Brett Sand's Corner

Question #1: We are debating and are quite confused on which boat to buy an outboard Mercury or Yamaha Mastercraft or Malibu??  My wife and daughter just barefoot. Now we are hearing that the inboard is the way to go. This will be a big spending for us  and don't want to make a mistake. Could you tell us your thoughts?

Answer to Question #1:
This is a big topic in barefooting at the moment with many of the boat companies going back to inboards? I can't tell you a lot about Mastercraft and Yamamha but I do know this: I personally skied and tested this combination at the 1998-99 boat test and it had trouble with porpoising and getting enough speed. It finally passed the test with a lot of time and patience at the test.  Mastercraft did not put their boat in the 99-2000 test.  I'm not sure why they decided not to.

I have been skiing behind the Malibu Flightcraft with a 200HP Mercury since 1988.  I started footing on Flightcrafts in their original form in Australia before Malibu purchased them.  This combination has pulled every world barefoot championship since 1988 except 1990 when Correctcraft's Barefoot Nautique was used.  Correctcraft stopped making the Barefoot Nautique in 1993.  I believe every current world record has been set behind the Flightcraft.  With Mercury's new Optimax engine it consumes at least 50% less fuel than the regular 200HP EFI model engines, so that adds up to more time on the water.

The Flightcraft has the most comfortable, best wake I have personally skied behind and I'm confident to say most barefoot competitors choose Flightcraft as there first choice at barefoot competitions. I also like to slalom ski and wakeboard, and the Malibu as great for both of these as well.  Malibu is planning on coming out with an inboard version of their barefoot boat, but I'm not sure when that will be. One downside to the inboard is that it will consume a lot more fuel than the Flightcraft/Mercury Optimax combination. Until the Malibu inboards are up and running, I can't give you a lot of feed back.

If I was a competitive footer looking for a boat right now, I would wait for the Malibu Inboard to come out so I could weigh that option before purchasing.  If I was a recreational footer, I would go for the Malibu/Mercury Optimax. Why? More room, better Fuel economy, and my favorite all-round boat. Outboards are less likely to damage running gear if you hit something. I'll be honest, this is my first choice of all the available choices today and since 1988. Happy boating.

Question #2:  What do you think is an ideal prerequisite for learning back one foot slalom? And what steps would you take to ensure good back one foot slalom?

Answer to Question #2:
I recommend to to all my students that they should be able to do basic and reverse back one-foots and back toe-holds on both sides of the wake before lifting a foot on your back slalom. You must have good back two foot slalom form before attempting back one foot slalom.

Good body position is important:

A slight knee band, broken at the waste with a big arch in your back, arms relaxed and shoulders open. Move the handle over the foot you're standing on (i.e. the outside foot) and then stick your butt in the direction you want to go (i.e. across the wake).  Do this with a lot of weight on the outside foot, but don't lift your inside foot until you are really comfortable.  You will know when it is time to lift your foot because will start to come off the water on it's own. If you get over the foot you're standing more and more, the easier it will be to transition to one-foot wakes.

When you lift a foot, lift a little from the knee and a little from the hip.  Some Do's and Don'ts include:
- Don't pull in on your arms (keep them straight and relaxed)
- DO make sure to keep your body still.  The less movement of your upper body the better control you will have.
- DO keep your head up.

You should keep the knee on the leg that is in the water bent, especially when you coming down on the other side of the wake. Don't get too stiff legged.  If your knee is not bent and your leg is stiff, as you clear the wake, you will drive the heel of the foot you're standing on, straight through the water.  This can hurt in ways you can not imagine.  I would highly recommend doing all of the above on Ron Scarpa's barefoot trainers (shoeskis) first, this will help eliminate hard falls. The Scarpa shoe skis come off immediately if you catch a heel, so it will help minimize the risk of injury.

Visit Brett Sand's web site at www.brettsands.com