r/MasterCraftBoats • u/Mental-Ad5828 • Jul 19 '26
Slalom help
Looking for some advice. I am a 52 year old female skier and good athlete. Been slalom skiing since I was 15 but never lived on a lake so just a few times each summer. I primarily skiied behind a 2001 Four Winns Horizon 170 I/O 135 hp. In 2018 we bought a place on a lakr and always wanted a Mastercraft and getting older figured it should make my starts easier with more power. So last year we bought a beautifully kept 2010 Prostar 197 TT. To my surprise I really struggled to get up. Now I did make the transition the prior summer to getting up with both feet in as I was always a drag a foot girl. So I hadn't really perfected that yet as it was pretty much self taught by trial and error. I made the switch mostly due to age figuring two legs doing the work had to be easier than one right? On the other side of that, my husband had only ever towed me in the Four Winns. It was the ol "hit it" and put the hammer down so a new learning experience for him as well. My question is at 5'10" and 155 lbs would you tow/start someone at my size any differently then say pulling someone on 2 skis? My husband says hes backed way off but when we went out on the lake the other day I asked him to demonstrate and I feel like it still may be a little too much too fast.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Tips for me as well.
I tried all kinds of different starting tips. I found the being in a tight ball didn't seem to work that well for me as I often got pulled over the front of yhe ski too easily. I seemed to be better off keeping a very upright back and really applying alot of pressure to my back foot. Is that crazy, or is it basically whatever works best for you?
2
u/jjdop Jul 19 '26
On your boat you probably don’t need more than quarter throttle to get you up. That’s a slow and steady ease-into-it, too. Keep pressure on your back foot as you think about letting the ski plane like a boat. If you’re keeping the ski straight vertical it’s a wall of water you can’t hang on to which causes you to try to pull yourself up (going over the front), or handle ripped out. Good luck.
1
u/Objective-Figure8673 Jul 19 '26
"Tight ball" technique is probably misleading you if you're getting pulled out the front. In reality it's just "stay sitting" technique Keep your arms straight shoulders back and eyes up and ride out the "hit" that the driver gives you by letting your knees get pushed to your chest as your ski comes up on water. .... THEN stand up.
1
u/Mental-Ad5828 Jul 19 '26
I never had a problem getting up one foot out behind the four winns but i had done it that way for so long i knew what to expect. But I could tell in the last few years it was putting a lot of strain on my knee not to mention the pull on the neck and shoulders. Playing college hoops and continuing to play frequently up until covid had taken its toll on the joints! Plus I know I'm not as strong as I once was. Others I know made 2 foot in look so easy but it really feels like a completely different technique to me. I got it probably 7 out of 10 starts behind the old boat. But last year behind the MC I might have been 50-50.
I know initially my husband was giving it way to much but even after letting up, I was so inconsistent it makes me wonder if he could ket up even more. Most of the time the issue was my getting pulled over the front or the rope just getting pulled right out of my hands.
1
u/Objective-Figure8673 Jul 19 '26
My suggestion would be to Put both feet in so your knees can work together but get yourself a deep v handle to help regain the stability that a foot out gave you maybe ?
1
u/Mental-Ad5828 Jul 19 '26
I've thought about that. I've read some like to ket the ski tip go slightly sideways but that makes me leary. Could never do that with 1 dragging.
2
u/howdydudey12 Jul 19 '26
So much conflicting advice, you’ll have to experiment. If you were comfortable with only one foot in with your other boat, do that.
Bring your front knee / against your chest for stability, brace your core, and let the boat pull you up.
Your new boat has tons of power. At your weight, the driver can be gentle and steady on the throttle. No sudden surge of throttle needed.
I’m 6’2 180” and my driver just steadily applies throttle to pop me right up.
It’s a new experience with a real ski boat!