Little help on the ski

[Lake.OD]

Howdy,

I will give a brief history to aid in the diagnosis. I am a 33 year old wanna be. I first learned to ski in my senior year at Kansas State and fell in love. Problem number one, I then promptly moved to Tennessee to goto Optometry school and had no access to the ski / boat for four years. I graduated about 8 years ago, problem number two, no money. I scraped up some bucks and bought a 19 ft I/O. My family has always had a house on Tablerock lake and it seemed a shame to not use it as often as possible (no one else in my family uses it). As I started skiing again, I wanted to try a better boat, so I bought a 91 Maristar 210. It definately helped and I also moved up to a better ski. A friend of mine suggested I go for a bigger ski to help initially. I am 6'3" and I weigh about 210 lbs. I was starting to get the hang of it over the last few years and I decided to make the plunge and buy a family / ski / wake board boat. I got a 2005 Sunsetter LSV tricked out like a wakesetter. I know it is not competition worthy but the wake (to me) is absolutely amazing at 15 off, blows the old Mastercraft away. I am starting to ski better just because of my confidence. I have a KD Redline 72" with double comp boots.

My question is, I love the ski but I am still learning to accelerate through the wake and get that nice "crisp" turn. I am still free skiing and would like to get to a point where I feel like I not only "look" good, but I can get aggressive enough to try the course. I love the boat, how about the ski? Can I get it done and any pointers on training. I can only get to the lake every other weekend. It makes improvement hard when you go as infrequently as I do but any advice on the ski / training would be appriciated.

Any other old geezers in their 30's like me trying to get it going?? How much advil can you take before your kidneys completely shut down....

Thanks and sorry so long.

J

[wilma]

IMO, the ski size seems big for your weight, although ski size is relative to speed as well. How fast are you skiing comfortably? 30? 32? 34?

wilma

[Rod S]

Ski size in a Redline for that weight is fine. When you start the course you are going to want that extra length because you will probably start at 30mph 15 off.

The biggest thing is getting a good pulling position from whitewater through the 2nd wake whitewater, shoulders back, weight centered (hips up, don't drag em), handle low.

Start there and let us know how it goes.

If yer a geezer I hate to think whatcha call me!!

Oh, and I didn't know there was such a thing as too much Ibuprofin, my bloods so thin now it's thinner than water.

Edited June 29, 2005 by Rod S

[JasonK]

Hey, join the club! What really helped me was to get on a ski course for a while. I grew up free-skiing and was pretty intense in the open water, but after getting on a course for a few days of practice it was taken to a whole new level.

If you can't get to a course then I suggest not cutting out so far. Stop pulling after the second wake and initiate the turn.

Maybe drop a couple buoys to simulate the boat guide and turn buoys on one side, then you'll get a feel for how far out the turn buoy is. Just don't ski into the buoy, it can knock you down quick and easy.

Good luck.

[Lake.OD]

Thanks for the intial answers!

I ski around 28 - 29 and I was curious whether or not I should kick it up a few mph. I feel a little out of control when I am going 30 mph but that may just be the difference in speed and I need to get used to it.

I had some really good skiers on the boat this last weekend on the advice I kept getting was to get the handle lower and keep my rythm. IE what you said earlier and start the cut back at the end of the second wake. A few even suggested slowing down to 26 mph to help the rythem... Any thoughts???

I run 25 to 30 miles per week. I also do some lifting two or three times per week. Any advice on endurance stuff. I feel spent after two or three runs!

This truly dominates my thoughts through the day...

[kbtheboz]

Nothing will get you prepared for skiing, except skiing. When I was a young buck, I'd run, lift, etc all winter to be ready for the first pass. I couldn't make 3 passes back to back without sucking bad air. After a few months it was 6-8 passes back to back. Skiing is the best excercise out there, IMO.

Entering the course if humbling, don't let it get you down. A buddy of mine had a favorite quote, after he tried to ski the course for the first time, he got in the boat and said " I use to be the best skier I knew..." It sure gets under your skin after you make your 1st complete pass!!

Good Luck

[Brad B]

Your gettin some good feedback.

I'd like to add that I skied a Redline for years and really loved that ski.

I moved up to a KD7000 in 2000 and like it more.

And find a course - it makes a lot of difference to have those bouys haunt you - er I mean it helps a lot to have a goal.

[Rod S]

You know dry land pulls are a great way to get your body conditioned to the correct position.

My ski pull is makeshift but it is nothing more than a handle tied to my weight machine. I have 2 pieces of 2x4 in the shape of a T. My feet go on the arms of the T and the tail goes against the base of the weight machine. With this setup you can simulate your strongest pulling position, hold the position, even do some ski pulls. If you have Gordon Rathbuns 12 slalom drills I think he shows it on the video only his rope is tied off to a post. He uses no foot support which hurts my ankles so I turn the foot 2x4 on edge (its routered out on the back to fit at the angle I like).

Basically you want the rope to draw a line straight thru your feet, hips, shoulders and thru the top of your head. Open your shoulders to the imaginary boat, don't close them off, and keep your head up. If done right this is the form you want to engrain in your muscle memory.

If practiced consistantly this will shorten your learning curve substantially opposed to trying to learn the position while moving at 40mph on the water.

edited fer bad grammer (to much in a hurry)

Edited June 30, 2005 by Rod S

[Lake.OD]

Thanks for the advice. One of the advantage of the big ski I have is I have a lot of flex in the speed. Any thoughts on my previous question of the advice I got to slow it down to 26 to work on form and then build it back up? Should I actually speed it up to 30 - 32? I am concerned if I slow it down too much I won't be able to generate enough speed to make a nice smooth (and pretty) turn...

[NorCaliBu]

Any thoughts on my previous question of the advice I got to slow it down to 26 to work on form and then build it back up?  Should I actually speed it up to 30 - 32? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Don't slow down that much. It will mess with your form too much. I start each season back down at 30 then work my way back up to 34 (Most of the season is 32).

[Rod S]

I wouldn't go any slower than 28 mph. That's plenty slow that you can have lots of slop room in both your pull and your turns. If you get your pull down you can have some terrible turns and still run it easily. Going slower also tires you out quicker. I don't know if you are skipping the gates or trying to hit em but if you are trying to run the gates too and that pass is a struggle, go just ahead of them until you get comfortable running that pass. As you get your body position down you can add the gates later.

[tvano]

don't worry about how it looks get on a course. go have fun.

i was a bit intimidated when i first hit the balls but after a few seasons it dawned on me that almost everyone out there is running long line at boat anchor speeds. don't sweat the small stuff, go have fun.

the redline will take you where you want to go. go have fun.

if a new stick will be more fun then get a new stick and go have fun.

did i mention that this is supposed to be fun? this sport is sick.

[skisix@38]

If you like your Redline, go get a D3! There are custom 4's to be had at very reasonable prices and the new ski and new boots out there will accerlerate your rate of improvement and make it more enjoyable getting there. Stay with the 70" and stay around the 28mph mark, when you have a good day and feel like you really have the hang of it and the rhythm, increase you speed to 30 and try a few turns maintaining the same rhythm.

[Lake.OD]

Just a newbie question, what is a D3?? I am sure if I popped open a ski limited catalog I could find out, but I am curious why you like it??

Thanks ahead of time...

[skisix@38]

Just a newbie question, what is a D3??  I am sure if I popped open a ski limited catalog I could find out, but I am curious why you like it??

Thanks ahead of time...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's Denny's third venture, Kidder, KD, and now D3. I recommend it because you have one of his products already and because they are known for being good all around skis that are easy and enjoyable plus offer the performance to improve.

[Rod S]

The D3 has a HUGE sweet spot and is very forgiving. It's an easy ski to ride. It also isn't very finicky about fin settings.

Edited July 1, 2005 by Rod S

[Lake.OD]

Thanks, I will look into it. Another question for the experts... Should I take the horizontal fin off the back of my ski. I have heard from some in the learning stages it actually hinders, others say it won't make any difference and yet others tell me it is quite important...

Nice friends I got eh???

[2 ThumbsUp]

Another question for the experts...  Should I take the horizontal fin off the back of my ski.  I have heard from some in the learning stages it actually hinders, others say it won't make any difference and yet others tell me it is quite important...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

While I certainly don't qualify as an expert, I spent way too long not adjusting any settings on my ski. Have always had problems breaking at the waist on my off-side turns.

On small adjust on the wing (to increase the bite)...smoothed out my off-side turn and eliminated the breaking at the waist.

Only adjust one thing at a time...ski on it and compare.

[edwin]

I spent way too long not adjusting any settings on my ski.  Have always had problems breaking at the waist on my off-side turns.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Didn't anyone ever suggest adjusting the fin? Why'd you wait so long?