Building myself a ski lake

[petermegan]

Hi Guys, I just thought I would share a photo or two from OZ. I have decided to bite the bullet so to speak and have a go at building my own ski Lake. We just started shifting the topsoil in the last week and will hopefully finish that before it gets too wet coming into our Winter over here. This is only a part time project and hope to finish it next Summer. Initial plans are for 400M*100M (440yards by 110yards), wondering if we have any words of wisdom from all you helpful people. Love some input please. I will try and post a few more photos as we progress.

[thatsmrmastercraft]

Now that is an undertaking. This should be fun to follow.

[Double D]

That's awesome!! Except that you don't live next door to me!!!

Look forward to the progress shots and the finished lake!!

[petermegan]

If you don't hear from me for a looooong time it means it didn't work out so well

[BrooksfamX2]

Nice!..........

[joyner1020]

Originally Posted by petermegan

If you don't hear from me for a looooong time it means it didn't work out so well

^ OR........... it might mean ur wife found out what u were doing and killed u

[DemolitionMan]

I have always wanted to do that.

[mybobtail]

you lucky bugger I am in WA so when you finish shoot me off an email and I will come over and help you test no charge .
so how do you plan to fill it .do you have some sort of diversion or something

[19_Skier]

Good luck with the project - there are a lot on here that would will be very envious of you next summer!

Another great resource you might want to check out (if you have not already) is ballofspray.com. Lots of helpful folks on there that have built and maintain custom ski lakes.

[east tx skier]

Good luck!

However, 440 yards (1,320') is a bit on the short side for a ski lake? The course is 850 feet (259M). If you want 55M setup buoys, add 182' to each side. That's leaving you about 75' on each end for the skier to get up and ready. For reference, USAWS tests towboats acceleration to 36 mph over 250'.

We set up a course on a lake that was about 1,800' and, even without 55m buoys, it's a tight squeeze and we found ourselves starting off going the other way and turning a circle into the course. This is not ideal for the rollers it creates, but it's doable.

If you have room, go for 2,000 feet or, in a perfect world, 2,500'. If you don't have room and 1,320 is your max, look into an 8 buoy setup for the course.

Also, what sort of slope are you using for the sides? How deep will it be? If you are relying on run off to fill it, consider digging it deep all the way out to the turn balls so that you can keep skiing even when the rain isn't what you hoped it would be. Finally, if you are considering having turn islands, my understanding from lake owners with whom I've spoken is that they're more trouble than they're worth, so much so that I know one who finally dug his island out after 15 years of messing with it.

Again, not trying to discourage you. A lot of us dream of having our own private spot. But if you're going to the trouble, best to build it too big rather than too small. Best of luck! Keep us posted and keep posting pictures.