Bud's Blog page.

Use contact page if you would like to ask me a question. I can keep it private, or if you request, I can post your question and my answer.

6/17/2022

First 38 at 34 of 2022 Today.

I have been working on a new project to me. I formed Adaptive Water Ski Warriors and have been making my lake accessible to Veterans with physical limitations. Read more about it here.

When I took my dry suit off this spring, I went back to my 2015 Vapor and 34.2mph. I have not skied much for working on my new project. I cut to 38 a hand full of times. I fell between number 6 and the gate a couple of times and also skied inside of 6, but had not completed it until today. Hopefully it will boost my confidence and I can get back to running it like I did when I wore a younger man’s cloths.

1/16/2022

I added a couple of split screen videos.

I think many skiers pull or leverage harder than might be necessary to run many passes. Thake a look at the split screen videos of Adam Caldwell and Andy Mapple and see what you think. Click here.

You can see in this video demo of going with the boat that shows in slow motion of trying not to resist the boat.

11/18/2021

2022 Senate Pro Purchase

After doing the review, I went ahead and got one for keeps. I am having so much fun on this ski at 32.3 mph. It is amazing how much more time I have to think while I ski at this speed. I do not officially change to 32.3 mph as my top competitive speed until after the Nationals 2022 which is the end of August, so I will most likely work on muscle memory this winter at 32.3 then bump up before spring.

A side note: We often see one or two Bald Eagles flying over the site, but the other day they came down low and one made a splash. It missed the fish, but it was awesome to see it up so close.

10/22/2021

2022 Senate Pro review

I just got a chance to demo the 2022 Senate Pro. It was a 65”. I weigh about 145 lbs. I set it up with Radar’s stock settings, with the exception; I could not set my front boot on the 1/4 inch so I set it on 3/8 inch instead. I took my gate shot and turned #1 and I had an overwhelming thought of; “This feels awesome!” The ski feels fast, stable and turns very well. It takes almost no effort to build enough speed to carry you out and around the turns. I had to put a big effort in doing less.

I skied a few passes at 34.2 mph and then a few at 32.3 mph. It felt awesome at both speeds. I skied two sets, and I will have to say; I want to spend more time past the demo playing on this ski.

8/20/2021

2022 Vapor Probuild review

I skied two more sets on the 2022 Vapor Probuild. A friend talked me into trying some numbers he was running my second set, but I did not like them, so I went back to the numbers Radar posted.

Today I put my Whisperfin Pro on for my fourth set and liked the ski even better.

The two things that seem to stand out to me right away about the new ski are:

I feel like I am getting extra width at 38off, and it will shutdown at the buoy if you need it to do so.

8/15/2021

2022 Vapor Probuild review

Today was very exciting. Miami Nautique delivered a 2022 Vapor Probuild to me, and I rode it for the first time. The delivery was prompt and the quality of the ski looks impressive.

I set the bindings and fin to stock and washed the bottom. I have in the past, stayed at 32off to get comfortable for several sets before moving to shorter lines. I figured at my current age and a tournament coming up in two weeks, I needed to get on a fast track.

I started at 28off, then 32off, then 35off and then at 38off, I rounded 4 buoy and skied away. Next, put the rope on 32 and then 38 again. That time the 32off felt even better and despite a lot of human errors on the 38off loop, I completed the pass.

I have been running my wing at 8 degrees for eleven years, but set this one at nine as recommended. I think before I ski again, I will reduce it to eight and see how that feels.

I have tried a new model pretty much every year, but continued skiing on my 2015. Based on just the first set of six passes, I have a feeling I will be retiring the 2015. I will report back and let you know how it goes.

8/6/2021

Live webcast of 2021 Goode U.S. Waterski Nationals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-Z7CAGe16o

8/2/2021

Someone sent me the following question.

“I have hip surgery last July. Back on the water this summer. My offside is atrocious. Can you post some offside tips, links, etc.”

My answer:

I do not know how much pain, stiffness, etc… you are dealing with at this time. So, without knowing, I will say for starters, I would video my skiing now and compare it to videos before surgery to see if you can pinpoint what you are doing differently.

I feel the best way to ski an off-side turn is to come off your on-side pull, get tall on your front foot with your front ankle bent forward, then bring your head around to look for your early target across course, make sure to keep your weight on front foot. Imagine there is a baseball bag and step on the side of the bag and push yourself off and move in the direction you want to go.

I hope you heal fast and get back to some awesome skiing. Have fun.

8/2/2021

I should have done a better job keeping up with everyone trying the Whisperfin Pro and reported back.

There was one that skis around 27/28 mph and it made a tremendous amount of difference in their skiing. They got one.

There were two different skiers, that both ski 28 up to 34 mph at 22off as can run 28off. Both loved it and got them.

Pretty much everyone that tries it likes it and gets one. It is exciting for me to see so many people instantly improve.

7/14/2021

Another student tried my Whisperfin Pro today and got a PB. He rounded number 3 at 32off/36 mph. He was riding a 2020 Radar Vapor Probuild.

7/13/2021

Another one of my students tried my Whisperfin Pro the other day and liked it enough to order one. It came in and I put it on their 2017 Radar Vapor ski. They skied on it twice now and love it. They are skiing possibly better now than they ever have. They ski 30 mph 15 through 22 off. They cut the line shorter today to an in-between loop and skied very well.

7/10/2021

I skied today and cut to 38off four times. I got 4 buoys on first attempt, then ran it twice and got 5 buoys on last one. I am liking this Whisperfin. Ever since I put it on, I have had a renewed sense of skiing excitement.

I feel like I am on the verge of calming down so I can think when I cut to 38. I am still in survival mode now.

I just saw this picture taken from the record tournament I skied last weekend. This is #2buoy at 38off. I rounded #3 and skied away. You can see the Whisperfin.

7/8/2021

I have only had a chance to ski a little. I skied in a record tournament behind a boat that I am not used to, which is good experience, and I need to do more of that to improve. I was lucky to squeeze out the 3 at 38off I got.

The Whisperfin comes with a great flow chart to help dial in the fin. I do not like making changes, so I leaped ahead. Disclaimer: I do not recommend this. The leap I made was four moves at once. Instead of a quarter turn on the rear DFT screw as recommended, I made a full turn. It felt incredible. I ran 38 off the dock. That was two days ago, and I hope to ski more soon.

6/24/2021

I skied my second set on the Whisperfin Pro today and again, it was very windy with a head tail. I did run 38 off despite the strong wind. I have not been running that loop successfully very much this year so far. This made it the fourth time I have run it this year. I am eager to try it without high winds, because I seem to get more easily distracted when it is windy.

I also put an original Whisperfin on a student's Goode ski for him to try. He got a PB with 4 at 35off 36 mph.

6/23/2021

I put a Whisperfin Pro on my 2015 Vapor today and tried it for the first time. It was very windy with a strong head/tail. I skied 2 - 28s, 2 - 32s, and 2 - 35s. The wind conditions were not conducive for testing something new, but I have three tournaments coming up on the next three upcoming weekends, so I was eager to go ahead and give it a try. My initial impression is that it felt very good. The ski seemed to turn better on both sides and the ski felt more stable and more connected to the water. I am eager to get on the water tomorrow and try it again, and hoping there will not be as much wind to distract what I'm feeling.

I used pretty much the settings that are posted on the Whisperfin website for my Vapor.

6/2/2021

2021 Lake 38 Pro Slalom - LIVE Coverage: Saturday 5th June

Saturday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrNxBTgTeII&list=PLM3-mBhqIdiWnd7sSy3JkXbLTuHLvSa4R

Sunday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9-M3ENTdwQ&list=PLM3-mBhqIdiWnd7sSy3JkXbLTuHLvSa4R&index=2

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

8:00 Open Women Round 1

9:30 Open Men Round 1

11:00 Open Women Round 2

12:30 Open Men Round 2

SUNDAY SCHEDULE

13:00 Open Women Final

14:00 Open Men Final

(EDT Time)

4/29/2021

I want to alert everyone of a webcast this Sunday.

2021 Swiss Pro Slalom - LIVE Coverage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3y1G0MPxWk

Also, I have not been skiing much. I have been working an some projects around the house and I bought a cargo trailer and converted into a camper and scoring center for tournaments. I plan to put together a video of the conversion. When I do, I will put a link on this website.

Here is a peek.

2/10/2021

I tightened up both releases one revolution, but as I have been skiing, I feel a bit reserved for fear of more pre-releases. Water warmed up to 55° yesterday and air was 63°. I am getting more feeling back in my front left foot and was feeling more comfortable, so I cut to 35off/12m. I have not gone shorter than 13m in a very long time. I surprised myself by running it without issue. Looking back at the video, I did get a little extra slack a couple of times, but overall, I was pleased with the pass. It did my confidence a world of good.

1/13/2021

The water was 50° and air 46° when I skied yesterday. Right off the dock I felt good. I pulled out, shot through the gate, rounded #1 and was thinking how good I felt. As I came up through the center line, that comfort level changed drastically as my front boot came out of my binding and the prayers started. "Lord, please do not let me get hurt again." I slid across the water unscathed, unlike my October pre-release. In that one, it happened in the exact same spot on my opener. That time my front came out and then my rear and then I crashed. I have had my heel latches relatively loose. I guess I am going to tighten them up a little.

1/2/2021

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you have a healthy , happy and prosperous 2021. Check out this article by Chris Rossi.

12/29/2020

I hope all of you had a nice Christmas. I had a fun set today. Air upper 50s and water upper 40s. I had not skied in a week, so I was not surprised it felt like I had not been on the water in a while, but I felt more balanced and comfortable than I had in quite a while. I ran a 28 and 5 32s.

12/12/2020

This was my second set since the 4th and it felt much better. I was not able to ski earlier in the week. My water was 56°F today. Air was about 70°F. I may not have mentioned; I am skiing in a baggy dry suit with fabric feet. I wear thin socks. My feet slide around a bit which makes things more difficult. It got where I was unable to get my feet in and out of the tight ankle seals, so I switched to the built in booties.

Bud

12/4/2020

My water temp yesterday was 55.7°F when I skied. I have generally been running my first pass 28off 34mph, then 32off for about seven passes. It is odd that it feels fast and I feel unstable. I told the driver yesterday that I felt like I was in hard leather shoes walking on black ice. I would rather have the secure feeling of walking bare footed on grass. However, that confident comfortable feeling escapes me for now.

Bud

11/27/2020

When I first launched SkiAll6, I bought space at Godaddy. They have changed things and the price has gotten too high for me to continue with Godaddy. I have now built a new site with Google. I have included more articles and videos to help people ski better. I will try to add even more. I will also try to list on the first page the new items as they are added. Google does not have a basic forum. I will research to try and find a forum to use. I hope you will enjoy. Please use the contact page and let me know what you think.

BTW, I will NOT list new blogs on the first page. That list on the first page will be used for new content and videos I add to the website.

Thank you.
Bud

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse