Just a general question. In waterskiing, the boat pulls the skier, so is the speed of the skier the same as that of the boat? I checked online and I found that when the skier is positioned behind the boat and assuming constant tension on the rope, speed is constant (need this info to complete my question)
thanks.
Not the same.
For the simple reason that if you are not directly behind the boat, your speed must be greater because the component of your velocity that is parallel to that of the boat must match that of the boat.
Since we assumed you are not directly behind the boat, there is a perpendicular component to your total speed that implies your total speed > boat speed.