Getting up on a slalom

74Wind wrote: Wow, that's a rare Century outboard in phenomenal shape! 25HP...? Quite similar to the Penn Yan Swift which were built on the lake I grew up on (Keuka Lake NY) I've also got a 75 Mark II & come from a long line of Century owners........good to see another Century on the site!!

Thank you! To make a long story short, my dad bought it in '76 (actually, it came free with a $75 used boat trailer) and he refinished it in the late '70s and has not been wet since well before he bought it. All original wood and hardware. It has also not been in any shows or even out of the garage to speak of. A shame, I know. We're planning to change that this summer. :) If you're interested in the whole story I'd be happy to pm it to you. It's already written. :) Oh yeah, the motor is a '58 35hp Seahorse that I just bought. It never had a motor or a trailer until a couple years ago.
I love the Centurys as much as the Nautiques. Gimme a Coronado with a 440 any day! BTW my dad has a '68 Penn Yan- Would that have been built on your lake as well?

I dont think that anyone mentioned the length and width of the ski. I just started and I could never get up on the crapy O'brien skies that I had. they were way to small for my weight. My neighbor let me borrow a really nice ski and I weigh 210LBS and got up the very first time.......... its was nice the ski was 70inches

63 Skier wrote: Interesting, I'll have to try that crouch. I wait for the resistance and then push up with my leg to get my upper body out of the water, maybe I'm working too hard.

Sure sounds like it to me!

Interesting, I'll have to try that crouch. I wait for the resistance and then push up with my leg to get my upper body out of the water, maybe I'm working too hard.

I'm not sure, I could be wrong, but I don't think getting up while dragging has to be that hard on your leg/hamstring, and I am no spring chicken (57). I think technique might come into play. I have gotten up dragging all my life. (I could get up with my back foot in if I had to, like when borrowing a ski with 2 boots, but that was rare. Unfortunately, a couple summers ago, I was borrowing a two boot ski and couldnt get up on it. Frustrating and embarrassing, I guess I was a bit rusty. I only tried a couple times as I didnt want to hold things up and I'm sure with a little practice I could still do it. Fortunately there was also a RTP ski in the boat)

But anyway, back to my point. I dont feel any strain in the back of my leg at all when dragging. But I dont fight it and dont try to push the ski away from me. In fact, I rest my chest on my knee and just get pulled up in that crouched position, letting the boat do the work. As soon as the ski starts to plane off, I stand up. (i.e. I dont ride in the crouched position half way down the lake)

GottaSki wrote: Plus the flying dock starts were fun, miss that.

until you try one, here a snap and feel like you just got the Charlie horse feeling and stupidly try again, hear the snap and get the worst Charlie horse you ever had. The next day your front ski leg looks like eggplant from your butt down the lengh of back of your leg. Stays that way for a while. From that day forward there are no more "flying dock starts"

Care to ask me how I know?

The drag a foot method comes frome having a small out board with out the power to get someone up double booted.

chicks do it best

I've had the double wrap since 96, but I found 1 foot was so much less effort, the ski naturally adjusts attitude providing immediate lift.
Plus the flying dock starts were fun, miss that.

FUN-9C1 wrote: john_33612 wrote: hope you have a strong hamstring , one foot out puts alot of strain on your leg thats in the ski , I have strong legs , 500 lb squats for reps and it still tore my hamstring It probably is alot easier to learn the one leg method when you're a kid. Has anyone learned to do that as a full grown 200 lb male? I learned that method when I was 11 or so and have been doing that ever since and don't even think about it. But if I'd never done it and tried it now at 42 I can imagine I might hurt something!

It boggles my mind that anyone would consider the one-foot start more difficult, either skill-wise or injury-wise. If you think its harder, then youre doing something wrong!   

Wow, that's a rare Century outboard in phenomenal shape! 25HP...?

Quite similar to the Penn Yan Swift which were built on the lake I grew up on (Keuka Lake NY)

I've also got a 75 Mark II & come from a long line of Century owners........good to see another Century on the site!!

hope you have a strong hamstring , one foot out puts alot of strain on your leg thats in the ski , I have strong legs , 500 lb squats for reps and it still tore my hamstring

I tell people to concentrate on keeping their weight centered over their front knee, seems to help them understand the balance point. When they feel the hard pull of the boat, straighten out your knee so you stand up, your torso clears the water, and you get on top quickly.

I totally agree on using a wide new style combo ski, it's amazing how much easier they make it to get up.

I've had to revert to dropping a ski at times, I've had a few injuries that didn't let me put the strain on my legs of getting up on 1 ski. Boy it's easy to get up on 2 skis! There's no reason to let a new slalom skier struggle to get up on 1, dropping is a much better way to learn.

Seems all new comers learning think of two things. Always want to pull on the rope while skiing and lean to far forward. I tell them boat got lots of power lean back on the ski, and never pull on the rope. I don’t know why some do so. But with new comers, especially coming out of the deep water that is when I pull out the ol double handle rope out. Throw both lines over the ski, know they can concentrate on skiing and getting up, and then work from there.

After a couple of seasons trying, I am to the point of getting up on one, most of the time. I agree with everything above, one thing that helped me was to have the driver tighten up the line at idle, then drag me through the water a little bit. I think that little bit of forward momentum helps before he hits the throttle.

That's great he can skip right to the slalom deepwater start.

If I'm driving, you're doing all the steps because I'm not turning the boat around 9 times. Lucky Lowe style!