Turn etiquette?

[davidr]

OK, so what is proper etiquette for turning to pick up a fallen skier/boarder, with respect to speed in particular?

Slow to below 10 mph before the U-turn, then idle back to the skier unless there is a safety reason to get there quickly (injured skier, crazy boaters bearing down on the fallen skier)?

Thanks

[darrel409]

RE: Turn etiquette?

I was taught to throttle back to near idle position til boat slows to near wakeless, then make your turn and then can speed back up to pick up skier in a straight path. What you dont want to do is throw rollers down the lake perpendicular to your line of travel. On the lakes that i learned (mostly ski lakes) 10 mph turnaround got you the stink eye from the next skiers because they would be dealing with your rollers or have to wait til they clear.

[davidr]

RE: Turn etiquette?

OK, thank you.

[Luke]

RE: Turn etiquette?

Slow the boat down to idle speed, let your wake dissipate, slowly turn around to head back to the rider. Once you have completed the turn you can speed up a little.

Turning around at 10mph is as bad as/if not worse, than a power turn because the boat isn’t on a plane and sends huge rollers down your riding path the length of the lake.

[steelerguy]

Turns Skill varies from Driver to driver. But what I teach is: after your rider falls, Make a sharp LEFT while throttling down then make a sharp right, and taxi back to your rider at idle speed.

I do however like HOT PICK UPs.... Which means you Wide loop towards your rider and while looping around your rider, he/she is at the ropes length. As soon as you are past your rider and the rope is tight, you take off. Works well if you and your rider are on the same page.

[AbunDiga909]

Hot Pick Ups are awesome, but only if they're done right!!! If you can Hot Pick Up a slalom skier you are probably the driving G-D... My Dad and Friends are trying to learn the Hot Pick Up with me skyskiing and its not that pleasant. You have a boat circling around you numerous times at 15 MPH about 20 ft. away from you... you have to time your breaths...

[BigBald]

My new favorite turn around is a slowing down to idle....and making a sharp 90 deg turn to the right as the momentum is dying down to almost nothing....but your still in gear. Then as the boat is basically completely stopped or really slowed down...I reverse a bit to continue to bring the stern of the boat around clockwise. This also brings the bow around back towards the skier and back inside any wake that is following. Then I drive back to the skier.

I saw this method at the Van's Wakeboard tournament here in Indianapolis last year. It works really well and takes some practice, but it's not that hard to get the feel.

Along that same line, when I am approaching a skier to have them get back into the boat....I use an opposite approach. This was shown to me by an ex-pro wakeboarder and really works well also. What you do is drive (slowly....but in gear) towards the skier in the water. About 1 1/2 boat lengths from the skier, I make a hard turn to the left....and then quickly add reverse throttle. As the stern approaches the skier, the reverse will pull the boat to a stop and bring the stern's momentum to a stop and basically brings the boat to a perfect parallel parking position to the skier. Don't know if that makes sense...kind of hard to communicate via text.

I practised this by throwing a life jacket in the water and approaching it several times. It only took a couple of times to get the feel.

[laddski]

Bigbald - Ditto from me on both. The only thing to add is if you use the technique you describe on picking up a skier/boarder but swing a little harder you can actually put the platform right in front of them so they can just climb in. I am perfecting that one but a guy I ski with has it to a science and it is awesome.

[Alan-S]

That is how I end a run too, I dock that way about 90% of the time, its the very best way to dock a nautique.

[pj]

As a recent graduate to the AWSA Assistant Driver rating, here's what I was taught for slalom driving. When the skier falls, keep going straight down the course and bring the throttle back to the neutral position. Once the bow of the boat completely settles down into the water, then begin your turn back to the skier using idle throttle only. You can either idle back to the skier, or if you want to get back quicker, you start to accelerate with the bow of the boat angled away from the slalom course to avoid pushing bow rollers down the course. I drive the same way in open water too. Nobody wants to ski in rollers, even if you're not in the course. Also, if a skier takes a hard fall and is face-down in the water, don't execute a big power turn and "race" back to the skier. They won't die lying in the water for 30 seconds. You could risk further injury to a skier with a neck or back injury by trying to rush back over to them and creating big bow rollers.

[BigBald]

laddski - I will have to try that method

Alan-S - I have the boom on the boat most of the time (driver's side)....so I tend to dock opposite.

pj - I hadn't thought about the big rollers when approaching an injured skier....thanks

[davidr]

Thanks for all the comments guys

[Blue Ski]

Rollers bite. I hit a wakeboard boat's Wally Turn roller moving up the slalom course when I went around 4 ball. I should have seen it coming. Now my ankle is in an air cast.

[Dr.John]

PJ, thanks for great info! :cheers:
Unfortunately I don't think I have ever seen that method practiced (in open water). Prolly should post it on WakeWorld.com and Wakeborder.com.

[97sport]

PJ is right on the money with his advice. I just wish more drivers knew to shut down instead of doing a power turn. Also to blue ski I was in a air cast for 6 weeks because of torn tendons in my left ankle NOO FUN. Will have to try big bald's pick up, sounds great.