Cableski Physics

How are cable ski designed to minimize the size of forces on the body when starting?

What is a "cable ski". Got any pictures?

they're not

In a very basic sense, imagine your standing on a dock at a lake and a boat drives past you from right to left exactly 70 feet off shore from the dock at 18 mph. They tossed you a line which just reaches you. You would essentially be 70-80 feet out to the side of the boat and get pulled outward on a pendulum accelerating from 0-18 mph.

^In Kevin's scenario you also have to imagine the rope attached to the boat with a spring or big rubber band. The cable is very elastic or springy when you are pulling against it from the side. So when the cable pulls you up from the dock the cable gives a lot and that is what makes the startup very easy. If the cable pulled you up with the rope aligned with the cable, it would just yank the rope out of your hands.

Originally Posted by fly135

^In Kevin's scenario you also have to imagine the rope attached to the boat with a spring or big rubber band. The cable is very elastic or springy when you are pulling against it from the side. So when the cable pulls you up from the dock the cable gives a lot and that is what makes the startup very easy. If the cable pulled you up with the rope aligned with the cable, it would just yank the rope out of your hands.

True. I never thought about it that way.