Over the last 4 years, I've skied with two of the pickiest, 38 and 39 off skiers I can imagine. I've learned a TON. The first year, one of them would throw the handle every single time when he pulled out to set down. I wanted to drive back to shore and leave his smug ass there. But in time I figured out why he was doing it. In 4 years I feel as if I've gone from a pleasure driver to a real driver, capable of driving for anybody all the way into 41 off if necessary. Here are some tips I have:

1. Learn to use the speed control. As soon as the skier steps into the boat or you pull to the dock if you're tossing a handle out, ask speed, weight, etc. Even though I ski with the same 2-3 guys every single week, I still ask them what they want. Have the speed control set up BEFORE they get in the water. This means crew weight, wind, skier weight, etc. When the skier hits the water, I am ready to go.

2. When the skier is in the water, my left hand is on the wheel and my right hand is on the throttle. I can make any movement needed to protect my skier and my passengers.

3. A 15 or 22 off skier is actually harder to drive for because of the rope angles and where the pull comes from.  The boat will be down course farther, which is something you have to get used too.

4. Ask the skier after the first pass how your pull up was.  They will appreciate it.

5. In the course, the tail of the boat will move with the skier opposite of your counter steering. Done correctly, that doesn't mean the pylon is moving. The biggest mistake I made early on is to overdrive, thinking that the boat was moving more than it really was.  When you turn the steering wheel, the nose of the boat will rotate one way the tail will rotate the other. It basically is going to rotate around the pylon and fins.  Pay attention and learn to feel when this is just a rotate around the centerline and when you ARE actually getting pulled off line.

6. Learn the angles. When someone else is driving, pay attention to where skiers are at the hookup in relation to the boat. This is very important and you can use your knowledge of the angles effectively with your countersteer. The shorter the rope, the closer to the boat guides you'll be when your skier hooks up.


7. When you get pulled offline, don't over correct for too long.  Let's say the skier comes around 1 ball and sticks the ski and gives a big tug at the hook up at 32 off. He's then off across the wakes toward 2 ball. The result can be your boat being pulled to the right. If you correct for too long, you'll end up too far to the left side of the course when he relaxes his knees, starts the edge change, and enters the glide out to the buoy. What's the result? He loses tension on the rope when he expects there to be support. This is something you just have to learn by feel.

8. Learn how to set up the rudder. 99% of the boats out there, even the promo boats, do not have enough rudder torque.  Properly set up, you should not have a dead spot center wheel.  If you have the rudder torqued properly, you should be able to drive a straight line through the boat guides without seeing the nose rotate any and without seesawing the the wheel. If I have to move the wheel more than about 1/4", then it's time to put some more torque in the rudder. People get in our boats and think they have heavy wheels. And they do. But they go damn straight, with as little input as possible.

9. First pass of the day, I have an observer(if I have one) call the center line so I can pinpoint a spot on my boat that corresponds to the right hand boat guide when I'm centered in the course. In a Nautique 196, my spot is generally the oil pressure gauge. In a Response LX, its the middle upright for the bow grab rail.

10. Find the right seating position. I rest my left forearm on my left knee with my left hand on the wheel at the 7 oclock position. All of my steering input is with my wrist and NOT my elbow and shoulder.

11. Don't overcounter during the setdown. You should barely have to move the steering wheel left for the skier to pull out right. As soon as you do your initial small counter and come back straight, start to roll back the throttle and match the speed of the skier. Do not turn the wheel in towards the skier until he/she has started to lose their glide. This is easy at 15 and 22 off. It's damn difficult to learn to do at 39 off. I bet my counter to start the skiers setdown pullout is only about 1" of steering wheel movement and only lasts 1 second.

I hope some of these things help someone to alleviate thrown handles and hurt feelings.

Last edited by 2gofaster (Fri, Apr 10, 2009 2:41 AM)

Well said!

Lots of really good points. All i would add is:

1) being center is important but it is more important to give the skier a good pull. Sometimes you will hurt the skier less if you make a change negligently than they would by you being off by 3 inches.

2) be aware of where the skier is in the course. Try to make all adjustments when the skier is directly behind the boat

2gofaster Thanks for the details. And the other comments as well. These pointers will help this rookie boat driver and maybe just maybe keep the skiers I pull happy.

Drive, drive and drive.............for different sports, such as wakeboarding, slalom at different speeds and rope lenghts, trick, barefooting (boom, long line, wake crossings, 1foot, tumble turns and stepping in and out of the boat).
One thing that helped me was driving the course without the skier.
Don't over steer the boat, easy does it.

8. Learn how to set up the rudder. 99% of the boats out there, even the promo boats, do not have enough rudder torque.  Properly set up, you should not have a dead spot center wheel.  If you have the rudder torqued properly, you should be able to drive a straight line through the boat guides without seeing the nose rotate any and without seesawing the the wheel. If I have to move the wheel more than about 1/4", then it's time to put some more torque in the rudder. People get in our boats and think they have heavy wheels. And they do. But they go damn straight, with as little input as possible.

Shane,

In your point #8, you mentioned rudder torque.  I did not know that was adjustable and I currently have to counter steer a bit to keep mine straight.  Can someone explain how to adjust this?

Thanks Scot.  I'm in a '96 Ski Centurion, so I'm sure I'll be grinding.

http://www.proskicoach.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=715

Maybe you've already read the above thread. If not, it's really pretty cool!

Thanks a lot guys - I appreciate the help!

Driving articles from Tommy Harrington and Chris Eller at www.proskicoach.com/slalom_boat_driving