Wooden Water Skis



Briggs vintage ski company opened their first store in 1988 to offer wooden water skis for racing. Two entrepreneurs had left another ski company to spawn this new company; sure they could corner the market in ultrafast wooden skis. What they hadn't told investors was that before leaving they had helped the employer make intellectual improvements to the water skis: improvements that were covered under intellectual property agreements they'd signed and were not allowed to take to their new company. After beginning the new ski startup, it wasn't long before they were successful and had made it to the top with new designs. Their custom designed wooden skis were being sold in many water ski shops and used in racing events around the globe.



Fast powerboats with their strong outboard motors were puling skiers by rope on the Briggs skis while the competitors maintained control at higher and higher speeds on the rough water. Fiberglass skis could not compete with the wooden ones, hand made with precision to dampen the effects of water turbulence as skiers made their way among swolam buoys. Beginners and intermediates skiers on the other side of the lake where the water was flat were using them as they had fun with their recreation.

Private Detective Ross, working undercover, approached the partners and introduced himself as a European sports store magnate interested in doing business. Together the three watched the competitors zigzagging across the lake in front of the bleachers. The swolams had been completed in record time due to the design of the drop through tail fins on the single piece of wood skimming across the top of the water. The soft, elastic foam bindings and neoprene pads held the athlete's feet to the wooden water equipment comfortably as they performed for the crowd. Now, some of the entrants were performing tricks on finless versions, or jumping waves before the spectators as the ski jumping part of the contest got ready to start. The three talked a while and agreed to meet back at the partner's office the next day.

When the two business owners pulled up, Ross was already waiting. The three went into the building and Ross observed the rows of wooden skis lined up. The partner's showed him around the factory as Ross asked questions. The skis were dazzling: high pressure wooden laminations with phenolic tops and bottoms, painted in bright colors against a black background before they received a final coat of protective finish to protect against the water. While the fiberglass type had poor damping and would lose stiffness quickly, these would continue to spring back to shape long after the fiberglass ones had been lost or discarded.

Wooden Boat Maintenance