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**TeamAllen** · 05-12-2017, 03:44 AM

Wow, it's good to see you trying it out. I have that ski, but haven't tried it yet. It's supposed to be a good ski for fun, open water skiing, so it should be good for what you are doing. I don't know the specifics about your specific boat, maybe someone with experience behind a Z1 will comment.

You want the wake as low as possible. No ballast and evenly weighted side to side, for an even wake on both sides. So move coolers and/or people around to make the adjustment. The speed range is usually between 28-34 for adults. The more advanced skis are speed specific. HO says you can ride the Freeride as slow as wakeboard speeds. A lot of it depends on your size and weight. You can change the line length with a typical waterski rope to place you in a different part of the wake if desired.

**bsreid** · 05-12-2017, 03:50 AM

Not the only one picking it up either! I just bought a slalom of my own as well.

**Bakes5** · 05-12-2017, 04:06 AM

Get an EZ up rope.

**Jetdriver** · 05-12-2017, 05:11 AM

Just a guess but some bow weight may make your hull profile a little more flat on plane giving you a smaller wake for skiing.

**h2o-ski** · 05-12-2017, 01:01 PM

Adding weight does some funky things to the wake especially on the convex hull. I noticed a larger rooster tail from the TAPS plate which then makes the area between the wakes frothy. I would recommend no ballast.

Mike have you slalom skied before, even if it is off a department store combos? I have my oldest son on combos to work on balance by lifting his right ski out of the water. Eventually he will drop the ski and then we can work on deep water starts.

**hcooperrn** · 05-12-2017, 01:39 PM

It's been a long time since I was on a slalom ski, though we did have a few people up behind our 22v. With no ballast and about 28mph, it was decent. With a wake-oriented boat like your Z1 or my Z3, slalom is possible, just go into knowing it may be a challenge to do the hard back-and-forth carves -- it will be hard to get the wake flat. When you cross the wake, you'll want to really keep your knees bent to absorb the bump as much as possible to avoid popping up. I would agree, no ballast, try to keep the boat as flat and level as possible, taps to keep the rooster tail down yet not make the wake any bigger.

h20-ski's advice is good too -- I learned by getting up on two and then dropping a ski, you just point your toes and it will fall off. Just have to do it in an area that doesn't have traffic to run over your dropped ski. Deep water starts are tough for some people, the EZ up rope helps. I would tell the driver to hit it, take a deep breath, let it plow, and if I wobbled, let my back leg drag until I could come up enough to slide it in the ski.

**culrich77** · 05-12-2017, 02:40 PM

I love this!! Slalom seems to be a dying sport in the boat world. Every year I go on a trip with about 30 friends to Lake Powell and there are generally 2 of us that can slalom, I've seen many people try and give up right away, it's not easy to get up, most people just assume that it's going to be like surfing or wake boarding and you just need to hold on to the rope and you'll pop up, if only it were that easy.

I totally agree that the EZ up rope is a good place to start. Once you are up your speed can be anywhere from 27-35 and like others have said, no ballast and try to eliminate the wakes as much as possible, in my boat it's not possible but going about 34 they are flat enough to still enjoy a good pull......oh and you are going to be sore, sore as hell the next day, for some reason slalom skiing uses muscles that you never knew you had!!

**TeamAllen** · 05-12-2017, 03:08 PM

Did you get the rear toe plate (RTP) for the rear binding on your new ski?

**moved2ski** · 05-12-2017, 03:46 PM

The most common mistakes for a beginner are to not keep your hips forward and pulling too hard approaching the wake and then backing off to cross. Lots of beginners pull hard out of the turn and then flatten the ski and bounce over the wake. The real power and speed is generated behind the boat. Watching pro's on video can be deceptive because they generate so much speed they can slice through the wake and then glide to the turn. The greatest rope load should be just behind the boat. Do a little experimenting with taps. My wake looks smallest at 1, but is softer just above 2 at 32 mph.

**skibumsd** · 05-12-2017, 03:59 PM

If you have never been on one ski before it is drastically easier to get up on 2 skis and drop a ski imo. If your hell bent on getting up on one ski a slalom starting rope like mentioned before is a huge help. It has a big triangle in front of the handle that your ski will fit in and help keep the ski in front of you. With a powerful boat it should be easier to pop out quicker as well. When we learned we didnt have alot of HP in the boat we where using so it would drag you a bit trying to get out of the water and thats when most people give up, they just cant hang on. Its a hell of a workout!

**Bakes5** · 05-12-2017, 11:00 PM

So learning. A short line off the tower with a deep v handle helps for the first couple times. Just concentrate on getting up and being stable. Once you have some muscle memory, drop the line and lengthen it a bit.

I like to have a "boat" ski that's easy to get up on for first timers. Any of the big fat skis will do. They actually turn decently. As far as your wake, eventually you will just kinda jump it. Z1/Z3 are gonna have a wake. For me, I just love going so fast and pulling Gs enough that I wonder if my arms will pull out of socket. Fast run just after sunset....heaven.

It's kinda sad actually that so few slalom these days. Everyone that owns a boat and isn't broken should be able to slalom, wakeboard, skate, and surf. You should also have foil on that list but they are a little spendy and hard to store so you get a pass if you have not foiled....still, you owe it to yourself to at least buy a used one, learn, then sell it if you hate it.

**malmz** · 05-13-2017, 07:12 AM

Some good advice so far. It takes a lot more pull to get up than wakeboarding, on my 24v it takes a full throttle hit to get me comfortably up at 185lbs but on a more aggressive ski. Good gloves help, and -hang on-. Knees bent, don't try to stand up before the boat gets speed, and your body position is leaning back more than a wakeboard. A big ski like that you can run at 26 to learn. As mentioned, no ballast, flat taps, and don't even worry about cutting wakes, just get up and get comfortable first. Come back when you are there and ask about more technique.

I have been slalom skiing for 30+ years and always had a smaller tournament ski boat. Taught my son a couple of years ago to give him the bug, and have taught many people over the years. You would be surprised at how many lean better going straight to one ski instead of trying to drop one after getting up on two.

If you spend time at it, and want to get to a level where you can comfortably ski aggressively, it is one of the biggest rushes on the water. The Tige wake at 28-30 is pretty darn flat for a big boat and you can cut the wakes aggressively. With time and skill, when the boat is running 30, you will double that speed as you cross the wakes.

**malmz** · 05-13-2017, 07:49 AM

This give you a different perspective. This is behind my old boat in about three years ago. I was trying the GoPro mounted on the ski, but it did move a bit on the mount, and it isn't the most aggressive ride. Unfortunately I have only had one slalom ride behind my Tige before I had back surgery a year and a half ago, and am not sure if I will should do the pull to get up on the slalom again... needless to say that kind of sucks.
https://youtu.be/xUXNsVHyY7w

**TeamAllen** · 05-13-2017, 01:43 PM

Not sloppy at all. Good stuff right there.
Sorry to hear about your back. I hope you are able to return in the future.

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