Conference vicki::boats

    Finally, someone else has been bitten by the Skurfer bug.  As far as
    the best boards go, the only one I've ever ridden is the Skurfer Rage,
    which is the top of the line.  With three fins, it truly gives an
    excellent ride.  The board is a little thinner, but once you get
    balance down (which I'm still working on), you can really dig in and
    get some good height off the wake.  The Rage is about $150 or so in retail
    catalogs (Barts, Ski Limited).  In the meantime, good luck!
    -Steve

    How do Skurfers differ from kneeboards? How do you steer them? Or do
    they just get dragged around like a tube?
    I am an avid kneeboarder but am always up for something different.
    
                                              Kevin
    

    re: < Note 433.2 by LEAF::HESSION >

    Kevin,
    
    	A Skurfer is a miniature surfboard. It has straps for both
    feet and is ridden in the standing position. It's probably about
    5 feet long...
    
    Rick

    	Skurfers are actually nothing like kneeboards.  Basically what they
    are are small surfboards.  Approx. 5 ft long, 1 ft wide, 1-3 long fins. 
    All the boards differ depending on the manufacturer (obviously), but I
    think the Skurfer line is the best.  You get up on them by laying in
    the water with your feet in straps with the board horizontally in the
    water.  When the boat starts to pull, get up out of the water and
    straighten the board out.  Getting up is the hardest part.  After that,
    just learn to keep your balance and go for the height off the wake.
    	Tell your driver to take you about 20-25 mph.  Good luck!

    I know life begins at forty, but...
    
    I've always been a marginal slalom skier, mega frustrating.  My boat
    does not have enough pull, the wake is large, I'm not exactly teeny and
    my lack of skills makes for a frustrating ride.
    
    I was wondering if I should consider converting to a wakeboard.  The
    board is wider and I was thinking that starts would be easier and I'd
    be in more control once up.  I don't ski competitively, so I'm looking
    for fun and comfort, not 6 bouys at 35 off.  The foot positions, more
    like a skateboard, seem more comfortable.
    
    Wishful thinking?
    
    Chris

    
>>    I was wondering if I should consider converting to a wakeboard.  The
>>    board is wider and I was thinking that starts would be easier and I'd
>>    be in more control once up.  I don't ski competitively, so I'm looking
>>    for fun and comfort, not 6 bouys at 35 off.  The foot positions, more
>>    like a skateboard, seem more comfortable.
>>    
>>    Wishful thinking?
>>    
>>    Chris

	Actually, that sounds like a pretty good description of
wakeboarding. It's *MUCH* easier to perform deep water starts on
than a typical slalom ski and they are lots of fun. The air you can
get w/o even trying hard is pretty incredible.

	The "wakeboard", in my mind, is the later version of the plastic
Skurfers/Skiboards and it handles like a "later version". The slalom ski
material used in today's wakeboards makes sharper, crisper turns and slices
thru the water, including fairly choppy water much nicer than the plastic
boards.

have fun!

Rick

    Chris,
    
     I've been boarding a bit this year. Its advantages are less boat
    needed, wakes are a +, smooth water not required, and the falls don't
    hurt as much. Its not the speed rush that slalom is, but different
    thrills for different days. Its also much easier on the knees ( for me
    ) than kneeboarding. Another good excuse to get wet!
    
    Chuck

    
    
          I've seen them being used. Look like a blast. They "pop" right up
    
    upon acceleration with seemingly little effort. I want one too. I saw a
    
    pretty good selection at Sport Authority in Manchester N.H. last week-
    
    end. They all seem to be around $250-$300. Anyone seen them cheaper???
    
    I really don't need the fancy graphics ( one they had looked like a 
    
    cheese grater on the bottom ) or the fancy wood. 
    
    I think they're expensive just because they have something to do with
    
    a boat.
    
    -Jeff

	>Check the catalogs and places like Baert, closeouts
can be had for less then 200 bucks.

Rick

Mike B. Wasn't your HO ~150 bucks from the boat show?

>>           -< Also, buy it with the bindings that you REALLY want! >-


	The reason I say this is because my boating partner bought
a Perez Signature board with high wrap bindings for ~300 bucks
complete, board & bindings. Now we find that the size of these high
wraps fits me better than her and also find that to purchase smaller
bindings for her 95.00 bucks must be forked over



			EACH!

Get it right the first time!

RIck

    Chris, wake boarding IS a blast.  It is easier to get up with, and you
    don't need to go fast.  However, I wouldn't consider it much easier,
    skill wise, than slalom skiing.  I've found it pretty frustrating so
    far trying to get the hang of it.
    
    Mark,
    

    Chris,
    
     re: -.1
    
     I agree with the others here that is is still a skill excersize, but a
    slower and less painfull skillexersize than slalom.
    
    Start: place your board horizontal - to maybe a 30 degree up angle in
    the water. This is for balance because of the way the bindings hold
    your feet. As soon, and I mean right away, as the boat begins to pull
    turn the board to point at the boat. You will plane up very quickly and
    be on the way.
    
    Boarding:  My friends recommend a grip with both hands palm down ( not
    the one down one up you migh use on slalom). Try to keep your hands
    and the handle around waist level or a little above ( so don't let your 
    arms go straight out from the shoulder ). This higher the pull point
    the trickier the balance is.
     Once up its pretty slippery, but you'll get the idea very quickly. If
    you have ever been standing on a knee board its identical.
    
     The usual kneeboard warnings apply. When jumping make sure you land
    with the front up high. If the front is down it will submarine into the
    water slamming your face on the way. Then you get to peel your eyelids
    back over your head an replace them on your eyeballs.  You'll probably
    do this once. You'll probably not do this twice.
    
     Have fun!. With no fin you can do 180 and 360's pretty easy. A
    slightly shorter that nornal ski rope ( like 22 or a bit more off
    depending on your boat wake ) make for fun jump the wake land on the
    other side games. Tune this with speed and rope length. I's suggest
    14-18 mph as a start speed.
    
     Chuck 

    I use just a single fin on my board, the smallest one. It provides
    enough stability for cutting and jumping and yet still allow 180's.
    Can't comment on 360's.
    
    ~jeff

    There is another toy you might consider.  Unfortunately I can't
    remember its name even though I own and use one, and it's my favourite.
    You can think of it as a cross between a conventional slalom ski and a
    wakeboard.  It's made by Jobe and is a *very* fat mono ski with
    conventional forward pointing bindings.  Despite my ample weight, I pop
    right out of the water and can easily jump the wake on a short line. 
    Skiing on it is far less tiring that on a normal mono and great fun. 
    The name will come back to me in a minute or two!
    	Cheers-Ken

Ken,

	THe ski you describe sounds like one of the freestyle skis like
the F44 Craze. Is it bi-directional?

Rick

    Rick,
    
    No, it's just a very fat (like me really) mono ski, with fin.  I could
    kick myself for forgetting the name.  Anyway, it's great fun,
    effortless and like all my Jobe skis, always in need of a binding
    repair.  The brass screws into the ski body always break when I try to
    adjust the binding after winter storage.  When it's back from repair,
    I'll place the name here.
    
    Cheers-Ken

    Hello-
    re: last few
    
    Twentysomething years ago, Cypress Gardens had something called a 
    Ski-Scat that sounds like that- just big enough for two bindings and a 
    skeg (fin).
    
    
    kim
    
    

    I own two Ski-Skats. (You wanna go double??) I haven't used one in a
    few years, but they are pretty fun.  It can be best described as a
    skateboard without wheels; and made of real wood too!
    
    Doug

    At last, I remember.  The 'fat slalom ski' is a Jobe Radical.  You can
    be radical if you want, but you can also use it for a rest.
   	Ken

    Can anyone provide the location of "Buchika's" (forgive the probably
    butchered spelling ;^)? 
    
    Also, any current advice on a good place to get a first-hand look 
    (and hopefully decent sale price) at some of these new-fangled wake
    boards? The catalog pictures are just too two-dimensional to really see
    much more than outline and graphics....
    
    Thanks in advance!
    
    /dave

    
    
           SPORTS AUTHORITY in Manchester, N.H.
    

    Buchika's is in Haverhill, located off exit 51a(?), rt 125 south 
    off 495, immediately after getting on 125 there is small fork in 
    the road, bear right before the gas station.
    Buchika's is on your right about 200 yds down. 
    
    To look at wakeboards, try Beart Marine, either rt 1 north, just past
    the 114 intersection, or in tax-free Seabrook NH, just off exit 1, rte
    95, on Chevy Chase Blvd (?).If you go at night just look for the glow
    from the power plant. :^)
    
    ~jeff

    In addition to the Buchika's in Haverhill, there is also one
on route 28 in Salem, NH just south of the Rockingham mall. I just
happened to be there the other day looking at bicycles. I also took
a quick look at their snowboards. I got the distinct feeling that
Buchika's was, shall we say, "rather proud" of their merchandise.

    I second the suggestion to visit Beart Marine instead...

Rick

PS. Beart, also, will match or beat any catalog price... So bring your
Ski limited and Overton's catalogs with you!

    re: last .few
    
    Thanks for the responses - looks like Baert's the place to go...
    
    /dave

    OK - wakeboard is in hand (for the two-week "Like It or Return It"
    trial)...

    Next question: just how much "pop" should I give the boat to launch one
    of my teenage sons on this critter? Meaning, assuming no slack in the
    ski rope, should I nail the throttle until the boarder is up, or take
    it easier?

    We attempted to christen the board yesterday evening (got a late start
    on the day) but after about a dozen attempts each we had a pair of
    waterlogged teenagers who were heading into FrustrationLand. Each
    "nearly had it" a couple of times (both their own and my observations)
    but either dug the tip in, or lost their grip on the rope (single
    handle/high end line, fwiw). 

    As I'm still recovering from having a chunk of stainless steel and a
    handful of  screws being implanted into my shoulder to hold it
    together, I can't "experience" this effort first hand (hopefully next
    year) so it's difficult for me to offer much guidance beyond the
    somewhat-obvious. 

    I've passed on what I read in this thread (particularly in 433.12), but
    what I don't know is whether to use a full-throttle start (ala
    conventional waterskiing) or if I should use a more moderate "launching
    speed" to counter the much larger surface area of the board vs a ski
    (which seems to put a lot of strain on the kids' arms/hands).
    
    The boat is a 17' Sunbird with a 90hp OB. The boat is fairly light and
    the prop I'm using for skiing/boarding (as opposed to just high-speed
    cruising) let's me pull a quite decent hole-shot. I was reluctant to
    lay on the throttle as the kids were having a hard enough time (plus my
    wife would freak if I ripped one of their arms off ;^)
    
    So any advise would be welcome...
    
    Also, there was a difference between a couple of posts regarding
    the "direction" taken on launch. One note suggested that the "launchee"
    would take off cutting somewhat across the wake, while at least one other
    implied that the launch would be more down the middle of the wake. Is
    there a preferred direction - does it make a difference?
    
    Thanks again for the advise!
    
    /dave
    
    ps: the board itself is an HO model festooned with all kinds of
    "phasers", "vortex generators", dampeners, up to 3 skegs, extended
    rails, rounded edges, etc, with wake-wrap bindings on plates...(Cripes -
    I imagine the originals probably were a flat chunk of plywood and some
    neoprene loops!) This board looks like it'll be a killer ride - wish I
    could give it a try myself! sigh...

    If they're going out the front = Too much throttle.
    Take off should be very smooth and gradual, and don't exceed 15-18 mph,
    depending on ability.  The orientation of the board should be across
    the wake *before you start*.  As the throttle is applied, the boarder
    swivels the board torward the boat.
    Foot placement is another issue; Some people prefer the forward foot 
    pointing toward the boat, while others prefer the sideways stance such
    as snowboarders use.  BTW: If they do have snowboarding experience, a
    wakeboard is a pretty close ride and somewhat easier, but they gotta
    get up first.
    
    Good Luck,
    Doug 

Dave,

	Don't be misled by any description of a deep-water start
that I may have entered early in this note.... My first experiences
were on a Skurfer which is made of molded plastic rather than slalom
ski materials like today's wakeboards. With the plastic board, you
had no choice but to start with the board parallel to the water sitting
on it's edge because of it's high buoyancy. This isn't so with the new
"slalom-ski-material" wakeboards.

	Simply point it towards the boat like a slalom ski and have the
driver hit it, firmly, but somewhat gently....

	Someone mentioned that you may need to keep the board parallel
with the water (on it's side, of course) then just as the boat pulls turn
the board to point toward the boat.... I think this may be more a reflection
of what bindings are on the board than anything else. If the board has
high wraps then pointing it towards the boat before the "pull" is easy.
I believe this is a little more difficult with surf-wraps and that more
of the former method (pull, then point) must be employed.

Rick

ps. Where are you/the prospective boarders located?

    Thanks for the clarifications. It sounds like the basic deepwater start
    - but with some of the ooomph taken out on the driver end of the line.
    We didn't go for the high-wraps as too many people (with widely
    different feet!) will be using the board and I didn't want to drop
    ~$100 per each set of bindings, so we went with the next-best thing.
    
    I (we) live in Stow, so usually we head over to Lake Boon as it's just
    a couple of miles away (and I have a friend there that let's me use his
    beach to put in/take out from). As it looks like s/w fishing is out for
    the weekend, we'll probably wander over there on Saturday and see if we
    can get the boys up.
    
    Thanks again.
    
    /dave