Ibsen Water Ski Company

1417 E.Northlake, Seattle, WA

Don Ibsen doing one of his famous promotional spoofs on Lake Washington, trying to prove that Water skiing was invented on Seattle's Lake Washington
not in Winter Haven Florida, or by Fred Waller of New York, who actually is credited with the invention.

Ibsen-Jensen Water Ski Business

In February 1952, Don Ibsen and Anchor signed an agreement whereby Jensen's would manufacture wood laminated water ski’s and Don Ibsen would market them under the Company name of Ibsen Water Ski Company (operating out of the Jensen Motoboat Company facilities on Portage Bay, Washington).

The ski’s were originally designed by Mr. Burr who’s daughter, Jeanette Burr, participated in the Olympics as a water skier and was well known in the sport. She would use the ski’s and promote them whenever and where-ever she did a show or competition. Anchor said they purchased the Burr company designs and the right to use their name.

Don was to market the ski’s throughout the US and and Jensen’s were responsible for manufacturing. Jensens purchased new manufacturing equipment from Western Electric and Don started promoting.

- (Note: this is also during the Slomo’s highest level of national recognition and participation)

Producing the water ski’s in volume turned out to be a major setback. Even with the newest and best equipment, it was still too slow. Anchor recalls, "we could only manufacture 3 ski’s a day and we finally got it up to six." The lamination and finishing of the ski just took to long, and the problem was never solved. Jensen’s sold its share of the business. Despite this, Don and Anchor remained friends and Anchor fondly remembers Don’s son Ron Ibsen as the extremely well organized "toolboy" on the Slo-mo-shun crew.