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Boat Buyers Guide Evaluation Criteria


2001-06-14 15:00:00 | 71 views |
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Evaluation Criteria





Slalom




Wake Size



  • World-class: 6″ or less rise


  • Tournament: 6″-9″ rise


  • Expert: 9″-12″ rise


  • Advanced recreational: 12″-18″ rise


  • Recreational: 18″+ rise




    • Wake Hardness



  • World-class: Slalom ski slices through wake with minimal disturbance


  • Tournament: Slight bump during crossing; ski may jump slightly


  • Expert: Distinct bump with ski on edge; ski rises out of water briefly


  • Advanced recreational: Skier must work to keep ski on edge; ski is airborne across second wake


  • Recreational: Better suited for open-water skiing than slalom course




    • Spray



  • World-class: No spray through 41 off


  • Tournament: No spray through 35 off


  • Expert: No spray through 28 off


  • Advanced recreational: No spray through 22 off


  • Recreational: Longline or 15 off only







    • Wakeboarding




    Wake Size



  • World-class: Rise of 30″ or more


  • Tournament: Rise of 24″-30″


  • Expert: Rise of 18″-24″


  • Advanced recreational: Rise of 12″-18″


  • Recreational: Less than 12″ rise




    • Wake Hardness



  • World-class: No give when board hits wake; solid ramp for major air


  • Tournament: Slight slicing movement of board; strong lift


  • Expert: Board makes more significant slice into wake; still good lift


  • Advanced recreational: Board partially absorbed by wake; more difficult to get lift


  • Recreational: Board slices through wake – no platform to get lift




    • Wake Shape



  • World-class: 30-45 degree ramp; no turbulence


  • Tournament: 20-30 degree or 45-55 degree ramp; minor turbulence


  • Expert: Under 20 degrees or over 55 degrees; moderate turbulence; slight curl of wake


  • Advanced recreational: Under 20 degrees or over 55 degrees; significant turbulence; moderate curl of wake


  • Recreational: Under 20 degrees or over 55 degrees; significant turbulence; significant curl of wake




    • Wake Width



  • World-class: Beginners to pros can find the sweet spot to land inverts and spins on the landing ramp within 50'-80' line length


  • Tournament: Pros can find the sweet spot to land inverts and spins on the landing ramp within 50'-80' line length; beginners may need to go shorter


  • Expert: Pros need more than 80' of line to find the sweet spot; beginners may need to go shorter than 50'


  • Advanced recreational: Very difficult to hit the landing ramp at normal line lengths for beginner to pro


  • Recreational: Not possible to hit the landing ramp at normal line lengths for beginners to pros






    • Barefooting



    Curl



  • World-class: Wide and smooth enough to make the toughest tricks easier


  • Tournament: Wide and smooth for high-point tricks


  • Expert: Low turbulence and enough room for tricks


  • Advanced recreational: Smaller, with less definition


  • Recreational: Best suited for simple footing




    • Wake



  • World-class: Clean, crisp wake crests are easy to identify and cross


  • Tournament: Distinct shape and pattern; only pros can tell from world-class


  • Expert: Some tendency to lose shape or become overdeveloped


  • Advanced recreational: Overdevelopment may hinder crossing


  • Recreational: Inexperienced footers may be thrown for a tumble




    • Deepwater Start



  • World-class: Total instant power, even for biggest footers


  • Tournament: Only largest footers will notice any hesitation


  • Expert: Good footer can achieve fast, easy ups


  • Advanced recreational: Footer must maintain good form for fast starts


  • Recreational: Difficult for less experienced footers to make a clean start




    • Sound Measurement



    All sound measurements were made using a decibel meter on the A-weighted scale. Sound measurements were taken at the level of a seated passenger's head in three positions: 6 inches behind the windshield, at the center of the cockpit and 6 inches behind the boat's transom.





    Tracking Measurement



    These numbers represent the total turning effort the driver must apply to the steering wheel during one completed slalom pass. A measurement of 128 equals 360 degrees. If a driver were to make a 15-degree wheel movement (considered very slight) and correction at each buoy, the score would be 64 (a total of 180 degrees of wheel movement). Each slalom pass was measured, and the three were then averaged to obtain the score for each speed.





    Wake Shots



    Wake photography was taken at 20 mph, 30 mph and 36 mph, with a total crew weight of 530 pounds.

    Categories: General How-To

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