Can't quite get air...

[Timmy!]

Like I said, if you can do an ollie in the flats, you are on your way. You will get it, it really just takes practice. I learned by holding onto the rope and having some tension on it because that takes away the bodies need to balance itself.

[IDBoating]

Like I said, if you can do an ollie in the flats, you are on your way. You will get it, it really just takes practice. I learned by holding onto the rope and having some tension on it because that takes away the bodies need to balance itself.

Interesting idea. Are you saying you held the rope while practicing ollies in the flat, or while you were launching off the lip? Seems like holding a rope while launching would be harder, not easier. I'm willing to try it, though!

[kko]

why not post a video. Its much easier to give help when people can see what your doing/or not doing.

[IDBoating]

OK, I'll dig one up and make it available. They're all 1080p so it will be a big file.

EDIT: I've found one that is ~130MB. Working on an upload now, but it will take a while.

[Timmy!]

Interesting idea. Are you saying you held the rope while practicing ollies in the flat, or while you were launching off the lip? Seems like holding a rope while launching would be harder, not easier. I'm willing to try it, though!

While launching off of the lip. The main reason is so you can control your speed.

[IDBoating]

OK, here is a link to the video. I respectfully ask the experts to be kind regarding my awful technique!

Trying To Get Air

The one at 0:31 is pretty typical.

[Fiveflat]

First thing you need to do is get more speed.

Instead of starting at the bottom you need to ride up the wake and get some speed coming down it, don't carve back into the wake too hard or you'll lose too much speed. Cut back though and shoot up the wake.

[Fiveflat]

And stop dragging your back hand unless you are getting ready to do a 360. That's slowing you down too.
(to be fair, you did only do that once in the video though )

[IDBoating]

And stop dragging your back hand unless you are getting ready to do a 360. That's slowing you down too.
(to be fair, you did only do that once in the video though )

Yeah, that was just messing around. I know not to do that when I'm being serious.

[IDBoating]

don't carve back into the wake too hard or you'll lose too much speed. Cut back though and shoot up the wake.

I don't understand. "Cut back through" sounds a lot like "carve back into". I don't mean to be dense, but can you explain differently? Thanks!

[Fiveflat]

Just saying, if you cut hard back you'll lose too much speed. Don't get too caught up in proper definitions of words I use. I'm an engineer too, but there's no secret decoder ring for my comments

nevermind all the craziness James does after he airs out the board, just notice how he rides up the wave and in a smooth motion rides down the wave for speed and back up it.

[IDBoating]

Not trying to be nit picky, just trying to understand.

I will study the video, thanks!

EDIT: OK, I've watched them side by side many times now, and I think I see what you're saying. It does appear that he takes a more gentle arc from the trough to the lip. My motion is more sudden, which I think comes from my planning to ollie at the lip and sort of "preloading" in preparation for it. That probably bleeds off speed as you suggest.

However, it sure looks like his angle of approach is too soft to make possible what he's doing. I guess it must be technique, because it looks like magic!

[Duncan]

The vid in this thread of Ragboy's has some great boost slow mos

[IDBoating]

Watching that thread, it appears that RJ is really screwing up his body to twist the board and rotate the nose back over the flats. Look at the slo-mo around 0:23. His shoulders and arms lead his lower body a LOT, preloading so he can rotate the board.

I've never read anyone say anything about rotation like that. When I've read about James getting air, he speaks of trying to get the board as vertical as possible. It's all about rising the nose. Is this rotation a real thing, or am I overanalyzing what RJ is doing?

EDIT: Here is the link to the James Walker writeup I was talking about:

how-to-do-an-aerial-the-5-steps

His five steps are:

1) Gaining speed
2) Turning up into the wake
3) Ollie’ing off the lip
4) Bringing the tail up
5) Landing

The stills in the article don't make it clear if he's rotating, and the video linked above isn't a pure boost move so it doesn't show either.

[houstonshark]

I tried to get some air for the first time the last time we were out. I think I tried 3 times and my wife said I got the board out of the water on at least 1. It kinda felt like I did but unfortunately I didn't have the camera going to verify. I have a hard time getting up speed down the line but I've never tried starting up higher on the wave, carving down and back up.

I have the Carbon Thruster too. I have 2 2.9" fins in the front, outermost positions and a 2.3" in the rear center. I've tried a couple different configurations but I rarely get to ride so it's hard to tell what works or what I like. With 3 wakeboarders in the family now, it's hard to get any time to surf when no one else wants to do it.