Conference vicki::boats

    
    
               -     o     skier bouys       o                       o
               |                                                    /
              38'                                                  /
               |                                                  /       
 o -    -o     |     o           o  boat     o           o       /   o   end o
   8'   7'     -                     guide                    154'       gates
 o -    -o     |     o           o    bouys  o           o   /       o       o 
               |                                            /  
              38'                                          /  
               |                                          /  
         o     -                 o       skier bouys     o


 |-88.5'-|--134.5'---|--134.5'---|--134.5'---|--134.5'---|--134.5'---|-88.5'-|

Waaaaaay back when we had such a course.  If the water doesn't vary in depth too
much you should be OK.  Prepare yourself for a good amount of time to set this
thing up.  22 buoys, all measured within reasonable accuracy of Doug's
dimensions, will probably take you a good half day to set up, maybe more.
Overton's has the balls for $2.95 each, or a whole set for $62.40 (you get 24).
Then you need 22 blocks ($1.00 each for cinder blocks if you buy new ones from
your local building supply store).  You'll also need line.  A good formula would
be 22 * (water_depth + 3) feet where the "3" is for tying to the blocks and
buoys.  So for an area with an average water depth of 6 feet, you're talking
about nearly 200 feet of line.  Got any "old" ski ropes (3 will do) hanging
around?  :-)

...Roger...

re                 <<< Note 714.0 by DONVAN::DECAROLIS "Jeanne" >>>
>                           -< Setting up a course? >-

	Don't bleeve Roger  - -  I can sell you cement blocks for  
HALF  that (-:, (-:   Seriously, I have about 2 dozen hanging around, 
let me know if/when you want them.

	Reg

    
    Yep...yep...we should have a gumball up there and we
    can get that course set up in no time.  I'm on vacation
    the week of July 23rd, so lets get together some *HOT*
    afternoon and do a gumball.  Lake Attitash is not that
    far away, 40 min. from Chelmsford, MA.
    
    I know just where I want to set up the course,
    there was one in this particular spot a few years back,
    the depth is consistent and it's in a protected area on the
    lake.
    
    THanks Reg., I may take you up on your offer.  So let me
    change the title of this note to "Help me set up a course".
    :>)  Thanks for the info, guys.
    
    Jeanne
    
    ps.  I'll check with the town hall for permit info.

There was an article about setting up courses in WaterSki magazine a
couple of months ago. It described both 'professional' and 'amateur' setups.
It appeared to have some useful tips and techniques, though I haven't tried
any to see if they really are.

Dave

    
    Jeanne,
    
    	Someone I know on some lake somewhere(evasive enough?) set
    up a course last week. We, I mean they, used poured concrete
    moorings with brass wire tie downs. It took about � day for
    just the 6 skier bouys. Boat bouys are next, boy is it tough
    to drive the boat down the middle!
    
    	They used string to get the distances right. Numbers like
    269---marker---269 and 77---marker---77 will be familiar.
    
    	The balls are tied to the ropes and clips tied to the mooring
    end which hook to the moorings so unclipping the balls after use is easy.
    

    
    Well, seeing how Reg was nice enough to bring me 15 cement
    blocks yesterday (thank you)!, I'm committed to setting
    up this course.  When it's done, you'll all have to come
    up and try it out!
    
    Jeanne
    

A four-buoy course has been set up on Lake Attitash,
we'll probably drop the rest of the course when we're
making the four-balls consistently....what a lesson
this course has been, lots of cursing going on at
Lake Attitash lately!  The skiers love it though,
it's a real challenge.

I read somewhere that when you first start skiing
the course you had to take it slow, but I never
realized just HOW slow.  At 24 MPH I can get 4
buoys, but I'm also drowning at times with spray
coming off the ski and into my face!  And you have
to pull very hard at that speed to build momentum.
It feels like I've stopped at times, when you
come around a buoy.  Then you just gotta hang on and pull.

It's totally different than free-style slalomn.
Now I can fully appreciate the talent it takes
to ski a course at 37 feet/36 MPH!  

Jeanne

                                                          

    Jeanne,
       Glad to hear you're set up.  It is a whole new ballgame from
    free-skiing.  But it's only gonna improve your skiing (and increase
    your fuel consumption :^)  I just got our course back in after playing
    politics for the past 5 weeks.  It still needs some tweeking but at
    least it's there.  My skiing has definately suffered because of NOT
    skiing the course for the past month.  I just hope the 'road to
    recovery' doesn't take to long..
    BTW: you only have to ski at 34 mph 'cause you get to ski with the
    gals.  :^)
    Later,
    Doug

    
    For the past 3 weeks I've been skiing the course, just
    the course!  When I tried a "free-style" run, I didn't
    quite know what to do....the speed felt all wrong,
    probably because I've been going through the course
    at about 25/26 MPH.
    
    I'll probably continue to ski just the course, but I
    wondered what speed I should be skiing at from now on
    if I'm not on a course.....
    
    Anywhoooooo....imagine what it would be like to ski
    an "endless course"?  Ball after ball??  How many do
    you think you could make before detaching an arm from
    your shoulder!!
    
    Jeanne
    

I'm usually quite tired after 6!  Believe me, if you're out there pulling hard
through 6, you don't need 8 or 10!  For a typical freestyle slalom run, I like
to ski at least 30 mph, but 32-34 is better.  But that's me, I like the speed.

Are you making all 6 (or is it 4 on your course) at 25/26?  You know what
happens as soon as you make all of them!!!  Get that speed up.

...Roger...

    
    Right Roger!  You don't need 8 or 10, but it would definately
    be a fast stress reliever if you could go out there and run
    hard till you drop....no multiple passes, just one long pulling
    session!
    
    It's now a 5-buoy course....I'm getting them all, but sometimes
    it feels like I'm *scramblin'* .... some passes my timing will
    be right-on.  I think the key is holding on, no matter what.
    Yep, shortline skiing is right around the corner!  :>)
    
    Jeanne
    

    When your skiing *out* of the course, try to keep doing those sets of 6
    imaginary balls.  And by having your speed increased, it will probably
    help your skiing, rythm and definately your endurance.  When you get
    back into the course, now back at your slower course speed, it will
    seem like a looong time waiting for the balls to get to you to go
    around.  In other words, the preturn phase will seem longer, thus
    getting better set-up and being early for the bouys therefore getting
    ahead of yourself...Does this make sense?  Then you can speed up the
    boat.  Remember what Roger says, look across the wake, not at your next
    target (bouy).  IT WORKS!  You can better get ahead of the course this
    way and eventually increase the boat speed.
    Perhaps we should all get together for another hydro-dynamics
    conference and discuss it further.  :^)
    Doug-Still in vacation mode/still have water between the ears.
    
    Hey Rog, Are you missing a Connelly 8-loop rope? I seemed to have
    inherited one over the weekend.  :^)

>>  around.  In other words, the preturn phase will seem longer, thus
>>  getting better set-up and being early for the bouys therefore getting
>>  ahead of yourself...Does this make sense?  Then you can speed up the
  
    By that you mean I'm so early for the buoys I have longer to
    slow down the ski and make the turn.....I'm taking a lesson
    on Sunday at Waterski Plus, that oughta help on the course.

    Yep, as soon as the weather gets back to normal, let's plan
    an afternoon gumball, the Baja is always ready.

Jeanne                          

Yeah Doug, I realized as we were unloading my cousin's car that I had left the
rope/handle in your boat.  No biggie.  Next gumball I'll get it from you (if
you're planning to return it :-) ).

I'm ready to gumball.  Let's do it.

...Roger...

    
    Matt-rix,
    
    What is your personal best on the slalomn course?
    Have you gone beyond 35 off?  Do you compete?
                                  
    Jeanne  
    
    

    Jeanne,
    
    yes,I compete in slalom,trick,kneeboard and barefoot although it is
    hard to find barefootin tournaments out here. My best pass is 3 1/2 @
    35 off. I have a major problem with the four ball on all my passes but
    it kills me at 35 off so I was learning to shadow it to get a better
    prospective of 35 off. In a tournament my best is 2 @32
    off,again,because I often try too hard to decelerate and end up
    breaking foreward and/or rush the turn. Gotta learn to keep my head and
    shoulders up better on my off side. 
    
    I am a sales rep for a Pro shop in Denver and so I have had the
    opportunity to test a lot of skiis and experiment with fin/foil changes
    to enhance or improve a certain skiis characteristics. That is why I
    asked you about your HP. The ski won't turn tight enough for most
    course addicts. The HP won't finish it's turn soon enough,the best we
    can do tho improve it is to slide the blade foreward about 1/16-1/8 of
    an inch. But that makes ;the ski a bit squirelly and unpredictable.
    The next best thing would be to replace the tournament fin with a hook
    fin. Don't throw your HP away,it is great for a lot of people but what
    I have found is people generally only like it through 22 off. The HP is
    great for skiers who need help in ;the acceleration phase and like to
    nmake smooth carving type turns.  The hook fin does'nt help the ski
    decelerate as well as the tournament fin because there is a little more
    pressure on the leading edge of the fin hence,creating some lift. So,
    if you get a hook fin ;you will need to sink some of the leading edge
    back up into the ski. Understand my scribble??
    
    Our club is now about two years old and we have almost 40 members now.
    Last year we had three tourneys,one sanctioned,two were
    non-sanctioned-handicap type. We also did a couple ski shows. For being
    on a public lake,we feel fortunate that we have come this far. We all
    ski real early each day and get kicked off the lake at 10 am because
    the paddle boaters,windsurfers and canoers get it from 10-6. In
    exchange for public service such as ski shows,beach clean-ups,learn to
    ski programs with ;the deaf and blind,boy scouts,etc,we get to keep our
    couse on the lake and hold tournaments. It's a pretty good deal,one we
    would have never forseen a few years ago when our lake was a zoo for
    the wally yahoo. 
    
    Do you compete yet? Are there any non-sanctioned tourney out your way?
    They typically cost less than a class c tourney and most are scored by
    the number of buoys you get not your line-length. 
    
    GO CONNELLY!!
    
    sign me,
    
    frozen lake....Vail bound...downhill..

    re .17
    
    I live in Londonderry NH now. But in my past life, I lived in Lakewood
    Colorado..so I have a question since you live in the Denver area.
    
    I remember a ski club at Soda Lake - private and very small body of
    water. Is the waiting list to become a member still very long?
    
    Ah the good old days....
    
    								Thanks
    								-mike-

RE: -< Ski Soda Lake.. >-

Is it fed by one of those "naturally carbonated" springs?   8*)

Rick

    Rocket_Man,  :>)
    
    Sounds like you're really into competition.  When I was
    at a Pro Tour stop last April, in Orlando, the commentator
    asked how many skiers were able to ski at 35 off.  Every
    every guy raised his hand, then he asked how many were
    able to do it in competition, and 3 people puts their
    hands up!  Pressure!
    
    Very interesting stuff about the HP, I doubt I'll get beyond
    22 off this year.  :>)  A few of us are planning on installing
    a river course in Spring 92.  We're looking into something
    we can install and yank quickly.  Lack of course skiing
    has kep me away from competition, though I did attend a
    novice competition this past summer to see what it's all
    about.
    
    Yes, we have novice tournaments in the area, as well as AWSA
    sanctioned tournaments.  They start in early May and run
    right through mid-October.  
    
    Things must happen pretty fast at 35 off and 36 MPH!!!
    
    Ski ya,
    Jeanne
    

    re .18
    
    I've only lived here for 6 years and wasn't aware that Soda Lakes was
    at one time a club. It is now owned by the city of Lakewood and is a
    part of Bear Creek Park. A guy by the name of Chuck Blood is leasing
    the small lake and operates a ski school there. The larger lake is used
    for Michelob Dry's tour stop. I guess next year it will be the Bud Pro
    tour. At Soda lake,it costs $3.00 per pass whethor you fall or not.
    Hence I don't go there much cause all I do is fall.
    
    Matt

    re.19
    
    Sorry,it's not the Coors water.But it is pretty close to Golden. I
    imagine with all the spills Corrs has had lately,there is probably some
    of their beer at Soda. Maybe that's why the water is sooo fast there.??

    re.20
    HP lady....
    
    I know what tournament pressure is. I fell early in every tourney I
    entered last year. My season as far as practice goes looked like a
    roller-coaster. Next season I will train differently. A little more
    volume--and a little less intensity. 
    
    Wayne Thorsted(Baja) soon to be Brendella::Thorsted gave me some copies
    of the calender months you did,very impressive and righteous.!!
    
    How do you keep the arms from floating down-stream with a river-course?
    How fast is the current? Growing up,I lived on a very slowwwwww calm
    river and I miss it,all but the debris that hurt those barefeet.
    
    got a trivia question fer ya?
    
    You are pulling someone through the course at 36 mph,both speedos are
    right on the money,both reading 36. after 3 passes,one speedo coming
    into the course reads 35 and the other reads 37,which speedo should
    you go off of,and why?
    

re                       <<< Note 714.23 by COMET::KLEINM >>>
    
>    got a trivia question fer ya?
    
>    You are pulling someone through the course at 36 mph,both speedos are
>    right on the money,both reading 36. after 3 passes,one speedo coming
>    into the course reads 35 and the other reads 37,which speedo should
>    you go off of,and why?

	Always the high one.....   

			errrrr, assuming the tach isn't argueing with it (-:    
			

	Reg

>>    How do you keep the arms from floating down-stream with a river-course?
>>    How fast is the current? Growing up,I lived on a very slowwwwww calm
>>    river and I miss it,all but the debris that hurt those barefeet.
    
   Matt-rix,

The current on the Merrimack changes, depending on the season,
how much rainfall and whether or not the gates are open.  I've
been told there are portable courses designed for rivers.

The river is a great place to slalom. One afternoon we had five/six
miles of glassy conditions.  Gotta watch out for sticks and
wood though, and other stuff, though the debris is most seen
after storms.  

Jeanne
  

                                       

    Matt B,
    
    Reading your intro,I noticed you said that you owned your own
    course.
    
    1. Did you buy a pre-manufactured one,or did you build it yourself?
    
    2. Are the arms collapsable?
    
    3. How long does it take to set it up?
    
    4. What do you use for anchors,and are you anchoring in mud,sand,or 
       rock?
    
    5. Is the mainline cable or rope,if rope,has it stretched much,did
       you plan on some stretching to occur and build the course to
       allow for that?
    
    6. did you use stainless hardware and if you did'nt,how does the 
       hardware hold up to being soaked for a while and then out in the
       air for a while and so on? Much rust?
    
    
    7. How do you keep all your buoy strings from getting tangled when
       the buoys are stored(I assume) in a big net when not in use?
    
    
    8. Once you get the course laid out,pulled as tight as you can get it,
       and drop the anchor,do you tighten it further with a winch or
       pully system of some sort?
    
    
    Just wondering  :-)
    
    I am in the process of building my own super-portable course and
    would like to hear what other people have found to work and what
    to stay away from.
    
    
    thanks,
    
    Matt K

    Hi Matt K.,

    I hope this answers most of your questions,

>    1. Did you buy a pre-manufactured one,or did you build it yourself?

    Built my own.

>    2. Are the arms collapsable?
 
    Depends on what you mean by collapsable, for each of the six arms I
    have four 10' pieces of PVC connected by 2" couplers and a piece of
    nylon rope running through the whole length.

>    3. How long does it take to set it up?
 
    Depends on how many people we have. With just two and very smooth
    water, no wind to keep moving us around it takes between 45 minutes
    to an hour.

>    4. What do you use for anchors,and are you anchoring in mud,sand,or
>       rock?

    I use two cinder blocks with the holes filled with cement and there is
    a stainless steel eyelet in each that I tie to. I use a third cinder
    block to tighten the course (described later). Usually anchored in mud.

>    5. Is the mainline cable or rope,if rope,has it stretched much,did
>       you plan on some stretching to occur and build the course to
>       allow for that?
 
    I use rope, as far as stretching I have only had the course for two
    seasons, after the first season in which the course was installed
    about 6 times and the last time was installed for about 7 weeks,
    I remeasured everything and all dimmensions were within an inch or two.

>    6. did you use stainless hardware and if you did'nt,how does the
>       hardware hold up to being soaked for a while and then out in the
>       air for a while and so on? Much rust?
 
    I didn't use stainless hardware except for the anchors. As far as rust
    not so bad, I did use rust resistent clips and galvinized eyehooks on
    the PVC pipes. More of a problem is the algee (spelling?? :-) ) build
    up on all of the equipment/hardware.

>    7. How do you keep all your buoy strings from getting tangled when
>       the buoys are stored(I assume) in a big net when not in use?
 
    Actually I have something completely different than that, like I said
    earlier the arms have nylon cord inside so the arms collapse like tent
    rods and I have the bouy lines attached always to the PVC pipes so
    when the four pieces of PVC are in one bundle I wrap the bouy lines
    around them to keep the one group of PVC pips as one clump. As far as
    the bouys I have a small piece of nylon rope with about a 2" hole in
    which I take a bungi (spelling :-) , obviously not a good speller) cord
    and put it through each of the bouys, so in the end it looks like a huge
    clump of balls.
    
    Friends of mine have a similar course and use 2 metal shower curtain
    hangers to hold the bouys to the rope that is attached to the PVC pipe.
    The hangers break (open wide enough to release) before the rope does
    so this systems works well also.
        
 
 >   8. Once you get the course laid out,pulled as tight as you can get it,
 >      and drop the anchor,do you tighten it further with a winch or
 >      pully system of some sort?
 
    Actually the system we have come up with works pretty well. I will try
    to explain it as best as I can. We first drop the first anchor at one
    end and motor halfway down the course halfway we attach 2 bouys to the
    main line as to not loose it. When we get to the other end we drop the
    second anchor which is attached to a line about 50' long which is
    attached to the third anchor which also has a 25' line attached to it.

                                                                    milk jug
                   /------- 2 bouys --------\                            |
                  /                          \                           |
                 /                            \                          |
    anchor #1   /                              \ anchor #2    anchor #3  |
            []-/                                \-[]--------------------[]

    Once this setup is done we pull where the milk jug is but because of the
    third anchor, anchor #2 does not get pulled up but it gets dragged along
    the bottom. Once it is tight, we know is tight when the two bouys start
    to get pulled under, we stop and let go of the milk jug, this is where 
we
    start to pull it up when we go to take it out. Then we go to the middle
    and start to put the arms in. For each arm we put in the course gets
    tighter.
                       the line before gate installed
        main line     ------------------------------- 
    -----------------|                               |---------------
                      -------------------------------


                              / \        the line after a gate is installed
                            /     \
                          /         \                    
                        /             \
        main line     /                 \
    -----------------|                   |----------------
                      \                 /
                        \             /
                          \         /  
                            \     /
                              \ /

    I think that's about all, if you have any suggestions let me know.

    Oh I forgot to mention one very important thing, the PVC arms tend to
    sag in the middle where there are no bouys. To fix this problem I used
    the foam wrap stuff people use to keep hot water pipes insulated in 
there
    basement. I used about 3' of this stuff in the middle and it seems to 
    work great.

    That's all folks.

    Skiing as hard as I can...

    Matt B.

    Matt B,
      For the intermediate bouys, I use gallon jugs half full of water (or
    is it half full of air?) Then you can adjust the water/air content so
    the boat guide bouys are level and the PVC doesn't sag.  Also, probably
    less slimy than the foam insulation in the long run...
    
    Doug

    Doug,

    That's a pretty good idea seeing that after the first season we
    took off the insulation stuff because it was so slimy and this
    year we came up with a 16oz. plastic coke bottle filled with air.
    We put three on the arm,

    |  boat  |                               rounding |
    |  guides|                               bouy     |
    ----------[]----*-----[]---*------[]---*------[]---

                    *16oz. bottle positions

    Seems to work OK for now. We tried it without the bottles and
    the arm just sagged too much, kind of made the course real easy,
    the rounding bouys were about 3 feet closer to the center line :-)
    great for those short line passes!

    Skiing as hard as I can...

    Matt B.

    THANK YOU VERY MUCH Matt!!
    You gave me some great ideas,now I have to go home and make some
    modifications,and,take my cable winch back for a refund!:-)
    
    I was planning on using a milkjug at the half way point for
    an aid in suspension of the arm,Doug,did you think that they needed
    to be filled half way with water?
    
    MattK

    Oh Matt K,

    By the way, I forgot to mention that the nylon rope inside the arms
    is tied at both ends. At the boat gate ends there is a slot in the
    arm where I pull the nylon rope tight (43' of nylon rope stretchs
    like a rubber band) and there is a knot about 1' 6" down the rope that
    wedges itself in the slot. All this is done after the arm sections
    have been coupled together.

    Skiing as hard as I can...

    Matt B.

    Matt K,
      Definately half filled (+/-), to keep the pvc level.  Otherwise one
    boat guide bouy will float higher than the other. (More prone to
    snagging by wallys playing bayliner slalom. :^))
      Make sure the cap is a screw on type and you might want to use
    something more durable than a milk jug; *cleaned* prestone jug,
    detergent bottle or other environmentally conscience container.
      Also, the attachment ropes should be as short as possible. I just tie
    it to the middle of the arm and rap it around the pvc a time or two.
      Let the course settle, to see if the guide bouys are floating evenly,
    if not add/subtract water as required.
    
    Have fun,
    
    Doug 

    Thanks.
    
    I think we are all set now. Now I just have to cram to get er completed
    so that Wayne can take er on vacation Sunday.
    
    Mattk