Water Skiing

sparks · April 16, 2008, 11:41:13 PM

I know this sounds crazy, but I found my old slalom ski in the garage.

Now I need to find someone with a MasterCraft.

And do it one more time Oh Yeah!!!!

Oops...forgot...that was thirty years ago!!

Sassy · April 17, 2008, 12:05:56 AM

Hey Sparks! It's been about 20 yrs since I slalomed... just discussing water skis with my brothers the other day in fact. My parents last boat was an 18 ft aluminum boat with a 100 hp Mercury - my dad pulled 6 of us kids (we were all in highschool - friends & family) we step started from the shore - amazing that the boat pulled us all...

Don't think I could deep water start anymore - too hard on the arms & shoulders

The last time I skied I was amazed at how little stamina I had - and I was working out a couple hours a day at that time - when I was younger we would ski several times a day & go for 10-30 min if we didn't fall... huh, its no fun getting older...

So, you think you'll give it another try? Sounds like fun. We were discussing the types of "fins" or did they call them "skags"? They make them now where they're really stable & you can really kick up a lot of water & lay down nearly horizontal... the skis we had, my dad made - they were pretty thick & skittish but, hey, that's all we knew at the time.

Haven't talked about water skiing with anyone for a long time until lately - brings back a lot of great memories!

April 17, 2008, 12:25:30 AM

Hey Sassy, thanks for the reply!

I fibbed a bit....was about fifteen years ago I last went skiing. Brain fart.

However Yes!! I'm in my early fifties and when we we're cleaning out storage spot, found the old O'brien '63'.

To ski behind my boat is a chore.....21 foot Four Winns.

MasterCraft ski boats..... YuMMMMM....the best!!!

sparks · April 17, 2008, 12:51:55 AM

All those years ago...........can't find an emoticon to fit here.

Redoverfarm · April 17, 2008, 06:03:33 AM

We have a large lake (probably not large by west coast standards) but several miles long just 20 minutes from the house. Friends have a boat and invited us over this past summer. My son 13 yoa skied last year for the first time. Did pretty good after a couple short "pull and drops". Dad even manages to get up for a couple of miles or so. I used to ski fairly well when I had a lot more youth. Started out when I was small on the Ohio River with tennis shoes on to fit the skies. With all the recent publication on pollution in the Ohio (C8 by dupont and others) I wondered why I ever went in there. But didn't pay too much attention then just roller coasting behind the big tugs. Some of them could throw some pretty big wakes.

April 17, 2008, 06:34:22 AM

We had a cabin on a North Georgia mountain lake when I was growing up, and I used to ski whenever I could get my brother to pull me. I even skied off the dock with my clothes on when it got too cold for most, because the lake would be like glass it was so smooth. Of course, coming back to the dock was an unavoidably wet experience.

Last time I skied, my kids were very young, and were just trying to learn themselves in a friend's boat. I got up and showed them that I could, but had to hide how sore I was for days afterwards. That was nearly 20 years ago.

Good memories, out there behind the boat by myself watching the waves the trees, and the water go by.
Christina

NM_Shooter · April 17, 2008, 12:03:51 PM

Grew up on lake Norfork in Arkansas, and was lucky to have a buddy who had a tri-hull 16' with a 65hp mercruiser. We used to do deep water slalom starts with that! We'd put 10 feet of slack in the rope and yell go. Still get a nasal flush

Went back three years ago for a camp trip and rented a ski boat with my kids and brother. Made a couple of deep water starts, and felt squirrely at first. Tipped the ski hard on edge and it started to come back. Final run of the day was really a nice one.

Couldn't walk straight for 4 days after that.

Went home last year and rented a ski boat, but could not get out of the water on slalom. I'm blaming it on incorrect prop pitch. Yeah, that was it.

Favorite old ski: Kidder Red Line

Used to love to ski more that anything. If I get a whiff of a boat dock aroma cocktail: 2stroke exhaust, suntan lotion, and fish, and I am 16 years old and sunburnt all over again!

Sassy · April 17, 2008, 01:12:59 PM

Quote from: NM_Shooter on April 17, 2008, 12:03:51 PM
Grew up on lake Norfork in Arkansas, and was lucky to have a buddy who had a tri-hull 16' with a 65hp mercruiser. We used to do deep water slalom starts with that! We'd put 10 feet of slack in the rope and yell go. Still get a nasal flush

Went back three years ago for a camp trip and rented a ski boat with my kids and brother. Made a couple of deep water starts, and felt squirrely at first. Tipped the ski hard on edge and it started to come back. Final run of the day was really a nice one.

Couldn't walk straight for 4 days after that.

Went home last year and rented a ski boat, but could not get out of the water on slalom. I'm blaming it on incorrect prop pitch. Yeah, that was it.

Favorite old ski: Kidder Red Line

Used to love to ski more that anything. If I get a whiff of a boat dock aroma cocktail: 2stroke exhaust, suntan lotion, and fish, and I am 16 years old and sunburnt all over again!

Cut that out, Shooter, yer makin me want to get out on the water again! I can just smell it all! About the deep water starts - they can be very tough - no problem when I was young but doubt if I could do it now...

Christina, I know about skiing with all your clothes on... I think I mentioned this before on some other thread. I was living up in NW Washington state & a friend had a boat out in Puget Sound - anyway, we had a youth group with us, giving them rides - well, it had been 3-4 yrs since I'd water skied, so couldn't pass up that chance - it was February, mind you... anyway, the sound was real shallow for quite a ways out - I step started in knee deep water - only thing was, when I was going to go back to shore, I let go too far out - water was still very shallow but the water from the ski when I let go & stopped washed all over me & soaked me - brrrrr, it was really cold! I'd been pretty much dry up to that point except for the lower part of my jeans... then I had to make my way in to shore - it was a long ways - don't know why I did that.... and glassy water - wasn't that wonderful to ski on?

NM_Shooter · April 17, 2008, 03:27:14 PM

What a sensory rush! That deep cough as the inboard clears the exhausts, and the rumble that you can feel in your chest as you wait for the slack to leave. Watching the still water turn to bubbles and chop underneath you as you pull up. There's nothing like glass, is there? Smooth as pudding. That first whack when you hit the water is always a crapshoot too. Are you going to bounce and skip? Or stick? As I'm tumbling... is the ski on? If not.... oh uh.... think I'll cover my head.

We'd ski along bluffs on the lake, which was probably not the safest, but was always the smoothest, or back in the coves (with the brush!). We'd take turns based on time. 15 minutes from when you jumped out of the boat. No compassion here... if you struggle with your gear it's on your own time!

For me, nothing beats the smell of a boat dock in the morning... nothing!

Sparks, thanks for the memories. Back when $15 was a full day of gas and sodas too.

-f-

April 17, 2008, 10:55:30 PM

Another brain fart. The Obrien wasn't a 63. Was a 67 inch , wood. Tucked away was my Connelly 63 inch Shortline II. A carbon/fiber type.

Yeah, Gonna give it another shot.

Early in the morning or at dusk......you know what I'm talking 'bout!

The wife says I made a feable attempt at 'getting up' about 6 years ago $:-\$

What?? (stop it, I know what you're thinking)

I didn't want to admit to it here...............had to use two skis. Dropped one and just had a blast!!

Going to have to quit smoking my toenails......causes memory loss.

0

Sassy · April 17, 2008, 11:46:14 PM

You know, I tried 2 skis one of the last times I skied & I couldn't even control them! It was harder than 1 ski & I was totally tired out within 5 minutes!

My dad was a pilot so would fly for three days a week - sometimes 24 hr tours & then have the rest of the week off - so we'd pack up the boat with camping gear & food & take off for the lake - we did this almost every week for at least 4 days - sometimes my dad would leave for work & we'd stay at the lake. The great thing about it was that there would be at least 4-6 other families we were friends with who had their boats & were camping out. So us kids just made the rounds & could ski several times a day - yep the best times were early morning or dusk - the water like glass - felt like you could do anything. During the day it would get so rough you'd barely be able to hold on - my dad would sometimes take us several miles skiing until we go to the part of the lake where there weren't as many people. There was a big excursion boat in that area so when you had to ski over it's wake - you never knew if you'd make it or not.

My brother & his friends were into the special skis - they were the hot doggers, even to skiing without skis. If I skied with my brother, he'd alway try to get the shorter rope so he could grab mine & put slack in it to try & make me fall or ski in front of me a kick up a lot of splash

Or, if he was driving he loved to play crack the whip or slow down until you almost sink & then gun the boat... he was onery!

How 'bout the little round disks that you'd stand up on? Kinda like surf boarding cuz the rope wasn't attached to the disk or better yet, the big inner tubes - now those were fun!

The rest of the time we'd spend swimming out in the lake. My dad made a little wooden sail boat that we'd take out - would usually end up in the middle of the lake & it would start taking on water & he'd have to hook us up to the big boat & pull us back in - we'd hang on to the back of the little boat. One time my sister & I were being towed back & she lost her bathing suit bottoms - we were laughing so hard we could hardly hold on. What fun!

BiggKidd · April 18, 2008, 08:03:29 AM

Looks like time to uncover the old boat we have. Two years ago my wife talked me in to wake boards for our anniversery. I still like sking better but the wake boards are ok. Its better in one way. You can go a lot slower maybe 15 mph instead of 25. It has been better for my wife because she cant control 2 skis. LOL Later I will see if I can find a pic of my daughter at age 6 going from one end to the other of Gaston. She is by far the best skier in the family.

No way for me to get up on just one ski. I have tried until I thought my arms were going to fall off. Can't manage to drop a ski either I drop right after the ski does.

If you haven't tried wake boarding it is easier to get up on than skies. Tricks are only limited by your imagination. Last year I saw one guy jump the boat that was pulling him. He did a flip right over the boat made a perfict landing. Just amazing.

Larry

desimulacra · April 18, 2008, 10:55:28 AM

Water Skiing

I grew up on Kentucky lake, "skiing" on an old piece of blue painted plywood that was attached via hemp rope to my Dads Arkansas Traveler with a mercury super 10, at the ripe age of 4.
Best memories (don't try this at home all stunts were done by a "expert").
> Skiing at midnight with a full moon lighting the way.
> Skiing for over an hour so my Uncles could get away from the family and drink a beer or two.
> Buying my first boat at 14, Glastron with a Chrysler 45 went to a Family gathering with everyone taking turns skiing!!

I used to have a routine where I acted like I could not ski or was skiing for the first time. Using two skis I would have one above my head, behind my back, over the rope then paddling frantically with one hand to stay up, falling on my back, so on that ended with me losing one ski and sitting back on the remanding ski to lose myself in a cloud of water then the driver would gun the boat pulling me to speed and I would start doing slalom tricks. It was the hardest thing I ever did but was a lot of fun for me and other boaters.

Thanks for the memories, had to stroll a little myself.