Need hints for pulling skiers

[curt698]

Hi there,

New to the forum and have done some searching but have not found a thread dedicating to pulling skiers. I just got a GTI Se 130hp. I have found that when I have two adults and two kids on the ski it takes a good 5 seconds to get up on plain. Do you guys have any hints on how best to pull a skier? Any tips you can provide are appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[mattydipps]

Hi there,

New to the forum and have done some searching but have not found a thread dedicating to pulling skiers. I just got a GTI Se 130hp. I have found that when I have two adults and two kids on the ski it takes a good 5 seconds to get up on plain. Do you guys have any hints on how best to pull a skier? Any tips you can provide are appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

welcome to the forum!! congrats on your new ski!

the only hints i have would be.

if your towing.. legally your only supposed to have one driver, one spotter, and the person being towed.

i cant see the coast guard being lenient with 4 riders on a ski with a max rider count of 3.

the 130 is one of the low HP models offered by seadoo so i would imagine it takes a couple seconds to get up to speed with that many people on there. are you riding in eco mode? or sport mode?

 

[Coastiejoe]

Biggest issue is, the ski is not designed for 4 people.

130's will do a decent job but you are probably double what it was designed to do. Also, depending on the state you ride in you will get ticketed for having 4 people on board.

In the reading I have done it is a 3-person ski. In most states that means you could have a driver, a spoter and the person you are pulling.

At any rate. With as much weight as you are putting on the ski and then pulling anything behind you I doubt you could get into plane without a major lag or maybe even at all depending on what you are dragging.

Just not enough ski for what you want to do in my opinion.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Sorry Matty, was typing while you were posting....

 

[Coastiejoe]

A few states specifically state that you can use "over sized mirrors" as a legal spotter. If this the case in your state, you could tow 2-people and you be the driver. But you would still be limited to 3-people max legally.

 

[curt698]

Thanks for all the replies! My original post was not clear, sorry. I was not trying to tow anyone while riding 4, just noticed it took a while to get on plain. That made me wonder if when I try to pull a skier if there are any tricks I need to get them out of the water. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Only with a 3 seater can you pull a 1 skier or 1 tuber in Michigan.

The driver (you) and a light weight person as the spotter seated backwards.
Get the rope tight, then hit the throttle wide open for a few seconds to get the tube or skier on plane. Then ease off to the correct cruising speed for the person you are towing.
While turning you may notice a drag if the "towee" is outside your wake, you may speed up to make up the loss speed. or just WOT in circles to dump him off the tube

 

[curt698]

welcome to the forum!! congrats on your new ski!


the 130 is one of the low HP models offered by seadoo so i would imagine it takes a couple seconds to get up to speed with that many people on there. are you riding in eco mode? or sport mode?

If this model has a choice of modes I have no idea which mode I was in or how to switch modes. Sorry truly a newb.

Dave

 

[mattydipps]

If this model has a choice of modes I have no idea which mode I was in or how to switch modes. Sorry truly a newb.

Dave

when you look at the handle bars on the left hand side right above the start button.. there should be two buttons.. one says ECO and the other says SPORT.. when the ski is started it is in regular mode..

when you press the sport button a message will be displayed on the dash telling you your about to enter sport mode.. to confirm press the sport button again.. if you do youll hear a beep and a message on the dash confirming you entered sport mode....

same situation with eco mode only.. youll conserve gas instead of wasting it like in sport mode. youll feel the ski WAY more peppy in sport mode then any other mode.

 

[JuanchoPWC]

Sorry for hijacking this thread, but... I have a question.... I just owned a 2003 Seadoo GTX 185hp Supercharged... My question is... Do i need a ski pylon to pull a skier...?? I mean, does it give better stability to the skier with the ski pylon..?? Or better question yet... Can i wakeboard without problem by only tighing my tow rope to my original ski eye..??

Thanks in advance for any answer...

Cheers

 

[curt698]

when you look at the handle bars on the left hand side right above the start button.. there should be two buttons.. one says ECO and the other says SPORT.. when the ski is started it is in regular mode..

when you press the sport button a message will be displayed on the dash telling you your about to enter sport mode.. to confirm press the sport button again.. if you do youll hear a beep and a message on the dash confirming you entered sport mode....

same situation with eco mode only.. youll conserve gas instead of wasting it like in sport mode. youll feel the ski WAY more peppy in sport mode then any other mode.

Yeah there is no such button on this ski.

 

[Coastiejoe]

JuanchoPWC

Biggest advantage of the ski pole is getting the line out of the water as the mounting is higher than the ski eye.

It helps in getting up as once you get a strain on the line more line is out if the water.

Most skiers can overcome the issue but it does help beginners.

 

[JuanchoPWC]

Mmm interesting...

Well im a beginner and for sure it might help me to stand up more quickly according to you... But, you also said i can stand up with a little more effort by using the ski eye...

Thanks... I wil keep trying at soon water warm up a little bit more here in Pickering, Ontario...

 

[ding]

Yeah there is no such button on this ski.

Yeah on the 2011s it doesn't have Eco mode, just sport and touring, it starts in Touring and you change to sport with the buttons on the right handle bar.

 

[chucked]

2011's have eco mode.

 

[ding]

Maybe se's but my non se does not, nothing on handle bar, no tricks to get it in the menu.

It seems me and commented about this last year and I keep forgetting the SEs had it.

 

[JuanchoPWC]

I think im going to head to the lake tomorrow... Look like we going to reach +24 here in the GTA...

Anyway, i want to add some comment to this thread by sharing some wakeboard research i did in the last past days...

* Yeah, apparently ski poll can help, specially to wakeboard beginner skiers... But, original "ski eye" can do it as well... The key using the "ski eye".... ==>>

* avoid long rope... In my case, i was trying to be pulled it with a 60' rope... Wayyyyy tooooooooooooo long for a first time wakeboarder... Experience people recommend 30-40 feet long for a better control...

* bend your knees... Arms extended just outside your legs... Let the boat pull you out of the water.... Sound easy..?? I think YES... Can i try one more time after my first attempt failure... I think YES as well...

Found a nice video... With a nice close up view showing the wakeboard stand up technic...

[video=youtube;scUhHZ4gR8M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scUhHZ4gR8M[/video]

 

[JuanchoPWC]

Got up on my wakeboard today... But, i lost one of my GoPro :facepalm: i deeply regret it...

Good lesson... I will be very careful next time...

 

[Coastiejoe]

Got up on my wakeboard today... But, i lost one of my GoPro :facepalm: i deeply regret it...

Good lesson... I will be very careful next time...

Costly learning curve... Even something as small as a key float would have saved it..

Oh well,,, past tense now...

Hope you had a good day on the water at least.

 

[MLars]

Floaty back door is a must have in anyone's gopro collection

 

[JuanchoPWC]

Costly learning curve... Even something as small as a key float would have saved it..

Oh well,,, past tense now...

Hope you had a good day on the water at least.

Tell me about it... i had a nice day today... nobody on the water... great day to start a week off from work... but now, 1 of my GoPro are lost... i had an incredible wakeboard footage... now is lost for ever...

View attachment 19934
Floaty back door is a must have in anyone's gopro collection

does that support the GoPro weight attached to a head strap..??

i just build something else on the back of my second head strap... i don`t want to lose my second GoPro camera... picture coming up in a moment... (i have to get one of my nephews to take some pics of it..)

 

[mattydipps]

i always tether my gopro when im using it... ive seen tethers being made out of small string.. some are sold on ebay for a couple bucks..

but i always try to take the most caution when im using expensive equipment.. the lower end gopros cost nearly as much as a new impeller.

 

[MLars]

Yes it does support the weight of the GoPro and headstrap. I'm pretty sure the headstrap is buoyant on its own.

 

[mattydipps]

Yes it does support the weight of the GoPro and headstrap. I'm pretty sure the headstrap is buoyant on its own.

where did ya get that cool carrying case for the gopro lol

 

[MLars]

Haha it's just a pelican case. I think it's the 1150 model. It was like $30.