How does water temp affect watersports?

[smsunman1]

How does water temp affect skiing, wakeboarding, foiling and kneeboarding?

[sizzler]

well if its too cold the water freezes and its difficult :cool:

[Jorski]

For slalom...generally the warmer (and less dense) the water, the deeper the ski will ride in the water. The colder (and more dense) it gets the higher the ski will ride. Over at slalomtweekers.com and at the nichols site, there has been a fair amount of discussion about tuning adjustments for changing water temps.

They are basically saying that you need to adjust the amount of "tip" for the changing temps, a little more for cold water, less for warm.

[BriEOD]

"Ever think about water? I mean, really think about those undulating molecules of hydrogen and oxygen that form the perfect platform for water skiing? It seems fairly obvious that water would have a big impact on skiing. But precisely quantifying why some water at places like Trophy Lakes seems to be better than other water is no easy task. Certain laws about water at it pertains to skiing, however, are immutable.

In general, warm water is preferable for top-notch slalom skiing. This is because warmer water allows a skier to decelerate as he or she rounds the buoys. Think of maple syrup. As syrup gets colder, it gets thicker. Water, to a lesser degree, operates under the same principle. When water cools, its molecules contract, keeping a ski riding slightly higher.

For top-ranked slalom skiers the hardest part is slowing down to make a controlled turn," says Mark Crone, who has headed our elite slalom test team in the past years and has competed at Trophy Lakes. "Having water that will help you do that is a real advantage."
Another factor is depth. Shallow lakes are faster because the water is compressed by the bottom of the lake. Conversely, deeper water aids top slalom skiers, who cut across the wake at 50-60 mph and need to decelerate around buoys.

Minerals and suspended particles also play a role. Skiing in water with a high mineral content -- salt water, for example -- forces the ski to ride higher in the water because the water is more dense. Suspended particles that deflect light and diminish the clarity of water can have a frictional affect on the ski. Clear water, therefore, has slightly less drag on the ski and allows for a faster run."

WaterSki Mag, March 1996
Richard Brunelli
courtesy www.h2osmosis.com

[ski_king]

....Over at slalomtweekers.com .....
Is there really such a site?
I am in the process of tweaking in my ski and have been looking for pointers.

[smsunman1]

thanks guys

[Upper Michigan Prostar190]

yea, my fin on my ski has a rough time carving through the ice too. and the falls really are tuff on the knees. although, in upper michigan, you do get used to it over time. :uglyhamme


OK, seriously, I dont know. I have never noticed any difference in performance due to temperature. But I am not a tournament level skier either, so maybe for very skilled skiers they can notice a difference in the way they or their ski reacts to different temperatures. I know temperature usually can affect anything. I am a guitarist and temp, humidity, and barometric pressure affect SO much in regards to the physics of sound. It affects the way the strings vibrate, the way the sound travels from the speaker cone to your ear, etc..... but back to skiing. I personally havent noticed any difference with ski performance with temp, but maybe advanced skiers do.

Hopefully some of the guys that can REALLY ski well can shed some light on this one. :)

[smsunman1]

"Ever think about water? I mean, really think about those undulating molecules of hydrogen and oxygen that form the perfect platform for water skiing? It seems fairly obvious that water would have a big impact on skiing. But precisely quantifying why some water at places like Trophy Lakes seems to be better than other water is no easy task. Certain laws about water at it pertains to skiing, however, are immutable.

In general, warm water is preferable for top-notch slalom skiing. This is because warmer water allows a skier to decelerate as he or she rounds the buoys. Think of maple syrup. As syrup gets colder, it gets thicker. Water, to a lesser degree, operates under the same principle. When water cools, its molecules contract, keeping a ski riding slightly higher.

For top-ranked slalom skiers the hardest part is slowing down to make a controlled turn," says Mark Crone, who has headed our elite slalom test team in the past years and has competed at Trophy Lakes. "Having water that will help you do that is a real advantage."
Another factor is depth. Shallow lakes are faster because the water is compressed by the bottom of the lake. Conversely, deeper water aids top slalom skiers, who cut across the wake at 50-60 mph and need to decelerate around buoys.

Minerals and suspended particles also play a role. Skiing in water with a high mineral content -- salt water, for example -- forces the ski to ride higher in the water because the water is more dense. Suspended particles that deflect light and diminish the clarity of water can have a frictional affect on the ski. Clear water, therefore, has slightly less drag on the ski and allows for a faster run."

WaterSki Mag, March 1996
Richard Brunelli
courtesy www.h2osmosis.com

If this is the case I think Belews creek in greensboro nc, and capt kidd could probably back me up on this, could be a record lake. Man the water as of yesterday was 90deg and with an average depth of 85ft. By august its a 115 by the power plant

[smsunman1]

yea, my fin on my ski has a rough time carving through the ice too. and the falls really are tuff on the knees. although, in upper michigan, you do get used to it over time. :uglyhamme


OK, seriously, I dont know. I have never noticed any difference in performance due to temperature. But I am not a tournament level skier either, so maybe for very skilled skiers they can notice a difference in the way they or their ski reacts to different temperatures. I know temperature usually can affect anything. I am a guitarist and temp, humidity, and barometric pressure affect SO much in regards to the physics of sound. It affects the way the strings vibrate, the way the sound travels from the speaker cone to your ear, etc..... but back to skiing. I personally havent noticed any difference with ski performance with temp, but maybe advanced skiers do.

Hopefully some of the guys that can REALLY ski well can shed some light on this one. :)

Are old guitars more affected by outside factors than newer ones.

[Cary K.]

If this is the case I think Belews creek in greensboro nc, and capt kidd could probably back me up on this, could be a record lake. Man the water as of yesterday was 90deg and with an average depth of 85ft. By august its a 115 by the power plant

Belews is definitely sweet. I ride there alot in the winter.

[skisix@38]

I think that this is especially true for the newest generation of very lightweight carbon skis. Not as much for the non-lightweight skis. The skis that I always here the fin tuning on are the HO monza/system 8, 6AM, D3 -x5, Goode and Carbonworx Outlaw. I think that 10 degrees change in water temp and all the above need slight changes in fine settings to maintian their optimal performance.

[bigmac]

How does water temp affect skiing, wakeboarding, foiling and kneeboarding?

With hydrofoiling, there is a phenomenon called "cold water stick". IIUC, the denser water contributes to cavitation of the foil, which in turn increases drag. Less of an issue when the water is warm.

Jeez, between catching weeds, hitting fish, and foil cavitation, I'd be pretty nervous about flying 3 feet above the water at 20 mph.

[betsy&david Harrison]

Is there really such a site?
I am in the process of tweaking in my ski and have been looking for pointers.
Not sure if you had this question answered..I didn't read all the posts...yes there is such a place and I know the guy...John Horton. He lives for this sshh-stuf. He skis with my friends Randy and Tracy and Tracy says all he can talk about is skiing and skis..go pick his brain. You may never here the end of it. By the way...he resembles Syndrome in The Incredibles. B

[rick s.]

you also have to consider the "shrinkage factor"...

[MarkP]

Not sure if you had this question answered..I didn't read all the posts...yes there is such a place and I know the guy...John Horton. He lives for this sshh-stuf. He skis with my friends Randy and Tracy and Tracy says all he can talk about is skiing and skis..go pick his brain. You may never here the end of it. By the way...he resembles Syndrome in The Incredibles. B
I couldn’t find it Betsy?? http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=slalomtweekers.com+&btnG=Google+Search

[betsy&david Harrison]

How does water temp affect skiing, wakeboarding, foiling and kneeboarding?
Besides all the tecnical stuff, I find that I become very lazy when the water is too hot. I'm not as apt to attack the course like I usually do. The mind set is definetely affected.B

[tex]

Simple-The hotter it is-The more I want to ski and the smaller I want my wife's suit!

[Jorski]

I couldn’t find it Betsy?? http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=slalomtweekers.com+&btnG=Google+Search




Mark,

He is the host on this site:

Slalom Tweakers (http://p079.ezboard.com/bslalomtweakers)