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View Full Version : Anyone tried to create a Spine?



cmtaylor777
07-02-2010, 08:05 PM
I saw this being done on the TV show called Pull. As far as I can tell its much like creating a surf bowl. 2 boats strategically placed side by side to have the wakes meet and create a sharp wave that stands about 4 to 6 feet tall. Looks a lot like a quarter pipe on each side.(if that makes since)

My question is.... anyone tried this? How is it done? Speed? Distance of boats? Length of rope? Anything else???

If nobody has tried this....Consider this a challenge! Lets see who can pull this off. PICS,PICS,PICS,PICS

I am working on my crew as we speak. I hope we can master it.http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d121/vanessarb/forum%20pics/web.jpg

Matt Laird
07-03-2010, 10:51 AM
I saw this being done on the TV show called Pull. As far as I can tell its much like creating a surf bowl. 2 boats strategically placed side by side to have the wakes meet and create a sharp wave that stands about 4 to 6 feet tall. Looks a lot like a quarter pipe on each side.(if that makes since)

My question is.... anyone tried this? How is it done? Speed? Distance of boats? Length of rope? Anything else???

If nobody has tried this....Consider this a challenge! Lets see who can pull this off. PICS,PICS,PICS,PICS

I am working on my crew as we speak. I hope we can master it.http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d121/vanessarb/forum%20pics/web.jpg


That sure is a sexy boat in the middle...

cmtaylor777
07-05-2010, 10:09 PM
the blue and orange?

Thanks man.

Gravity08
07-06-2010, 03:05 AM
Nope the white and maroon one is sweet!

87SunSportMikeyD
07-06-2010, 01:43 PM
How come one is facing the wrong way?? :) ;) ;)

dusty2221
07-06-2010, 02:25 PM
One of us is slow...no names of course (cough..jet..cough)

cmtaylor777
07-06-2010, 08:40 PM
Dusty we need to try this. I think you and I are the only ones willing to give it a try.

Okie Boarder
07-07-2010, 05:11 PM
Sounds like fun. I'd be in if we can make the Labor Day trip to Texoma this year.

cmtaylor777
07-07-2010, 05:45 PM
Sounds good Oakie.

You gotta make the trip. Gonna be a blast.

04Gravity
07-10-2010, 10:18 AM
I tried finding some videos of this on youtube but couldnt. So I searched under "jet ski tricks" theres a lot of videos of guys doing this for the stand up jet skis to jump off of. It looks pretty cool

cmtaylor777
07-11-2010, 10:35 AM
Really! I have been looking All over the net to find something but still come up with nothing. I saw it done on the show Pull and the briefly mentioned it. I tink we will have all the boats together on labor day so we are going to try this and the surf bowl. I just wanted to get the particulars. Speed, boat distances from each other and stuff like that. Seems to be a pretty new thing. That, or nobody wants to try it.

dusty2221
07-14-2010, 03:41 PM
here it is, straight from fuel tv's online episode of pull. the pros go to bull shoals. spine away.
http://www.fuel.tv/Pull/

cmtaylor777
07-14-2010, 06:05 PM
Thats it!!!

It is shown quite a bit about 8 min and 57 secs in.

87SunSportMikeyD
07-15-2010, 12:17 PM
Good call. I have this box set. It's really kewl but a little outdated now. Good for a few watches. Lots of wakeskating. Lots.

rludtke
07-18-2010, 01:52 AM
[QUOTE=cmtaylor777;39794]I saw this being done on the TV show called Pull. As far as I can tell its much like creating a surf bowl. 2 boats strategically placed side by side to have the wakes meet and create a sharp wave that stands about 4 to 6 feet tall. Looks a lot like a quarter pipe on each side.(if that makes since)

My question is.... anyone tried this? How is it done? Speed? Distance of boats? Length of rope? Anything else???QUOTE]

I have never tried creating a spline, but I am an aerobatic pilot, with formation aerobatics experience, and I have driven boats in formation.

After reviewing the linked video, my thoughts on how far apart, and how long of rope is this: Your distance between the boats will likely control the distance the spine is behind the boats. To move the spine forward, maneuver the boats closer together. To move the spine farther away, move the boats farther apart. The wingman can tailor the distance of the spline to fit the rope length by adjusting his position.

A few thoughts on formation driving: Brief the mission before you start. Talk it out, so everyone knows the plan. Decide ahead of time who is the lead driver, and who is the wingman.

Lead:
The leader needs to understand the he is responsible for the entire formation. The leader steers and navigates the entire formation, not just his boat. The leaders is responsible for maneuvering the formation away from conflicting traffic, shores, shallows, docks etc. The leader should hold a steady line and let the wingman maneuver in relation to the lead boat. Plan ahead to Maneuver the formation in large gentle turns, nothing abrupt.

Wingman:
The wingman need to trust that the leader is doing the navigating and will keep the wingman out of trouble so that the wingman can concentrate 100% on maintaining position. The wingman should look for visual cues on his boat and the lead boat to use as a position reference. This makes it easier to detect relative movement earlier, before the movement becomes large. The sooner you adjust for relative movement, the smaller the adjustment. Use boat references like a gun sight to help identify movement. Get as comfortable in your seat as possible, rest your throttle arm and steering arm as much as possible on the gunnels or your leg to prevent fatigue. Keep your eyes on your gun sight, and make small corrections with the throttle or steering when needed. Never lapse your concentration, as you may find yourself so far out of position it will be hard to get back.

Remember, if you are on the outside of a turn, you will have to add power to maintain position. Adding power will speed your boat up, making your turn radius bigger, which will move you away from the lead boat who is established on a smaller radius. To maintain position you will need to increase the steering input. As the turn ends, you will need to remove the extra power and decrease the steering input to remain in position.

Reducing power is necisary to maintain position on the inside of the turn as your turn radius is smaller than the leader, but the reduction of speed will reduce the radius for you such that a change in steering input may not be required. As the turn straightens out, add the power back.

The dynamics of formation manuvers is very complex, but your mind will quickly figure out what needs to be done to maintain relative position if you have a good gun sight.

Have others in the boats help keep an eye out for traffic, and run the video cameras etc, as both drivers have enough to do.

Work up some basic hand or head signals in advance to enhance communications between the two drivers. Nice things to know from the leader is when to begin the formation, and when to break it off. Also, if the leader is planning to turn in either direction, letting the wingman know in advance will help a lot. Same goes for speed adjustments. If the riders want the speed to adjust up or down, they should signal to the leader, who in turn should try to communicate that to the wingman prior to the adjustment.

Maneuvering the formation and finding the right speed will take much longer than normal so everyone needs to know that in advance, and be patient when behind the boats.

Give this a go, you'll have a blast I assure you. Just stay safe and follow these basic concepts and you'll be fine. Operating any kind of powered machines in formation is very demanding, but very fun.

cmtaylor777
07-20-2010, 07:11 PM
Now THATS helpful. Very good information. We will be giving this a try ASAP.

Thanks a lot rludtke.

Jester
07-28-2010, 04:36 PM
Here's our attempt at creating a spine last weekend with our '86 Supra Sunsport, which my brother and I own, and our cousins 2000 something 18' Larson. We were doing about 20 MPH. I have to say that it was a bit stressful trying to keep the boats close enough together. I was driving the Supra while my brother Jason and cousin Josh had the fun of experiencing the spine. Jason said it was like a brick wall of water that shot you skyward when you hit it! Here's some pics.

Okie Boarder
07-28-2010, 05:31 PM
Jester...sweet! I bet that was fun for the riders.

cmtaylor777
07-28-2010, 10:47 PM
Wow. That looked great. I can't wait to try this.

Jester
07-29-2010, 01:47 PM
Yeah, they both had fun! It was definitely worth trying. I'm sure I'll be driving again the next time we try it so I'll have to try watch in the mirror a little more. I was concentrating on driving too much the first time that I didn't see the action. I'm glad I was able to look at the pictures.
Next time we'll also have to lengthen the ropes by about 5 feet because most of the time the riders were just in front of the spine. I think we were at 65 feet in the pics. The extra 5 feet will also allow the two boats to track a little further apart which is less stressful on the drivers.

Kip
07-29-2010, 11:53 PM
Nice pics.

So how far were the boats apart?

Jester
08-02-2010, 04:14 PM
So how far were the boats apart?
We were running around 20-25 feet apart.