It looks like you are using an ad blocker. That's okay. Who doesn't? But without advertising revenue, we can't keep making this site awesome. Click the link below for instructions on disabling adblock.
Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post.
Register to become a member today!
The difference primarily being that skiing is a snow sport your base and edges make contact with snow while in water skiing, the ski equipment is traversing through water.
50KalSkis you lean forward , water skis you lean back.
Yeah, water skiing you're getting pulled forward whereas downhill skiing is exactly that — gravity lets you move forward and you're leaning forward, not fighting the pull of the boat by leaning back. Though some of the general mechanics do transfer over if you're water skiing on two skis. I definitely found water skiing easier after getting better at downhill skiing. However, once you move to slalom water skiing (i.e., 1 ski), there's less overlap since you have one fit directly in front of the other. Water skiing is a blast though.
only water skied once but it was super easy because of my snow skiing experience
only counter intuitive part to me was getting started. you can't just act like you do getting towed on skis by a snowmobile. you gotta lean back and keep your body and legs flexed and straight (don't let yourself bend or let your top half get in front of your bottom half!! super important), then you pop up and start planing and you're set. after that i'd say it's not super dissimilar to pow skiing (but with a tow and you lean back more)
super fun, i highly recommend trying if you get a chance
Basic water skiing is super easy for anyone as the only real hard part for most is getting up. And even that's just holding on through that initial pull.
You can def cut some fat turns behind a boat though.
i waterski too. the slalom course. it is hard. hard to do. hard on the body. it's amazing acceleration from 18mph at the bouy turn to 70mph in about 30ft to the middle of the wake.
The boat speed is between 30-35 mph, when you cut you speed up to like 50, higher the better you get. Sometimes hitting the water going that fast feels like getting blindsided by JJ Watt, but it's fun up until that point.
Trick water skiing is actually pretty similar to snow skiing in the way that you can slide and spin around and stuff, but you're still leaning back instead of forward.
Double skis is easy as , but you can’t do much with it . Single skiing is super sick for carving and going super quick. And wake boarding is the best thing for jumps and tricks and is so much easier
The biggest difference to me is the freedom you have on snow. You aren't being dragged around by a boat when you ski on a mountain. You can choose your lines, your speed and it feels more tranquil.
eojYeah wakeboarding is hell fun but you get pretty smashed if you get something wrong
Since I got tossed by a rogue lake wave while going too fast wakeboarding and managed to bend in such a way that my board gave me five staples in my head on top of the minor concussion that I got from smacking the water which might as well have been concrete at that speed, I have a new found appreciation for water skiing. I'm not experienced with either so I suck at letting the rope go from time to time, but it is way easier to not face plant on water skis from my experience.
I would say relatively similar. I ski race and compete in Slalom Course Waterski tournaments. The main difference is you have to learn how to use the boat and line to your advantage rather than just lay down an edge whenever. It's also a much different turning motion, especially for one-handed turns, because you rotate your upper body counterclockwise while you turn which you would pretty much never do snow skiing
Im with just about everything everyone else has said. main difference is the form is almost opposite. Water skiing is a great way to stay in shape though over the summer.
I grew up behind boats.
Just can't afford one myself.
Water skiing on 2 skis is the lamest shit, its for beginners.
The progression of my siblings, mates etc was like this.
Kneeboarding, two skis, one ski, wakeboard, barefoot. Nude barefoot.
It's cool how you don't "choose" skiing or boarding behind boats, you just have a go till ya cant hold on then have a rest and change to something else.
Wake surfing is all the craze right now.
It's fun if you have a spare $100 000. I've been lucky enough to have a wake surf behind one of those big SE 550 Supras.
Felt super weird using one of the boards they offered. e.g. they have the smallest fins, feels nothing like surfing, so I used my normal shortboard and got a few wiggles in and fuck me it's tiring just pumping down the line the whole time.
strayln_SkierI grew up behind boats.
Just can't afford one myself.
Water skiing on 2 skis is the lamest shit, its for beginners.
The progression of my siblings, mates etc was like this.
Kneeboarding, two skis, one ski, wakeboard, barefoot. Nude barefoot.
It's cool how you don't "choose" skiing or boarding behind boats, you just have a go till ya cant hold on then have a rest and change to something else.
Wake surfing is all the craze right now.
It's fun if you have a spare $100 000. I've been lucky enough to have a wake surf behind one of those big SE 550 Supras.
Felt super weird using one of the boards they offered. e.g. they have the smallest fins, feels nothing like surfing, so I used my normal shortboard and got a few wiggles in and fuck me it's tiring just pumping down the line the whole time.
Still not worth that $100 000
There are forums like malibucrew where cults of people hook up obscene amounts of ballast and retrofit electric pumps into their old ski boats until they are basically about to sink in order to surf. I remember reading about this guy who claimed to surf behind his 87 Malibu skier having so much weight in the boat it was sunk to the rails in the back. Where there is a will there is a way!
CaseyThere are forums like malibucrew where cults of people hook up obscene amounts of ballast and retrofit electric pumps into their old ski boats until they are basically about to sink in order to surf. I remember reading about this guy who claimed to surf behind his 87 Malibu skier having so much weight in the boat it was sunk to the rails in the back. Where there is a will there is a way!
This is my dads boat.
Dunno what year or model it is.
He bought it when I was about 6 years old, 2nd hand for $40 000
Can surf behind it if you get 2 ppl to sit at the back, no ballast.
But just not as good as those SE 550's- can accually do a bottom turn and hit it behind those, wheras dads is just pumping to keep up with it. Still fun tho!
strayln_SkierThis is my dads boat.
Dunno what year or model it is.
He bought it when I was about 6 years old, 2nd hand for $40 000
Can surf behind it if you get 2 ppl to sit at the back, no ballast.
But just not as good as those SE 550's- can accually do a bottom turn and hit it behind those, wheras dads is just pumping to keep up with it. Still fun tho!
This will change your wakesurf game completely. We do it behind my sisters Super Air Nautique. Place the shaper on the opposite side of where you surf and as low and far back on the hull and tie it off (it also floats). Fill ballast up and you can add people to that side but it’s not necessary.
It seriously will make wakesurfig 10 times more fun for you. We mostly wakeboard/wakeski in the morning/evening and surf during the day when the water is choppy and shitty jet skis and tubes come out.
Sweet boat though. I’m lucky enough my brother-in-law is a great wakeboarder and bought a second hand Nautique.
Also watch walesurf videos. Learning from the pros helps in leaps and bounds.
This will change your wakesurf game completely. We do it behind my sisters Super Air Nautique. Place the shaper on the opposite side of where you surf and as low and far back on the hull and tie it off (it also floats). Fill ballast up and you can add people to that side but it’s not necessary.
It seriously will make wakesurfig 10 times more fun for you. We mostly wakeboard/wakeski in the morning/evening and surf during the day when the water is choppy and shitty jet skis and tubes come out.
Sweet boat though. I’m lucky enough my brother-in-law is a great wakeboarder and bought a second hand Nautique.
Also watch walesurf videos. Learning from the pros helps in leaps and bounds.
That's cool, I've been looking at those surf gates to put behind my Malibu but it seems like no one has one. My boat is more similar to to that Supra in size- a super air nautique is like 5500 lbs dry lol
CaseyThat's cool, I've been looking at those surf gates to put behind my Malibu but it seems like no one has one. My boat is more similar to to that Supra in size- a super air nautique is like 5500 lbs dry lol
Yeah she’s a fat bitch when at full ballast. Do you have sacks for added ballast? When my brother-in-law had his Malibu he had a couple external sacks for added ballast.
The shaper will help you get a nice long pocket though. Other boats on our lake tend to have riders very close to the boat because they don’t use a shaper. We are able to drop further back and therefore can use more wave to carve.
I’ve heard you can make them out of a plastic cutting board if you want to keep it on the cheap. For $200ish it’s probably worth just buying a manufactured one that floats.
Boat sports are expensive as hell in general. I’m lucky enough to not have to buy a boat but I’ve sunk some money into boards, skis, and gas.
AuschieYeah she’s a fat bitch when at full ballast. Do you have sacks for added ballast? When my brother-in-law had his Malibu he had a couple external sacks for added ballast.
The shaper will help you get a nice long pocket though. Other boats on our lake tend to have riders very close to the boat because they don’t use a shaper. We are able to drop further back and therefore can use more wave to carve.
I’ve heard you can make them out of a plastic cutting board if you want to keep it on the cheap. For $200ish it’s probably worth just buying a manufactured one that floats.
Boat sports are expensive as hell in general. I’m lucky enough to not have to buy a boat but I’ve sunk some money into boards, skis, and gas.
Yeah I am looking to revamp my setup because my bags are big and in the way it gets annoying because they take up so much space. Ideally I would get something custom in the back that replaces the bench seat, and then fill the ski lockers with custom shaped bags so people can still walk around. Yeah 200 bucks for that gate isn't bad if you get good use out of it, I just wanted to see one in action or surf with it before I believe the hype and buy one.
People think of waterskiing as just a lake time activity but it actually has a competitive scene to it as well. I grew up competitively three event waterskiing in New England where you slalom, trick, and jump for distance. It was a really popular sport in the 70's, 80's and early 90's when boats and gas weren't as expensive. Waterskiing is really hard once you get to the competitive level and crashes are brutal.
Slalom - there is a slalom course where there are six buoys. The boat increases speed by a few mph each time you complete six buoys or complete a "pass" for better terms. Once you run a pass at the max boat speed for your age division, 36mph for a 22 year old guy, then you start shortening the rope until you don't complete all six buoys, then you are done for you round.
Trick - you have two 20 second passes to complete as many tricks are possible, ex - surface slides, wake spins, flips and alot of people do a toe pass where you stick you foot in a the rope ( a trick rope has a special foot holder) and someone is "pinning" so if you fall they let go of the rope so you dont get dragged, definitely sketchy
Jump - pretty simple and super dangerous, definitely scarier than anything ive done on snowskis, you can hit the jump at up to your max speed for your age division, 35mph for a 22 year old guy, and the ramp is usually set a 5 feet, if you jump a certain distance, you can bump it up to 5 and 1/2 and the pros jump at 6 feet
people compete in single events, slalom is the most popular, or you can combine all three scores for an overall score, which is most badass IMO
CaseyYeah I am looking to revamp my setup because my bags are big and in the way it gets annoying because they take up so much space. Ideally I would get something custom in the back that replaces the bench seat, and then fill the ski lockers with custom shaped bags so people can still walk around. Yeah 200 bucks for that gate isn't bad if you get good use out of it, I just wanted to see one in action or surf with it before I believe the hype and buy one.
This is about the size wave we can make with it. That is 3 people on board, driver, spotter next to the driver, and one person in the front chilling. It also makes consistency from set to set easier.
People think of waterskiing as just a lake time activity but it actually has a competitive scene to it as well. I grew up competitively three event waterskiing in New England where you slalom, trick, and jump for distance. It was a really popular sport in the 70's, 80's and early 90's when boats and gas weren't as ensive. Waterskiing is really hard once you get to the competitive level and crashes are brutal.
Slalom - there is a slalom course where there are six buoys. The boat increases speed by a few mph each time you complete six buoys or complete a "pass" for better terms. Once you run a pass at the max boat speed for your age division, 36mph for a 22 year old guy, then you start shortening the rope until you don't complete all six buoys, then you are done for you round.
Trick - you have two 20 second passes to complete as many tricks are possible, ex - surface slides, wake spins, flips and alot of people do a toe pass where you stick you foot in a the rope ( a trick rope has a special foot holder) and someone is "pinning" so if you fall they let go of the rope so you dont get dragged, definitely sketchy
Jump - pretty simple and super dangerous, definitely scarier than anything ive done on snowskis, you can hit the jump at up to your max speed for your age division, 35mph for a 22 year old guy, and the ramp is usually set a 5 feet, if you jump a certain distance, you can bump it up to 5 and 1/2 and the pros jump at 6 feet
people compete in single events, slalom is the most popular, or you can combine all three scores for an overall score, which is most badass IMO
super fun family oriented sport, sadly is stupidly expensive and is probably dying in the fact that less people are competitively waterskiing each year i would imagine.
Holy shit the jumping looks insane. Can’t say I understand the tricking on one ski, may as well wakeboard. Still impressive though. Have you wakeskied at all?
SofaKingSickonly water skied once but it was super easy because of my snow skiing experience
only counter intuitive part to me was getting started. you can't just act like you do getting towed on skis by a snowmobile. you gotta lean back and keep your body and legs flexed and straight (don't let yourself bend or let your top half get in front of your bottom half!! super important), then you pop up and start planing and you're set. after that i'd say it's not super dissimilar to pow skiing (but with a tow and you lean back more)
super fun, i highly recommend trying if you get a chance
Have u ever fucking water skied in your life. My fuck child
Well I ripped it on my first try so I think I got the basics of the technique well enough for this thread, but obv I'm a noob so drop some knowledge on us playa what'd I do wrong?
SofaKingSickWell I ripped it on my first try so I think I got the basics of the technique well enough for this thread, but obv I'm a noob so drop some knowledge on us playa what'd I do wrong?
If u can rip then u do u playa... i ain’t a coach by any means just saying usually u keep it a little loose and bent starting... not straight legged flexed
Erikcass7If u can rip then u do u playa... i ain’t a coach by any means just saying usually u keep it a little loose and bent starting... not straight legged flexed
i don't doubt that water skiers do that but in terms of what a snow skier should be thinking, i think it's important to make the distinction. if im on snow skis and a sled starts to pull me with a rope, i can be pretty loosey goosey and be just fine. try that on water skis your first time and you will 100% go over the handlebars and have to start over, so flexing and leaning way back with straight arms (not straight legs, i guess, but def keep your mass behind your feet in relation to the boat) is important to start the plane
