Slalom Course Damage Prevention & Repair

SLALOM COURSE DAMAGE PREVENTION & REPAIR

DAMAGE PREVENTION

The slalom course repair rules, effective 6/21/05, represent an effort by the GCSC to prevent damage to the slalom course due to negligence. All GCSC boat owners will receive this information packet. It might be helpful for the boat owner to keep it in the glove compartment of the boat for easy reference.

Please observe the following practices while driving/skiing:

If you are not actually towing a skier through the slalom course (for example, wakeboarding, barefooting, tricking, hydrofoiling, free skiing, etc.), do not drive your boat down the center line of the course. Instead, pull the skier outside of the slalom course (i.e, to the east of the course as much as possible). Even if you are pulling a skier near the course, if he falls, the rope can become entangled in a buoy when you turn the boat around to bring him the rope.
While pulling a slalom skier through the course, don’t watch the skier in the mirror. Keep your eyes focused on keeping the boat centered between the guide buoys at all times to avoid running over them.
When towing a skier outside of the slalom course, make sure the boat driver is watching where he is driving, not watching the skier. Brief the driver to avoid all buoys while driving, and when bringing the rope to a fallen skier, make sure the tow rope or handle doesn’t catch a buoy.
When making repairs to the course, do it when no other boats are operating near the course, or suspend all skiing, so that their propellers will not cut the shore-to-shore lines that support the course (see Slalom Course Diagram).

ANATOMY OF THE SLALOM COURSE

(See by clicking on this link the “SLALOM COURSE DIAGRAM.”)

The slalom course is supported by 10 lines that run from shore to shore. There are a total of 26 buoys:

-- 2 green cylindrical setup boat guide buoys at the north and south end of the course (G) Click here to see the G buoy

-- 2 red round gate buoys at each end of the course (R) Click here to see the R buoy

-- 6 pairs of yellow cylindrical boat guide buoys (Y) down the course’s center line Click here to see the Y buoy

-- 6 red round skier turn buoys at the outer edges of the course (R)

All buoys are attached to the 10 lines that run from shore-to-shore (------), at precisely measured points.

Click here to see the photo "BUOY WITHOUT MAGNET ASSEMBLY"

Each buoy is attached to a section of rubber tubing which is attached to a plastic snap. The attachments at each end of the tubing are made with double plastic tie wraps. This apparatus is snapped to a looped section of rope which is attached to a wire fastened to a chain section of the shore-to-shore line. The wire is attached to the chain at a precisely measured point marked by a colored plastic tie wrap on a specific link of the chain..

SLALOM COURSE REPAIR

Each buoy assembly requires the following materials which are stored at the north end of Lake Lauderdale in plastic lawn bags. Click here to see the photo" SLALOM COURSE MATERIALS"

-- Buoy ( yellow or green cylindrical boat guide buoy, or red spherical gate or turn buoy)
-- 36” piece of rubber tubing
-- 4 plastic tie wraps
-- 1 plastic snap
-- 24” piece of nylon rope
-- Piece of wire

Eight of the 26 buoy assemblies also require a Magnet to be installed on the rubber tubing just below the buoy click here to see the photo "BUOY WITH MAGNET ASSEMBLY". The "SLALOM COURSE DIAGRAM" shows which buoys have magnets (labeled Y/m and R/m in the diagram)

Please remove only those materials you need to make repairs, so that materials will be available for others.

Note: In order for a GCSC boat owner to receive a key to the Lake Lauderdale boat ramp, he/she will be required to demonstrate the ability to put together a ”BUOY WITH MAGNET ASSEMBLY.”