The Perfect Pass speed control system.

During tournaments, slalom waterskiers must perform almost flawlessly to win. The boat driver must be perfect, too, steering the skiboat through an 849′ 8 7/8″ course in 16.08 seconds—with a tolerance of plus or minus 0.14 seconds—to count as a competition-acceptable 36-mph run. Holding a steady heading and speed with a skier exerting more than 400 pounds of side force on a boat is an almost superhuman skill. Inconsistent pulls can disturb skiers and cause controversy at tournaments.

For these reasons, Eric Horton invented PerfectPass, a speed control system for skiboats that takes the throttle out of the driver’s hand and p [Read more...]