Picking the right board.....

[lba_dillon]

I know this post is similar to Coach's so sorry for that........ But I am looking to get a board as my wife and I and the rest of the TOG are now HOOKED on the whole wakesurfing thing. Biggest reason for alot of us???????? CRASHES don't hurt!!!!


Most of us aren't THAT great and we are only dealing with a 21i for the boat and on mine maybe 1000-1200lbs of ballast and maybe 3-5 people..... One of the guys has a CWB Ride I believe and the other a Hyperlite broadcast 4'9


The hyperlite is really thin and a little harder to ride due to burying the nose....but yet the CWB feels a little slow.... Any thoughts???? I was "looking" @ the LF 5'6 board.... I want something easy enough for a beginner but yet fun for when we get better......... Any help would be appreciated!!! Cheers, Brandon

[NICKYPOO]

If you are still getting your feet wet (no pun intended), and looking for something entry level that everybody can abuse, you might want to try just bumping up to the Broadcast 5'6". I've riddin just about every "pop out" on the market and it is by far the best novice board out there. I actually bought a LF and took it back the next day. It was so slow that I couldn't even ride it. Of coarse, that was the very first one the produced. Between the soft rails and the cupped side fins, it was like riding a board with brakes on it. I haven't been on a new one, but not much has changed in the way of the design. The CWB also has soft rails and it felt really slow as well. These boards will generate zero drive from these soft rails. The Broadcast series has hard rails which will actually generate drive. The 5'6" will give you a lot more surface area which will translate into even more speed for you. I'm currently shopping for a new surfboard now, and I have a feeling I'm going to end up with a new Phase 5 Prop. Hard rails, light weight and thin. Fast, fast, fast. They are squirly, but that's what I'm looking for.

Your 21i with 1000lbs should give you more than enough wake. What is the distribution front to back? What's your speed?

[chpthril]

What LF board are you talking about? I hope it's not the Venture that we got last spring when we bought the boat. Still learnig to ride, so I don't have an opinion yet on it.

[NICKYPOO]

It was the first Skim Skate. It's a good thing the guys down at the shop know me. I would have hated to eat the cost of a board I can't use. Like I said, they have improved them, but by how much I have no idea. That first expeience left such a bad taste in my mouth I have stopped looking at them as a choice for my new board. I have determined that I like the skim board style boards, so something like the LF line is off my list. Too bad, when it comes to wakeboards I'm LF all the way.

Skim style boards are the way to go IMHO. Where's Surfdad when you need him?

[Surfdad]

I am fortunate, by virtue of my son's ability, to have had access to virtually every board currently being manufactured, both available at retail and those only in the R&D stages. I have ridden both the LF and CWB boards and consider them junk. As Nick points out the LF is basically an elongated wakeboard. While the Ride is somewhat better in shape, it's design is a mess at best.

While it's possible to ride and progress on both of those boards, the learning curve will be slower and folks tend to learn poor form as the boards just do not perform well when compared to other legitimate offerings on the market.

I'm not a big fan of skimstyle boards for beginners and newbies, again I think their are boards better suited for teach folks the basics.

There is an interesting phenomenon when learning to wakesurf. At the onset, it's very difficult to ride a fairly short board. Typically a 5'6" or longer is required. Then, after the first season, as you establish your skill set, you are able to ride a significantly shorter board. Specifically, when I first started I was unable to successfully ride a 5'6" and stepped up to a 5'8". After that first season as I developed my skill set, I have consistently ridden boards in the 4'3" to 4'6" range.

The bottom line is that you will more than likely wind up with two boards. One, your original entry level board and then later you'll acquire a smaller more performance board. MOST folks, save the first board to use when teach newbies.

My recommendations for entry level boards would include a Shred Stixx Stixxtreme in 5'6" to 5'8". A Shorleine Lakeboard in the 5'0" (blunt nose is actually a 5'6" shape), an XBC 5'7" or an Inland Surfer Blue. There are myriad considerations with these, such as priority of price, storage and rough handling.

[NICKYPOO]

See, I don't know what I'm talking about.

[dogbert]

It was the first Skim Skate. It's a good thing the guys down at the shop know me. I would have hated to eat the cost of a board I can't use. Like I said, they have improved them, but by how much I have no idea. That first expeience left such a bad taste in my mouth I have stopped looking at them as a choice for my new board. I have determined that I like the skim board style boards, so something like the LF line is off my list. Too bad, when it comes to wakeboards I'm LF all the way.

Skim style boards are the way to go IMHO. Where's Surfdad when you need him?

I have 2 LFs and NICKYPOO's right. My kids ride a TrickBoardz Mojo. It's fast and maneuvrable...it took them a while to get used to it from the LF, but once they had it down, they won't go back.

[Surfdad]

Nah Nick, you're on track. I think that where you are in your development is consistent with what I said. Typically, folks improve to the point that they want to look at a skimstyle board. Unless you intend to do skate style tricks, like a shuv, however, the likes of a Walker Project or Walzer will be faster down the line and rail-to-rail. While it's possible to throw a shuv on say a Walzer, the fins being close to the rail tend to hang in the wake when ridden revert.

For surface tricks, I think that either surfstyle or skimstyle boards are about the same (Surface 3, cutbacks, etc), they are just different. For example, with a skimstyle board, something with a single trailing fin that is under 2 inches in depth. The initiation of the 3 is easier, but their is a tendency to over rotate upon exit and it requires shifting weight from your rear foot to your front foot to stop the rotation. Contrast this with a more surfstyle board where the weight shift to the front foot is required at entry into the rotation to break the fins loose, then a more balanced stance causes the fins to "grab" and allows controlling the drive out of the rotation.

Carving, aerials and speed all favor surfstyle boards. Skate tricks (shuv's, big spin, etc) are the domain of the skimstyle board.

[NICKYPOO]

From where I started (6'8" Bear ) to how I've gotten to where I'm at now, the skim style feels really good to me. I love the drive off of the rails. It just feels much more natural to me. I never liked the feeling of being up on top of the board with a the surf style boards. I prefer the feeling of being in the board that only the skim style boards seem to offer. All the ones I've been on at least.

[b/w05]

Surfdad,

I have a Jobe Circa70?? Do you know of these? How does this compare to the boards you talk about? I'd like to try another board, I think I'm ready for the next level.

BTW, I'm old & fat, 50 yrs, 5'11 240 lbs. Ride behind my 2005 22i w/o ballast. I can surf without the rope on most occasions.

Thanks,
Mark

[Surfdad]

Mark,

Where did you ever find the Circa 70?! That will probably be worth some money to a collector one day. I've ridden one, it's 5'6", fairly narrow tail. It's very similar in size and shape to the Inland Surfer Blue except for the nose.

When you say no ballast, do you mean no factory ballast or that you don't add any ballast at all? I think if you had 1,200+ or so pounds of ballast on the side you are surfing you could step up to the Inland Surfer Yellow. It's 4'6" and is exceptionally fast. The extra width would support your 240 pounds, but you'll need a pretty god wake to make it work for you.

The other boards I mention aren't much of a performance improvement over the Circa 70.

[b/w05]

Surfdad,

Thanks for the reply. My 22i has NO ballast at all except for people. It definately has a better wake with 10 people in the boat. Ballast isn't in the cards for quite awhile. Need to finish my stereo upgrage and want to add FAE.

My boys bought me the board 2 fathers days ago from our tige dealer. So are you saying this board is a relic? It seems to be a good board to get first timers up and going. I find it a chore sometimes to find a good sweet spot in the wake. Other times I get out & toss the rope right away. My oldest son is a little better, he can always ride. We're both getting better at starting and finishing from the swim platform. Do you see this as a no-no?

Mark

[Original Wing Nut]

I also have a Jobe circa 70 and love it. We are all rookies and it seems to be the board of choice. How rare are they, should we be keeping them in mint condition or use and then see what the future brings. I picked mine up from a local I/O dealer. They had it for their kids, but were using it behind a 28' cruiser and figured out the danger involved. They knew the only way to stop the kids from getting hurt was sell the board. I scored right place right time 50 bucks and was basically new.

[lba_dillon]

If you are still getting your feet wet (no pun intended), and looking for something entry level that everybody can abuse, you might want to try just bumping up to the Broadcast 5'6". I've riddin just about every "pop out" on the market and it is by far the best novice board out there. I actually bought a LF and took it back the next day. It was so slow that I couldn't even ride it. Of coarse, that was the very first one the produced. Between the soft rails and the cupped side fins, it was like riding a board with brakes on it. I haven't been on a new one, but not much has changed in the way of the design. The CWB also has soft rails and it felt really slow as well. These boards will generate zero drive from these soft rails. The Broadcast series has hard rails which will actually generate drive. The 5'6" will give you a lot more surface area which will translate into even more speed for you. I'm currently shopping for a new surfboard now, and I have a feeling I'm going to end up with a new Phase 5 Prop. Hard rails, light weight and thin. Fast, fast, fast. They are squirly, but that's what I'm looking for.

Your 21i with 1000lbs should give you more than enough wake. What is the distribution front to back? What's your speed?

Thanks for all of the info!!!!!! We have approx. 1000lbs. in ballast and an additional 500 or more in people on the boat........we set the PP @ 9.3-9.7mph!!! My wake is perfect @ that point.....We "used" to surf on the port side but are finding the starboard side puts out ALOT better wake.....so this past year was all about getting used to being on the other side. What side do most of you ride on???????? I want to check out the Inland Surfer Blue....and possibly that Broadcast 5'6!!! I have ridden the Broadcast 4'6 and I thought it was pretty nice!! Thanks and I'll keep checking back to get more info since I will probably be purchasing this in the next month or so! Cheers, Brandon

[chpthril]

We ride "facing the wake", if you ride regular.... you ride port, if you ride gooky.... you ride starboard. I think this is correct?