Rope lengths

[ctcranor]

Help!! Please explain the "off" thing. We have a good sectional rope and we just took one length off last weekend. My wife really liked the shorter rope. The section I took off looked about 7.5 feet which makes sense: 15 off would be 2 sections, right? How come then there is different incerments thrown around that aren't in equal 7.5 feet sections or are people just rounding the number when talking? When they say "22 off" is it really 22.5 feet or 3 sections or are there different types of ropes people use?

Just clarification for my understanding!

Thanks all.

[Tige22ityper]

It works like this. A standard slalom ski rope is 75' in length. In a slalom course, the buoys are exactly 37.5' from the centerline of the course. The first loop is 15 feet from the rope's original full-length connection point to the boat. This if considered 15 off, which is a rope length of 60 feet. The following increments are 22, 28, 32, 35, 38, 39.5, and 41 off.

In competition, after a skier completes a pass (all six buoys), the boat speed is raised 2 miles per hour each pass until the speed reaches 36 Mph for men and 34 Mph for women. At this point the rope's length is shortened one increment per completed pass.


Why the sections vary is beyond me............hope this helps you out!

[bfrank]

Straight line makes an 11 section mainline taht can get you down to 44 feet of......lets see at 41 off you are 6 feet from the turn ball, so at 44 off you are 9 feet from the turn ball??? could that be correct?? I dont see many people running 6 balls @ 44 off.

[Tige22ityper]

No. Its like this...........At 44' off, the rope is 31 feet (give or take a 2 feet for the handle), so you are 6.5 feet short of the turn buoy. No one has run that short in competition. The current world record is 1.25 buoys at 43 off' by Chris Parrish. So he bascially made it around ball 1 and made it to ball 2 but never made it out of the turn.

I can't imagine being that close to the boat! Much less going 36 mph and having to stretch to even consider a turn at that length!!

[NICKYPOO]

The refinements in technique in the last few years have created almost a Genisis if you will of how far you can push the record. Gone are the days of pure power skiing. It's all about carrying speed and being smooth now. The skis are now being designed more towards that technique and I think you'll see that record get pushed a lot in the next few years. 6 @ 43 off? I think it's possible.

[Tige22ityper]

It might be possible, but the I don't see 6 balls at 43' off happening anytime soon, if ever. Maybe 2 or 3 balls, but not the whole course. 9 years ago, the record was 1 ball at 43' off held by 3 guys. So it took 8 years just to add .25 to the record. The womens record is 1 ball at 41 off' and that was set 10 years ago when the technology wasn't like today.

[bfrank]

Its all about coordinates. Set a site and ski to it keep your coordinates and you will run it. The big heads geniuses have made it a mathematical possibility.

[ctcranor]

Thanks

Now it makes sense. Thank you. We (my wife) doesn't ski compitition and has not been thru a course, she is a free, or is it open, skier?

Either way, does it make sense to you guys that she really liked the shorter rope by one section. Her turning seemed to really improve, even on her weak side. If one section helped, maybe 2 would be better? She is so conservative that now with one gone and everythings going good, she doesn't want to try 2 (please, let's avoid the obvious comments about HUH? Why the f**k not?? It is what she is......).

Thoughts from people other than me (true skiers) would carry far more value than my input......

[dogbert]

Re: Thanks

Originally posted by ctcranor
Now it makes sense. Thank you. We (my wife) doesn't ski compitition and has not been thru a course, she is a free, or is it open, skier?

Either way, does it make sense to you guys that she really liked the shorter rope by one section. Her turning seemed to really improve, even on her weak side. If one section helped, maybe 2 would be better? She is so conservative that now with one gone and everythings going good, she doesn't want to try 2 (please, let's avoid the obvious comments about HUH? Why the f**k not?? It is what she is......).

Thoughts from people other than me (true skiers) would carry far more value than my input......

It's really about what you're comfortable with. My kids wakeboard with a section or two off depending on what trick they're trying to learn because the wake's not as wide or the ramp is a bit different at different length and speed combinations. If I were smart, I'd actually think about dropping a section or two from my rope when I ski (might be easier on me). But who can think clearly early in the morning before your first cup of coffee?

Just tell her that she gets to specify exactly what she wants for boat speed, TAPS setting and rope length. Whenever I ski someone, these are the questions I ask them (well, maybe I don't ask about the TAPS because unless they own a Tige, they won't know WTF I'm talking about)