Too fat for my skis?

[Natty Light]

I've been doing my best to get up on skis this summer.
I would say I'm up to about 21 tries so far with no success.
The closest I've come is "almost up"
Some friends mentioned to me that skis have weight limits.
After researching this I discovered that my skis are rated for 200 lbs. I'm 240lbs.
I do see some skis on the net that look to be geared towards the bigger guy.

Should I go after some bigger skis or keep trying with the first set?

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

Well, if they are rated for 200 and you are 240 then I'd get some bigger skis. I can get up on a set of kids skis, but if you are just learning then having a set that provides as much surface area as possible would make it a lot easier for you.

What size combos are you using now?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

They do have wider skiis, but they are meant for guys not strong enough to pull themselves up on regular skiis. I presume you are trying to get up on two skiies? You should be starting in a crouch, arms around knees, rope between skiis. Stay in crouch until you are on top of the water, and then straighten your knees. Do not pull back on the rope. If you pull back, you will fall. Once you have skiied across both wakes (real simple), you will be on your way to becomming an expert, and can then pull on rope, take off one ski, drink a beer or any other thing you want to try.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

Any set of normal 67"/68" combo skis should be able to get a 250lbs adult up with little issue. Check the length of your combo set, and if it is shorter than 67", I'd find another pair that meets that spec. I, like oldjeep, can get up on a pair of kids skis, but it isn't the easiest and we've been skiing for a long while. If your current skis ARE 67-68", then you need to look at your technique and the type of boat/horsepower in use.

 

[moosehead]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

It takes a big hammer to drive a big nail.

Get a proper ski set and wait for the boat to plane you up before standing.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

Whatcha' skiing behind? Sometimes the boat has something to do with it too. I'm around 220 and can get up on standard skis relatively easily.

 

[noclutch]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

They do have wider skiis, but they are meant for guys not strong enough to pull themselves up on regular skiis. I presume you are trying to get up on two skiies? You should be starting in a crouch, arms around knees, rope between skiis. Stay in crouch until you are on top of the water, and then straighten your knees. Do not pull back on the rope. If you pull back, you will fall. Once you have skiied across both wakes (real simple), you will be on your way to becomming an expert, and can then pull on rope, take off one ski, drink a beer or any other thing you want to try.

Quote-worthy truths in a nut shell!

 

[Natty Light]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

Whatcha' skiing behind? Sometimes the boat has something to do with it too. I'm around 220 and can get up on standard skis relatively easily.

It's an 18ft fish and ski with a 150 yamaha 2 stroke

Let me ask this. Would it be better for the driver to throw the hammer down or ease into it?

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

It's an 18ft fish and ski with a 150 yamaha 2 stroke

Let me ask this. Would it be better for the driver to throw the hammer down or ease into it?

Ought to be enough power, typically we just hammer down no matter if it is behind my 140HP runabout or my father in-laws 350HP ski boat

 

[MrBigStuff]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

The driver has as much to do with success as the skier. The driver should hammer it until you rise up and then back off. It takes practice and skill to be the driver. Making you plow through the water will wear you out in short order. The more tired you get, the less chance of having enough strength the lean back and stand up when the times comes.

I'm no pro but did a fair share of skiing when I was younger. Recently, I suffered greatly at the hands of an inexperienced driver that would not listen when I told him just hammer it and have the spotter tell you when I'm up, then back off. Must have tried 20 times before exhaustion set in. Tried again after resting and had someone else who would listen do the driving. Up the first time! But then he did not understand the concept of backing off so I had to let go when we hit barefoot speeds

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

I would typically hammer the throttle and start to ease back was the tach approached 3000RPM. That would get me to about 27MPH which is a good speed for two skiis. Little kids need to be eased "up" a bit more.

Of course when I had my Merc 1500, I had to be really careful, because if the motor made 3000 RPM and I did not back immediately off, two seconds later it was 4000RPM and the skiier was getting launched out of his skiis. Just an idosyncracy of that motor and it's mid-range pull.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

It's an 18ft fish and ski with a 150 yamaha 2 stroke

Let me ask this. Would it be better for the driver to throw the hammer down or ease into it?

You got enough juice, fer sure. I wouldn't completely "drop the hammer" unless you like the idea of rotator cuff surgery later But you don't want to just ease into it - the poor skier will tire out fighting the water. We used to pull a little to get the slack out and straighten everything up, push up smartly to enough power to climb on plane. Your goal is to get the skier quickly up to about 25 or 28 MPH without rippin' their arms out. The bigger the dude ... the more you're gonna' have to give the throttle.

... or what Chris1956 said. I guess I wasn't paying attention.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

You got enough juice, fer sure. I wouldn't completely "drop the hammer" unless you like the idea of rotator cuff surgery later

Unless you have slack in the line, there is no problem dropping the hammer.

 

[LandOf10KLAKES]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

I gotta say, no offense but i opened this thread just because of the title...
we used to have a magic pull back speed after the hole shot which was always a lucky 21 mph...
like learning how to juggle, once u get up and balanced, u wonder what the big deal was. like said b4, other than the ski's themselves, the technique described while being relaxed in the arms letting that experienced boat pilot pull you up and out while u basically stand up will seem awfully simple once u do it. 21 times btw, is not a big # to have not succeeded imo. u can do it billy madison!

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

Well everyone has a different opinion of what "easing on the power" or "dropping the hammer" actually is. Some people look at "dropping the hammer" as meaning: throwing the throttle from idle to full forward stop as quickly as humanly possible. I'd advise against that technique for the stress on the engine/gears alone. The term I would use for correct throttle application is "smooth and swift". You need to move the throttle from idle to full throttle in a smooth movement, should take 1-2 seconds to perform. It allows the engine to catch up to the throttle increase and allows the skier to maintain a solid grip without having the rope ripped from their hands due to an abrupt change in line tension.

On the flip side, don't go to the other extreme and "ease on the power" where you spend too much time at lower rpms and force the skier to drag in the water. I've seen some people try to get people up by slowly adding throttle over 5+ seconds, which ends up causing the skier to expend a lot of energy trying to get on plane.

 

[jestor68]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

Go on E Bay and find a set of Cypress Gardens **** Pope Jr (wood) 67" water skis.

They are old school flat bottom skis that are twice as easy to get up on; compared to modern concave bottom skis. And they are much less tiring to ski on because they skim along with less drag than the concave bottom skis.

I've have folks that just couldn't get up after trying several times; tossed the DP Jr's out there and they're up and going the first pull.

 

[90stingray]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

I would bet you are trying to stand up too early. Stay with knees bent until boat has planed and builds speed and your skis are on top of the water.

Then when you are slalom skiing, you can learn to start, standing from shore and never even get wet ;-) My dad does that... I have never seen anyone else do that.

Keep at it. Seems like skis are a lost art. Good luck!

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

Jestor, I have a pair of those DP skiis. They are antiques. I may mount them on my wall as a nic-nak. The concave skiis can hold the water better, which can be an advantage to new skiiers. I expect you will catch some flak for recommending the flatties.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

Jestor, I have a pair of those DP skiis. They are antiques. I may mount them on my wall as a nic-nak. The concave skiis can hold the water better, which can be an advantage to new skiiers. I expect you will catch some flak for recommending the flatties.

I agree, there is no advantage to using old skis for anything other than nostalgia. I have a Cypress Gardens Banana Peel slalom ski I break out every once in a while (wood, 72" long) just for grins, but it is in no way superior to a modern ski aside from it being ridiculously easier to get up on because of sheer size. If you can't get up on a modern set of 67-68" combos (of virtually any brand), you have a grossly underpowered boat or improper form (most like the latter).

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Too fat for my skis?

I haven't water skied since I was a kid but we had two pair... one was an ancient set of wood skis and the other a brand new pait of composite skis with the concave bottom... the wood skis were super easy to get up with and very easy to ski on and the new ones were what I described at the time as way to slippery.... seemed like we had to go much faster with them and I remember feeling like I was standing on ice verses the old ones that just felt right to me

I only skied a few times and so never became an expert but I can certainly see where some folks could benefit from the older skis