Date Posted: July-06-2016 at 12:42pm
|
I'm a proponent of strong foot forward, Those that don't, seem to struggle forever with skiing tail heavy, bad turns, and difficult starts. But others make it work. If this is the moment to consider that, best not wait. Its hard to change later.. One ski start one has the advantage of letting the hips rotate, don't have to so square to the water, Pull the ski under the butt, knee in your face, and pause till the water firms, push the ski and leg out in front of you ------------- "There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worthwhile as messing around with boats...simply messing." River Rat to Mole |
Posted By: Hollywood
Date Posted: July-06-2016 at 1:05pm
|
Figure it this way, if you only had 1 leg which would it be? And would you put it in the back of the ski? Hell no. |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-06-2016 at 2:57pm
|
Will get her to try a couple 1 leg starts as well as the 2 leg she currently prefers. Looking forward to skiing with the brother and sister in law. I think she feels like they will get her some good pointers. I'm a former skate boarder and occasional snowboarder and always go left foot forward. I would consider that my strong leg. I jump with it as well. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: dwouncmd
Date Posted: July-06-2016 at 3:20pm
What about people who ski in double boots? ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=6535&sort=&pagenum=2" rel="nofollow - 89 SN <a href="http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=6567&sort=&pagenum=1" rel="nofollow">7 |
Posted By: Blamey
Date Posted: July-06-2016 at 3:39pm
I think the answer is obvious. ------------- 96 Super Sport Previously: 95 Sport Nautique, 1980 Ski Supreme |
Posted By: Hollywood
Date Posted: July-06-2016 at 4:13pm
I've heard far more bad advice over the years than good. |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-06-2016 at 5:09pm
True with most things. I know she is hoping to get up this weekend and have some time on 1 ski before going to the reunion. Sibling rivalry and what not. If she is still struggling we'll see what they have to offer. Updated forecast for Saturday - 67 with 20% chance of rain.  ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: GlassSeeker
Date Posted: July-06-2016 at 7:43pm
|
Old? Reheheheally now...learning to barefoot at 53! ------------- This is the life |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-06-2016 at 8:19pm
Nice! If I get this skiing thing figured out maybe I'll be ready to try that at 53! ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: GlassSeeker
Date Posted: July-06-2016 at 8:23pm
|
Skis just get in the way ------------- This is the life |
Posted By: backfoot100
Date Posted: July-07-2016 at 10:09am
|
That's just waaaaayyyy cool Andy!!!!!! Well done. ------------- When people run down to the lake to see what's making that noise, you've succeeded. Eddie |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: July-07-2016 at 10:51am
Jake, The state of Wisconsin regs say only a "competent" person is needed for spotting. Check your Montana regs. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: Blamey
Date Posted: July-13-2016 at 11:22am
|
So yesterday got up on a pair of skis for the first time in about 25 years. After I quick crossing the lake I couldn't resist the urge to drop a ski. That didn't work out and I fell pretty much straight away. Took me about 5 attempts to get up this time after failing to get up when I tried last month. Part if the issue is that the technique is very different to getting up on a wake board. On a wakeboard I get the board under me pretty quickly and pop out of the water. With the skis I found I needed to stay leaning back for as long as possible with the skis in front of me. I think part if the issue was I am a little heavy for the combos I was using. Was great to get up. Got up a second time and rode a little longer but really just wanted to get back on one ski as soon as I was up. Tried dropping a ski again but fell pretty much instantly again. Might need a big more practice on two before getting back to slalom. ------------- 96 Super Sport Previously: 95 Sport Nautique, 1980 Ski Supreme |
Posted By: Hollywood
Date Posted: July-13-2016 at 7:44pm
Good way to torque your back. More abs. |
Posted By: MrMcD
Date Posted: July-13-2016 at 9:29pm
|
Congratulations on the first ride in 25 years, I would encourage you to enjoy the ride more rather than dropping so quickly. People forget how much fun it is to ski, on one or two. As you play on two skis lift the ski that would be your back foot and ride on your front foot while the other ski is lifted, no more than 3-6 inch lift is necessary. When you can do this and feel stable doing it you are ready to drop a ski. When you know you are going to drop a ski on a run loosen up the boot on your ski that will be your rear foot. Sometimes I will even take the heel part of the boot off to make the drop easier. When you decide you are ready lift the ski and test your balance, if it is good you can usually point your toes and lift your heel a little slowly and the ski will fall away. If you jerk or pull hard you will probably fall down so work on one smooth motion. After the ski falls off keep watching the boat and leave your foot in the two ski position while you adjust. Then move it slowly behind your front foot and again while watching ahead to keep your body position correct start feeling around with your toes for the rear boot. It is always in the same spot and won't move on you so trust you can do this while watching the boat ahead and don't rush anything if you rush you fall. Once you find the rear boot slowly slip your toes in then relax and enjoy your success. At this point I flex up and down with my knees a couple times while slipping the foot into the rear boot then go enjoy some single ski fun. You might even come up on doubles but have your forward foot in a real single ski if that is what you were used to 25 years ago. Good Luck For years I stepped off a ski to barefoot before I bought a deep water barefoot suit so I got lots of practice dropping a ski and skiing with one foot out. With one foot out I always liked the control a true single ski gave compared to the feel of the standard double ski set where one ski had a rear boot to allow single ski use. |
Posted By: 63 Skier
Date Posted: July-14-2016 at 12:55am
Paul, your profile says you are 36. So you last skied when you were 11? Congrats on getting back into it, and rediscovering how much fun it really is! ------------- '63 American Skier - '98 Sport Nautique |
Posted By: Blamey
Date Posted: July-14-2016 at 10:45am
Yeah, I know I'm not quite an old guy yet but this thread motivated me to try ski again that is why I posted in here. I was about 11 when I last skied. I had just learned to slalom and deep water start and was still using one of the combo skis we had. I could ride just fine but wasn't doing much in the way of turns. Hollywood, with regards to leaning back, I think this is just relative to getting up on a wakeboard. With a wakeboard you have the edge of the board and can use to use for control. With the ski I need to lean back more than with a wakeboard otherwise I get pulled over but I'll definitely keep that in mind to not over do it. I'm going out again today and will try again and get some video. ------------- 96 Super Sport Previously: 95 Sport Nautique, 1980 Ski Supreme |
Posted By: Blamey
Date Posted: July-14-2016 at 11:02am
|
Mark, thanks for the tips. I agree I need a little more than a minute of practice on two before moving on to slalom. It has been 25 years. That said I feel I wasn't that far away form getting to one ski and I think your points about looking up and taking it slow will help. I was definitely rushing to get the back leg in. One issue I have with the skis is the bindings are really slippery. I don't feel like they are loose but they are really easy to come out of. This makes lifting a ski difficult. On the flip side it's really easy to step out of them. Maybe it just need to adjust them to be tighter. I have a slalom ski at home that came with the boat. It is probably a little small for me, but I can make it work. Once I master dropping one ski I'll switch to it and one combo. ------------- 96 Super Sport Previously: 95 Sport Nautique, 1980 Ski Supreme |
Posted By: TRBenj
Date Posted: July-14-2016 at 11:41am
| I agree with HW, leaning back in any way is definitely not the right (or easy) way to ski. |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-14-2016 at 1:49pm
That is Awesome! My Aunt will be here in August. She turned 70 this year and is going to try it again. She said it's been at least 30 years since she skied. I'm leaving Saturday for NH for a week on the lake. Found a good deal on a Radar P6. Had it shipped there to try out for the week. Sounds like a good beginner slalom ski. Hoping the extra size helps us get out of the water. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: desertskier
Date Posted: July-14-2016 at 2:14pm
|
[/QUOTE] Hollywood, with regards to leaning back, I think this is just relative to getting up on a wakeboard. With a wakeboard you have the edge of the board and can use to use for control. With the ski I need to lean back more than with a wakeboard otherwise I get pulled over but I'll definitely keep that in mind to not over do it. I'm going out again today and will try again and get some video.[/QUOTE] If you are getting pulled over or the skis are being pushed apart ask the driver to go a little easier. It shouldn't take much throttle to pull someone up on two skis. |
Posted By: 63 Skier
Date Posted: July-14-2016 at 4:33pm
What size did you get? No question that will be an easier ski to get up on, and get comfortable on in a short amount of time. I have a feeling you'll like it. ------------- '63 American Skier - '98 Sport Nautique |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-14-2016 at 5:08pm
|
67 I weigh 190ish wife weighs 130ish. Based on the weight recommendations from Radar she could have gone 65 or 67, I could have gone 67 or 69. Hopefully the 67 will work for both of us, at least initially. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: Hollywood
Date Posted: July-14-2016 at 5:11pm
| Do you share underwear too? |
Posted By: 63 Skier
Date Posted: July-14-2016 at 5:16pm
|
Yup, that's the only size that could work as a compromise. My Radar Senate is 67", maybe a bit small for me at 210 lbs., but I really like the ski. Not an easy ski to get up on, yours should be much easier. As time goes on you both may want to get your own skis, You may want a 69", if you get a chance to ski on one you'll be surprised how easy the larger ski is, but I bet your wife will be OK with the 67". ------------- '63 American Skier - '98 Sport Nautique |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-14-2016 at 5:36pm
You want to see a video of that? ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-14-2016 at 5:37pm
I'm guessing we will. At this point we want to get up and get some experience. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: Gary S
Date Posted: July-14-2016 at 6:11pm
We both go commando,too late for lunch hope you were at least drinking something ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1711&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1966&yrend=1970" rel="nofollow - 69 Mustang HM SS 95 Nautique Super Sport |
Posted By: tnplicky
Date Posted: July-14-2016 at 11:29pm
That's what I asked the wife for but she didn't go for it. 
|
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-18-2016 at 1:44pm
|
Success with the P6. First opportunity to ski in NH this morning. Wife was not able to get up on the P6. She could feel the better float but couldn't hold on long enough to plane. She only tried 5 times. I think she will get it with more practice. My turn next. I tried with rear foot in. It is much harder than getting up on 2 skies. I had the ski going right or left, went over the front, leaned to far back, etc. the advice here really helped. I kept my back foot pulled up to my butt and got the ski to plane. Then another over the front and to far back. On the 9th try I got up and had a good run. Felt much more natural on 1 ski than 2. Was able to cross wake and make turns. Super fun morning. Couple things I noticed, spray off the front of the ski if it isn't flat straight behind the boat or on a hard bank. Not sur if I wasn't weighted properly or if our speed was off. Speed was around 32 which is good or maybe a bit fast for this ski. What is the technique for turning? I was able to lean the ski over and change direction but was not cranking turns. Did shoot video but won't be able to upload until next week. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: spiralhelix
Date Posted: July-18-2016 at 1:52pm
|
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Posted By: MrMcD
Date Posted: July-18-2016 at 2:14pm
|
Congrats, you mastered the deep water start! Keep playing and having fun. Look for some videos on learning to slalom a picture is worth a thousand words. |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-18-2016 at 2:53pm
|
Not mastered, I could see it taking a few times to get up next time. Should be able to get out a couple more times this week and work on the turns. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: GottaSki
Date Posted: July-18-2016 at 3:10pm
|
Good to hear you are on your way! Your stance should be neutral to front-foot biased. Water should be breaking in front of your front toes. If water is shooting ahead, you are rear biased and not standing on your front foot. Your a big guy and may need one more mph, but it won't fix a bad stance. The start gets people so out of shape to ski, one needs to reset the stance once up. Basically, thrust your hips forward,.no more forward. More forward than that. keep going.next roll your shoulders back and lock in the upper body. Roll forward on your ankles and keep knees and ankles, uhm, pliable. When you think your hips are too far forward, they are halfway where they need to be. ------------- "There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worthwhile as messing around with boats...simply messing." River Rat to Mole |
Posted By: 75 Tique
Date Posted: July-18-2016 at 3:20pm
|
Spray out the front of the ski likely means weight a little too far forward. Ease weight back a bit. The plus side of that is, most skiers have weight too far back. This results in poor form in turns, something I am frequently guilty of. This is a friend I ski with. This is an unusually poor turn for him, really cocked it back.  On the other hand this is a more typical turn for him, see how much more forward his weight is on the ski.  Don't think that it is only going to take a couple tips from folks on here for you to turn like this. It takes time to get. Lots of time. Like years. Not to discourage you, but that is just my feeling. The first step is have the confidence to lean into the wake. Even that takes a while to build up the courage to do and feeling for doing. I really think its an evolution vs something you learn, but I could be wrong, maybe some folks pick it up right away, or after a couple lessons at a good ski school.....but I don't think so. ------------- _____________ “So, how was your weekend?” “Well, let me see…sun burn, stiff neck, screwed up back, assorted aches and pains….yup, my weekend was great, thanks for asking.” |
Posted By: GottaSki
Date Posted: July-18-2016 at 3:44pm
|
Well said.. The turns are actually the easier part and come more natural. New skiers want to know all about the turns because that what looks impressive to them. The best turn is one that follows exiting the wakes at maximum effort. Therefore focusing too much on the turn, and not the cut, its foundation, creates an imbalance. Learn to stay stacked and maximize the rip across the both wakes. Start with small amplitude so your approach is an acceleration through that leaves you wanting more, not a decel due to approaching the wake at a speed that makes you hesitate. Focusing all on the turn now, is like riding a bicycle too slow, its awkward. Oh, and you should be skiing at 15 off if it hasn't been said yet. Too many bad habits perpetuate at 75' ------------- "There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worthwhile as messing around with boats...simply messing." River Rat to Mole |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-18-2016 at 3:56pm
|
Great stuff! Thank you! I have no idea what to be focusing on. Getting comfortable crossing the wake and accelerating across. I can do that. Will pay better attention to were my weight as well. I think the rope we have this week has some off will double check. On a related note- saw 2 skiers on small bass type boats with really long ropes, they were way back. Not making any turns just cruising. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: 75 Tique
Date Posted: July-18-2016 at 4:06pm
|
Here's another little something to look forward to. I taught another friend to go on one ski last year. He is very solid now, and turns back and forth, but in broad sweeping turns. Really not cutting his turns yet. But that is where he is now, just learning to cut, and is just starting to get the hang of it. A side effect of really leaning into your turns and making a tight cut is your are going to rocket toward the wake. Its a cool feeling. My friend loves it. But it is also new territory. Keep in mind, I have a vintage boat with a much larger wake than a newer one, but at 32-ish, its not awful. But my friend has taken some good spills upon hitting the wake because hitting at speed is new to him. It is possible to ease out of your cut and not charge the wake, but you have to learn sometime. One of my philosophies about skiing is "if you aren't falling, you aren't trying hard enough" My friend joined Greg Fossett and me to do some slaloming during Greg's and my LLBD sessions. Greg had a pretty good piece of advice for him, regarding learning to cut. Yes, you are going to practice your turns while skiing, but at the end of the run, as you are ready to release the rope, swing out, ditch the rope, and really lay down the ski to get a sense of how it feels. ------------- _____________ “So, how was your weekend?” “Well, let me see…sun burn, stiff neck, screwed up back, assorted aches and pains….yup, my weekend was great, thanks for asking.” |
Posted By: 63 Skier
Date Posted: July-18-2016 at 5:18pm
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Congrats Jake, you're making good progress and I like how determined you are to get better. My bad form has taken many years to perfect! A lot of good advice above, I won't add to it since really like Larry said you need to get out and ski and ski and ski and you'll be able to make the adjustments as everything gets more comfortable. Looks like a hot and clear week for you at the big lake, enjoy! ------------- '63 American Skier - '98 Sport Nautique |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-25-2016 at 6:09pm
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Home from Winnie early this morning. Landed in MT at 1:30am home in bed at 4;30am. Long day, but a great trip. That lake is beautiful. The water was fantastic. We never got glassy conditions, it was windy all week, but still had a good time. Brother-in-law's boat a 2006 Yamaha 23' bowrider with twin jet drives. A comfortable boat and fast on the top end. I don't think it has the hole shot of our boat and the wake/roostertail combo was pretty big. He brought some kids trainer skies, short and wide with a cross bar. Got his 8 year old up and deep water starting, 7 year old up, my 6 year old up and a 5 year old up. We gave the new P6 a good workout. Boat owner like it. At the end of the week he couldn't get up on his O'brien and tried it. Got right up and had a good run. He was impressed with how it performed. Other brother-in-law is a husky guy. He's waterskied since he was a kid but now wake boards as he can't get up on the slalom. He got up his second try and had a great run. He loved the P6. I got up on my 11 try our first time out. Video below. This was my first run on a slalom and was pretty wobbly. Note the spray off the front of the ski I was talking about earlier. That improved as I got centered over the ski and better balanced. I had another few runs over the week. Always took 4-5 tries to get up. Didn't really get an opportunity to work on accelerating through the wake. The repeated deep water starts tired out my grip. Wondering if gloves would help? Mrs. Poorhouse was unable to get up. She couldn't hold on long enough. Hoping the better hole shot with our boat will get her up. If not maybe be her glove too? Video of my first slalom. https://youtu.be/l2IxsFzN_qY" rel="nofollow - Poorhouse's First Slalom Run Poorhouse Jr's first ride. This was shot with an Iphone and the quality is not as good. https://youtu.be/Bw0K8sX0_Is" rel="nofollow - Poorhouse Jr's First Ski ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: spiralhelix
Date Posted: July-25-2016 at 6:35pm
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Nice run in both vids! I'm not an expert like the other guys, but it does look like you're bent forward at the waist. I've been showing a guy wakeboarding the same thing. Chest proud, hips forward. How fast was the boat going? seemed a little slow for you. |
Posted By: MrMcD
Date Posted: July-25-2016 at 9:51pm
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Good Ski gloves will give you 50% more grip and help a lot. My set is 8 years old so I will let others advise you on what is a great glove today. Thanks for the update it is fun to follow. Get your wife back on two skis, just skiing will make her stronger and she can work up to trying one later. Watched your video, first time out crossing the wakes, nice work! You will improve very fast. Now as far as listening to those snowmobile motors all day I think that would drive me nuts. Give him a ride in your boat he will be a believer in direct drive very soon. |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: July-25-2016 at 9:59pm
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Glad to be provide some entertainment. I am getting a lot out of the feedback and pointers. I'm seeing regular gloves and gloves that hook onto the handle interested in opinions on each. Will keep her going on two. She successfully skied the trainer set that only came to her chest and attempted to ski the Radar and Obrein together. That did not go well. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: 63 Skier
Date Posted: July-25-2016 at 10:01pm
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Definitely agree on the gloves, make a big difference. I held out for years but now realize the advantage they give. Looks to me like you were being pulled too slow. That ski should plane pretty easily so I'm guessing they were only going 26 mph or so. Try 30 to see if the ski rides cleaner. Great progress! ------------- '63 American Skier - '98 Sport Nautique |
Posted By: 75 Tique
Date Posted: July-25-2016 at 11:29pm
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Enjoying this thread and the fact that just a few weeks ago you were saying you wanted to try 2 skis and now you are getting up on one already. Great fun. Too bad about the Mrs not getting up. That boat was probably a bit of a factor. As you said, huge rooster tail and wakes and poor pick up wouldn't help her. Hopefully behind your boat and maybe a run or two on two skis first and she will be there. As far as the gloves, As others have said, yes absolutely. But don't get those clincher/gripper kind. I don't think you need them and I find them a little bulky and ungainly. I think you will find the plain ones preferable. I personally like the half finger ones, but that is just a preference. ------------- _____________ “So, how was your weekend?” “Well, let me see…sun burn, stiff neck, screwed up back, assorted aches and pains….yup, my weekend was great, thanks for asking.” |
Posted By: GottaSki
Date Posted: July-26-2016 at 11:29am
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I admire your pluck and enthusiasm! The instability you experienced is due to stance, basically your shoulders were leading your hips. Exacerbated by heavy bias on the rear foot. Naturally after an exerting deepwater start, you are all out of sorts. One must reset With knees bent, roll forward on your ankles and thrust your hips forward and ahead of the shoulders that you now rolled back. Stand heavy on that front foot. I say that because your going to have to exaggerate the forward bias to overcome this. That speed looks inconsistent and a bit slow, you should enjoy a pull behind your boat. Oh, and when you are a bit exerted or conditions less than optimal, don't be ashamed to go out on two skis and enjoy the ride. One needs to spend some hours on 2 to get a 'water sense' that will pay dividends advancing your progress. Some aggressive cutting on 2 skis with good form is never lost time. ------------- "There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worthwhile as messing around with boats...simply messing." River Rat to Mole |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: August-08-2016 at 10:38am
Had a quick outing yesterday morning. Forcast wasn't great, but it didn't look like the bad weather would come in until mid afternoon. Got to the lake and the wind was ripping. Put in anyway and were glad we did. Wind died down after an hour and there were no other boats out. I got my first tow on the Radar behind our boat. It was fantastic! Night and day compared to the Yamaha. I was planing after a 1-2 count instead of 5-6 count behind the Yamaha. Our wake is flatter and softer as well. I improved my posture, focusing on getting my hips forward. Then cutting harder across the wake. To all who said that makes the turns easier you were right on. With extra speed the ski changed direction easily. The first time I did it surprised me. After my turn I had slack in the rope and dramatically slowed down. I never did get it right to come out of the turn and immediately be able to pull hard against the boat and back across. Poorhouse Jr. did a great job spotting my run. He then tried out a wood "U" shaped trainer ski I found on Craigslist. It didn't work at all. I think he had progressed beyond it having been up on the training skies. Unfortunately that soured his mood and Mrs. Poorhouse did not get a ride. I think Mrs. Poorhouse is going to have success on the wider P6 behind our boat. Weather permitting we will be out tomorrow for her Birthday. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |
Posted By: MrMcD
Date Posted: August-08-2016 at 11:19pm
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We knew that about the Yamaha, there is a reason for Direct Drive boats! HA. Skiing is fun with power or not but direct drives are hard to beat. Now that you found speed and the wake does not scare you the next step is timing your turns. You are pulling hard through the wakes, it is time to set up for a turn. As you relax on the pull after the second wake you will automatically be pulled upright and then quickly you will need to lean towards the boat starting your turn. Right at this pivot point stretch your arm towards the rear of the boat and lean into the turn. One arm stretching not two. The second free hand stays by your hip. This one arm stretch gives you about 3 feet of slack which gives you about 1/2 second to initiate your turn with no or little pull from the boat. As your ski comes around and you have now turned and reversed towards the wakes again your one rope holding hand should be coming back towards your hip where it will join your second off side hand which is still waiting at the hip for this timing. This needs to happen before the full power of the boat hits again as you will need a firm two hand grip to handle the boats pull. Doing the same turn with 2 hands will slow down your turn a lot and it will be a larger more rounded turn. The one hand turn is necessary to make a quick turn as you do in the course on short line. Watch some video of good skiing and think about the one hand stretch and how it works to provide that instant of slack to help you turn, it will start to make sense. The first time you do this it will probably shock you how quick the ski comes around. Remember as the ski comes around you need to be leaning away from the boat to get ready for the pull . Glad you are having fun out there. |
Posted By: Poorhouse
Date Posted: August-09-2016 at 5:43pm
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Great description. Will experiment with that next time out. Weather did not cooperate to get out for Mrs. Poorhouse's birthday today. Will be a week or so until we are both off again. ------------- Sold - 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier Current - 1996 - MC Prostar 205 I keep doing this wrong. |