Learn to Wakesurf, AND ITS FREE!

[dogbert]

I have Dog, but she doesn't like the storage it will take up when the sacs are full.

Typical. She probably overpacks when you go on vacation, too!

How much stuff do you need? It may be time for some house cleaning in your boat

[dogbert]

Hey, I have a better idea. Just start laying the sacks all over the floor and see how quickly she decides they are better off in the rear locker.

[Guest]

I just read ragboy's generous offer and unfortunately I am going to pass for now. I really appreciate the offer but I think this year with my clusters the way they are it will be a teaching year for friends and family on how to slalom for them and for me to just get out on the water and relax.

Good luck everbody and I hope you all will enjoy ragaboy's most generous offer.

Thanks Ragboy and I hope to see a bunch of pictures up here.

[chadster2]

What I have done is: use a plastic job lock box to carry everything and then fill the box up with water too. When you don't want the surf stuff it's lockable and tot able....(not really shippable.) (Maybe it could keep the wife manageable?)

[chpthril]

Count me in as well guys! We've been wanting to give it a try, this is an excellent way to do it!

W/T,
Only 3 weeks till the reunion, I'll have you surfing, and hooked in no time. I'll have a couple of boards to demo too

Hope to see you there

[ragboy]

So the above is the list as I see it. I have PM'd 1lab_trainer, and haven't heard anything, if I don't hear anything by monday, I will ship it out to jhodnett on monday, and I will also post the cost to ship. I am hoping ups ground around $50, we will see, but I know I can get all in one box. I am excited about this, seeing new people try.

@jhodnett
why don't you PM me your address to ship it to.

Ok, I am going to check out a reusable box, but should ship to jhodnett by Tuesday. I will confirm and send tracking via PM.

@jhodnett
I think it would be best if you were able to use it for a week, and then send it on, trying to get as many people to use it this summer as possible. No hard fast rules, but as a guideline. Also, remember you will be paying for shipping to the next dude in the list.

[ragboy]

ok, its all packaged up. I couldn't find a cheap reusable case, but had it packed professionally and hopefully, if opened carefully, and taped up well, it should be able to be reused at least a couple of times. It cost me $70 to have it packed, but if you have the time, you can do it yourself.

It will be shipping out tomorrow (Tuesday 6/3) to jhodnett in Texas. I will PM the tracking number tomorrow when I have it.

[larryueckert]

ragboy your a good man for what your doing. on memorial weekend i thought of you when i drove past scooters the biker bar @ grill on hwy 70

[ragboy]

Thanks, I usually go there about once a week for dinner with at least a couple of my kids. Great place for a ride and a burger.

[ragboy]

@jhodnett
I sent you a PM, your address doesn't work with UPS.

[jhodnett]

Surfboard Has Arrived

The whole family is pumped about the package that arrived yesterday We hope to have pics on this thread after the weekend!!!! Thanks again to ragboy for taking the time to get something like this going. It will be a great way for us to experiment a little before purchasing our board and sacs.

[ragboy]

Cool, let us know how it goes.

[ragboy]

One thing I want to make sure I mention on this thread, I have mentioned it on others....

The landlock has been the best board I have seen so far to teach people on, it will float just about anyone, and is super stable once you get up. However, it is Big, and can be a bit tough for the young ones to get up.

Depending on the size of the person and skill level, there are three different ways to get up. I should be hitting the lake friday afternoon, and will post some video. Here are some pics...

First, they need to position themselves on the board, ready to go. In this pic, this is wrong. This is what most people will start to do, put feet balanced in center of board, like a wakeboard.



Here is a more correct placement of the feet for surfing. The feet are well towards the back of the board, and should be positioned so that when they stand up, their feet will be in the center side to side.



In the above picture, he is a bit too close to edge of board, which will make him fall to one side when standing, but you get the idea.

For big people, you just start nice and slow and tell the boarder to push down with their heels to flip the board up and then they get up really easy. Depending on the weight of the person, you start barely more than idle for little guys, and they have enough back force to flip the board and stand up, a bit faster for bigger guys, and then you get up to about 10 mph once they stand.

Little guys have trouble flipping the board, they are not heavy/strong enough to put their heels down and flip it.



Here is how I teach most smaller guys to do it, they use the rope on one hand, and use the other between their legs to help flip the board, this is basically done at idle in gear, or a bit faster.



Here is what a small guy looks like, just after flipping board, and we are basically idling. They can stand, but low in water. This is fine, as soon as you see this, roll up to 10mph. If you go faster than idle on the little ones, they can't flip it.



When they are really light, there is another way to help them get up. You get in the water with them, and help them hold the rope with one hand and with the other, hold the board up to their feet, so it is already flipped. It takes them a bit to do this, but once they are set, just slowly roll up to 10.



Once they are up, they have trouble leaning in to the wake to stay in pocket. Teach them pushing their front foot down, will get them down the wave and closer to the boat, and pulling it up will slow them down and bring them back. To get them to properly stand OVER the board, and not lean back, I tell them to put their hands out TOWARDS the wave. They don't need to try to touch it, that is usually too much. Just put their hands out towards the wave. Here is maddie, doing what I am telling her, and getting ready to drop rope.



Tell them to not worry about throwing rope in, just let go, and we will pull it in.

Here she is free riding.



And last, here is a quick video of her having to get up, on the landlock (the board that I shipped) while holding it to her feet.

http://gallery.mac.com/ragboy#100017

[dogbert]

The only other thing I'd add is that the length of the pocket and angle of the wake with respect to the direction of the boat is largely dependent on your speed. We can get a good surf wake as slow as 8.8 Mph. In fact, at that speed, the wave has a lot of energy and is pushing you more from behind instead of requiring you to carve diagonally across the face of it. It's easier for newer riders to start slower. Then as they want to start moving around and trying tricks, you'll need to lengthen the wave. Faster speeds and more ballast up front will help you do this.

Use TAPS to clean the wave up as needed.

[ragboy]

I usually go 9.5 - 10 for beginners, and 11-12 based on preference for the more advanced rider.