Water ski length?

[Irv964]

I have an opportunity to purchase some used O'Brien Celebrity water ski's, they are suppose to be in excellent condition and the seller wants $100.00(good price?)
Anyways, looking at the O'Brien site I see these skis are only 64" long? Most adult skis I believe are 67 to 68" long? What affect(s) will this shorter length ski mean to my wife and me? We are both beginner/intermediate skiers and I am 5'8" and my wife is 5'4". Thanks for your help.............Irv964
Pic: http://www.obrien.com/products_detail.asp?Prod_id=29

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Water ski length?

As a general rule for beginners the ski length should be close to your height. Those skis would suit you wife perfectly but you may have trouble controlling but hey, doesn't hurt to have a small pair of o'briens in the stable (would be great for teenagers).

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Water ski length?

If you're 2-skiing, they'll be 100% fine. Ski length has very limited impact when 2-skiing because you have double the surface area. Where length becomes an issue is when you drop a ski. So depending on your weight, if you intend to use the one ski as a slalom, you might have an issue with making one-skiing harder than necessary. A 64 incher is really normally only designed to handle 120 pounds or less at recreational skiing speeds.

Ski length on slalom has almost nothing at all to do with height, but weight. A 64" ski is kinda non-standard IMO...more of a teenager set of skis. The more typical share-with-everyone combo set is 68". There's many length/weight charts on-line for waterskis. Here's one:

http://waterski.about.com/od/tipsslalombegin/a/slalom_sizing.htm

I agree with previous poster...it is GREAT to have a set of shorter skis on hand for when you're trying to teach younger people how to do it for the first time. Lighter weight, easier to hold up, easier to hold parallel, etc. So even if it's just a short-term use for you, it might be a good investment to get them for that purpose alone. If they're in great condition, price sounds pretty decent.

 

[Irv964]

Re: Water ski length?

Great info Craze1cars! I had no idea about the length/weight ratio, I am pushing 190lbs and my wife is approx 130lbs so I am guessing these may not be the best choice for us? (I would like to try slalom next year)
My young lad is only 7 so it will be quite a few years before he will be able to use them I think? We just purchased some trainer skis for him and they are good up to 90Lbs and he is currently 60 Lbs. I take it these O'Brien's would be to big for him even if he wanted to try them after he masters the trainers?

I have another set of ski's I am suppose to look sometime this week-end/Monday, I have no idea what kind they are but I have been told they have never been used and the person also wants a $100.00 for them. If they are good ones and in the range of 67 to 68" inches I think I will purchase them instead?
For the price, should I also pick up those O'Brien's when my young lad is a few years older?...........Irv964

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Water ski length?

Everyone's different, so no real firm answer on anything you asked...more a matter of opinion and preference than hard facts.

I've taught many a 5th and 6th grader how to ski on 68" combo skis (the last two were 90 pound girls). It can be a little challenging for them to keep 'em straight, but they always figure it out despite the fact that these skis are too big for them. My inexpensive combo set I keep on hand for such occasions has a removable bar that connects the two skis together. This bar helps with initial training if their legs are too weak to keep the skis pointed to the sky and parallel while floating. Many combo sets have this feature, but I don't think it's really necessary in your case as your child will already have that part licked by the time he grows into them. If either of these girls I recently taught had previous experience on small trainers I'd assume the 68's would have been much easier for 'em to handle because they would have had the "feel" for what they were trying to do.

I guess if it were my money, and you already have trainers for your 7 year old, I think I'd pass on this set of 64's. If instead you can find a respectable set of 67 or 68's that you and your wife can cut your teeth on, they'll better handle your weight at slower boat speeds when you do choose to drop a ski and start playing with that. Your 7 year old can use the trainers you already have until he hits their max weight limit, at which time I bet he can jump straight to the 68's at that time with no problem. Or, even more likely, he'll be skiing circles around YOU because kids learn much faster than adults! And at that time you'll choose instead to invest in a real nice slalom ski just for him...or wakeboard/kneeboard/wakeskate other such toys he might like much better.

So I'd just buy what you need for now, and don't bother buying a set you might or might not find a use for someday in the future.

Just my opinion, others may vary. Happy shopping!

 

[Irv964]

Re: Water ski length?

Great info again Craze1, I think I will skip on those O'Briens, they sound like they are an intermediate type ski for a younger person coming up the ranks in skiing?
I think your right in saying my young lad will jump right on a pair of 68's no problem, not just because he is my son but the boy is a natural, he goes in and out of the wake all the time, anyone who see's him can't believe how good he is and that he is only 7 yrs old! We have a great pic our neighbors at our trailer took of him, he is skiing with only 1 hand and waving with the other, I wish I could post it but it is in a frame and wasn't taken with our camera.
Thanks again for your time and knowledge, I appreciate you sharing it with me!...........Irv964

 

[Irv964]

Re: Water ski length?

Well I picked up those other set of ski's tonight and they were 67" inches long and best of all they were O'Brien's as well!! They look brand new and the lady I picked them up from said they were, her father bought them and never used them? They still had the orignal price tag on them at $250 with a sale price of $192.57. He also threw in an O'Brien ski handle and what looks like at least a 60' ski rope? Plus he threw in the mechanism for attaching the rope to the rings on the back of a transom with the wheel inside(don't know proper name?) ( I don't need it as my boat has the ski pylon)
To say the least I am very happy and especially knowing I picked up everything for $100.00 bucks!!............Irv964

 

[fishfinderff]

Re: Water ski length?

thank's for tip