utahcarver Posted October 28, 2004 Report Share Posted October 28, 2004 powerski.com I remember seeing ads for them in Surfer and Surfing mags in the late 70's. It looks like it would be great for the land-locked masses. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted October 28, 2004 Report Share Posted October 28, 2004 Yep....sure would be a nice toy if it could make a heelside turn. What a total joke. Then again.....3 right turns make a left! Perhaps that is their instruction guide. K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gilmour Posted October 28, 2004 Report Share Posted October 28, 2004 I rode them 3 years ago with Bob Mongomery and his Vice President. Both great fun people. The powerski is Cool as ****, I've wanted one from the second I rode it. The prototype I rode in San Diego had a air intake scoop and I thought the board felt like surfing, but a little too wide to be a slalom ski type turn. I was able to lay down sustained powercarves in about 3 minutes of riding. Very very very user friendly- easier than water skiing to learn. I watched completely unathletic people do it on their first try. A great device to get for the family. The boards get more stable the faster you go- so actually it is trickier to ride them slow so a lot of room is a good idea when starting. You can heelside- but you gotta do it twisted and on smooth water at first. The newest models have catalytic converters and so are green and high power. It also is a real workout- particularly on that front arm and shoulder. If I had an extra few grand lying around it would be on my short list of things to buy. that and an exkate powerboard. ________ YAMAHA RD350 HISTORY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedzilla Posted October 28, 2004 Report Share Posted October 28, 2004 I got the full dealer info pack from them a few years ago. It was a minimum of $45K to secure a dealership, and three years later there are no boards being produced. I'm glad I never gave it too much thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gilmour Posted October 28, 2004 Report Share Posted October 28, 2004 I also thought the project has been very long in development. They were willing to take me on board if I invested 75K. There are a few problems with the board that could be rectified- at least I think I have them solved, should at some time I join with them- those problems being heelside turns and slower moving on the water. They did figure out the air intake issues by themselves with the semi porus filter- as opposed to the silly snorkle. Also they have put a stiff teather on top so you can use the throttle cable to help tilt the board into a heelside turn... The real issue is that the creator- though a surfer- has had limited experience with other carving sports ie carving skateboarding, snowboard carving- to understand the body dynamics, biophysics, ergonomic issues that keep the product from intergrateing smoothly with the rest of aquatic traffic. Surfing isn't going to get this thing to work any better than surfing got snowboarding to work. Snowboarding did not get mass acceptance until we the gear performed better by drawing from models we know about. For instance- the Sims "Fish shape" which was still inherrent in the FE series and later the FE pro series- for which I was a dealer in Boston in the early 80's. Tom Sims would tell me over the phone how "snow was fluid and that the fish shape was better (waist far back of center) than the ski side cut model (Which of course we all use in a modified super side cut)." Tom was wrong. Snow does not see a snowboard or a ski when it is skied upon..... it only recognizes a curved edge. The flex of the board has to match the body dynamics of the person as well as the even pressure dynamic the snow wants to see. (That's why Madd boards have forward camber) Same with the Powerski- which should derive more of its hull technology not from surf boards but from powerboats- or perhaps even sailboards. A Surfboard controls its speed down the wave by the position of the rider......not so with the powerski which has throttle control. Rail thickness has an effect on turning dynamics of the Powerski- but in fact they should be looking to advanced waterski profiles instead. I might join with these guys at some point in time- but for now they making alliances and partnerships and licensing the technology. I know I could not only ride this at a high level - but make it a lot more fun for all users- and even cooler, make the stability user adjustable- so it could have a stable "learn mode" and progress to an "intermediate mode" and then an "advanced mode"....even on the fly. Later surfer dudes! JG ________ Clear trichomes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrCR Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 Whoa, never seen this before. Pretty far out. It looks like the kind of thing that could start to get boring though. DrCR ________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleaman Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 RAD CHAD??????????????????? Come on man, who in their right mind would accept being nicknamed like that and hold some credibility. hang on, maybe he is onto something.................FLY FLEAMAN Yeah!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 I remember seeing a very similar board as a kid in northern California during the 70's. The idea has been around a long time, but I'm sure there have been just a few improvements over the last 30 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedzilla Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 Originally posted by Art I remember seeing a very similar board as a kid in northern California during the 70's. The idea has been around a long time, but I'm sure there have been just a few improvements over the last 30 years. Probably thinking of the SurfJet. I had one for a couple years. It did get boring after a while, it needed more power. It always turned a lot of heads! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gilmour Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 Surfjet was another of Bob Montgomery's things...but rear mounted engines mde for weird turning....and it was way way underpowered. ________ BMW SAUBER F1.08 HISTORY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 Dave - Prehaps we can make one for snow. Basically...a stand-up snowmobile with trucks. I have a buddy in R&D at Polaris...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gilmour Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 Fin did it already years ago. You could check his jet ski for snow out. ________ ST1100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 Originally posted by Speedzilla Probably thinking of the SurfJet. I had one for a couple years. It did get boring after a while, it needed more power. It always turned a lot of heads! A friend had one of those growing up. I tried it a bunch of times. It wasn't much fun compared to traditional jet skis. You couldn't carve turns fast enough on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 This was in about 75 at Lake Almanor in northern Ca. If I remember it had an even lower profile. My cousin rode it but it was very hard to operate. Cool gimmik though. As I recall it was on the dock 99.999999999% of the time. It only got wet when it rained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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