Turn etiquette?

[talbertini]

PJ is right on! The only thing I would add is to always aproach the skier on the drivers side of the boat. This way the skier is always in your line of sight. I hate skiing with rookie drivers who **** near run me over by trying to pick up on the pasenger side!

[OldFart]

Abu99, sounds like your dad has u tricked into being a crash dummy, nothing personal intended.

[mgswed]

Hey, Ive got a question about slalom course turn etiquette. Ive never been in a course but i just found one and want to start trying. Now other boats are there so how many times thru would be okay before your turn is over? How do you turn around to re-approach to come thru on the second pass, third, etc...? Thanks, -MG

[pj]

Here's what we usually do. At the end, if you just want to spin and come back. Keep going straight out of the course, then make a gentle turn to one side. When you are at about 45 degrees to your original course, hold that line for a moment. Now, you can turn back the other way and come out of the turn lined up with the boat path for the slalom course. This does a pretty good job of keeping rollers out of the course. After about 3 passes, there may be some waves from turning if you don't have turn islands to break up your wake. We like to do about 2-3 passes, then drop and let the water settle for a minute. We usually ski 5-6 passes per set, then let somebody else have a go if they are waiting. Sometimes you'll want to drop the skier at the end of the course, either to let them take a quick rest, or if you need to shorten the line. I generally swing them up on the right side, so I have them in view the whole time. After getting out of the course, keep going until you think you'll have enough room for the setup coming back. Then, I usually signal the skier to pull out to the side and begin turning left (remember, the skier should pull out to the right side). Once you are about 45 degrees to your original course, or maybe even a little more for someone on long line, start cutting the throttle and turning back towards your original direction. The skier will swing up next to the boat. They won't have to let go of the handle, you'll be able to talk to them while they rest, and you'll be all set to go right away. If there are other boats waiting to use the course, we generally pull up and talk to them to get a general game plan on who is going and when.

[TwinTip]

There is an article on the July or August/September Waterski Magazine (I don't remember which one and don't have the issues right now) that explains how to drop a skier at the end of the course. It has some good pictures if you want to use them as a reference.

[talbertini]

mgswed, 6 passes is usually considered a set. In most courses each boats gets 1 set per turn. If the skier goes down before he finishes his 6 passes and gets in the boat, your turn is over.

[mgswed]

Sweet thanks guys. Time to hit the course.

[TwinTip]

Mgswed, the article regarding the driving and dropping of the skier is on the July Waterski Magazine issue, page 68.