Newbe needs help....

[bigo181979]

I need some advice. I want to start wakesurfing, what do I do??? I have never done it before and I want to set my boat up for it as well as get the right board to learn with. Any help would be appreciated.

I have a 1999 tige 2100v ltd. I am 6'4" tall and weight about 240 also I ride goofy foot. Let me know if I need to give more info.

Thanks for sending a new guy in the right direction.

[ragboy]

I need some advice. I want to start wakesurfing, what do I do??? I have never done it before and I want to set my boat up for it as well as get the right board to learn with. Any help would be appreciated.

I have a 1999 tige 2100v ltd. I am 6'4" tall and weight about 240 also I ride goofy foot. Let me know if I need to give more info.

Thanks for sending a new guy in the right direction.

We just started also, and are having a blast. We got a liquid force venture 4'6". I would go for the 5'0" at your size. I have a bigger boat, and a family of 8, so we have decent ballast. Get some people in the boat, or a fatsac of some kind, and get some weight on the drivers side of the boat if you are goofy foot. Try your boat, from speeds of like 9.8 mph to 12 mph, to find a speed that the wake breaks nice with the weight you have in it. Remember, the wake won't work right, if you don't have the boat weighted at least 2-400 #'s heavier on the side you will be surfing.

Also, get a surf rope, I have seen 2 kinds. Some are braided, some have a handle. I like the one with a smaller handle, and rubber grips every few feet.

You get up on the board, like a wake skate. Just lay back, put your heels on the board, sideways. When the driver goes, very slow and easy, put your heels down to get the board under your feet, and stand up. Some riders find it easier to idle so they have some back force to get the board under their feet before they go.

When the rider gets up, he should immediately go to the side he will surf, it is easier to get out there, before the wake is big. You can also start, with the rider already way on that side.

Then just experiment in the wake, and find the sweet spot. make sure you FACE the wake. Hold the rope with one hand so you FACE the wake. Get your toe edge of the board into the wake to help propel. If you are too far back on the board, you will always travel back on the wake. Face the board down, to use gravity to propel you forward.

Here is a good video to help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Pf5s7HGF0

I disagree with the rope in the video, but you may not. Here is the rope we use, and its great, and here is a link to one.

http://www.rdcshop.com/?action=itemdetail&item_id=94384

[Moki]

You can learn a lot from this website:

http://www.howtowakesurf.com/

Good luck, I am just getting started as well. I have my ballast bags and fresh air exhaust (helps reduce carbon monoxide to the surfer and people in the back of the boat.)

Dogbert, has a boat similar to yours and can probably give you some good tips.

[sagmanaur]

It can be a little frustrating at first if you can't seem to find the pocket.... I came from wakeboarding and had a hell of a time to stay in the pocket, it seemed like I wanted to keep my weight back like in wakeboarding, but I finally planted my feet a little off-center towards the wake, and "leaned" into the wake to get the pocket. Getting a good wake is key though, you will need to dial that in first in my opinion. I agree with Ragboy, just slowly go thru the 9-12 mph zone, and then when it looks ok, you can tune it in with your Taps. My speedometer reads 13.5 with Taps at 3-4 for our wake, but I don't think that is actual speed.
Have fun!!!!

[NICKYPOO]

One thing I have to disagree with is that you do not HAVE TO face the wake. There are those of us who prefer to surf backside, or with your back facing the wake. I had a friend who had been strugling to stay in the pocket for the longest time. This really was bothering me as he has been one of my closer riding partners for long long time so I knew he had the skills to do it, but he just couldn't seem to catch the pocket. He started off riding backside and gave up on it kind of quick to see if he could make it happen frontside. Strugled with that for what seemed like forever. He finally crossed back over to backside and everything clicked. He now only uses the rope to get up and he can "free surf" for as long as he wants.

Frontside or backside is truly a personal preference.

[NICKYPOO]

Sweet Spot.

Your sweet spot is the area marked in red. That will be the fastest part of the wake. That being said, untill you get very comfortable in it, you will have to work to stay in there. Body position is a huge part of this. Note my boy B in this picture. Knees together and bent, head up and shoulders square to the horizon. This is how you control your speed on the board. To speed up, keep your knees together and your shoulders square and simply slide your front hip over your front foot. To slow down, slide your back hip over your back foot. What you don't want to do is lean your upper body out over your front foot. You wont last more that a few seconds like that. You will "pearl" (bury the nose) the board. Once you feel comfortable with controling your speed, you can start working the face. I liken it to compressioning on a skate board ramp. You want to push down through the power zone and then glide back up it in one smooth motion, keeping the upper body "quite" and using your legs to control the board. Push back down, glide back up, push back down, glide back up. Pump, pump, pump, pump.

[wakeboarder247]

very well put nick. i agree with everything you said. hopefully this post/pic will help some beginners on here find the sweet spot and stay with it! It's an amazing feeling to be able to surf forever without the rope!

[da.bell]

Nice explanation Nick. Sounds a lot like regular surfing in the ocean.

[NICKYPOO]

Nice explanation Nick. Sounds a lot like regular surfing in the ocean.

Well, they do call it wakeSURFING.

[da.bell]

Yes, but the waves in the ocean are a "little" bigger..... You don't have to do that hip movement as much since the wave pushes you.

[ragboy]

One thing I have to disagree with is that you do not HAVE TO face the wake. There are those of us who prefer to surf backside, or with your back facing the wake. I had a friend who had been strugling to stay in the pocket for the longest time. This really was bothering me as he has been one of my closer riding partners for long long time so I knew he had the skills to do it, but he just couldn't seem to catch the pocket. He started off riding backside and gave up on it kind of quick to see if he could make it happen frontside. Strugled with that for what seemed like forever. He finally crossed back over to backside and everything clicked. He now only uses the rope to get up and he can "free surf" for as long as he wants.

Frontside or backside is truly a personal preference.

I grew up surfing, and spent more time at county line then I did in high school. :-) I can't remember anyone I know prefer riding heel to wake. But hey, if it worked for him. I know with my kids, the biggest challenge for them was learning to shift there weight forward and into the wake. After wakeboarding, it doesn't seem natural.

[da.bell]

I grew up surfing, and spent more time at county line then I did in high school. :-) I can't remember anyone I know prefer riding heel to wake. But hey, if it worked for him. I know with my kids, the biggest challenge for them was learning to shift there weight forward and into the wake. After wakeboarding, it doesn't seem natural.

I have only surfed for about two months in my life. Everyone that I saw surfing wanted to face the wave to watch the lip and see what is was going to do. This might be because an ocean wave is going faster than the wake of a boat?????? Not sure but I would think that they would be the same.

[NICKYPOO]

I grew up surfing, and spent more time at county line then I did in high school. :-) I can't remember anyone I know prefer riding heel to wake. But hey, if it worked for him. I know with my kids, the biggest challenge for them was learning to shift there weight forward and into the wake. After wakeboarding, it doesn't seem natural.

I know, I'm a freak. I'm also a Mongo footer on a skate board. So is my homeboy. Must be why we prefer backside. I dunno. I grew up in the desert and had to teach myself how to surf a wave. Probably why I still don't know what I'm doing. I have been working on my frontside though.

I agree that the most difficult thing to accept is the push from the wake. It's completely un-natural (sp?) for someone with a watersports background to accept the push instead of being pulled.

One thing that has helped tremendously in the INDO board. That thing will force you into the correct body position.

[da.bell]

I like the idea of the INDO board and would really like to get one. However, not excited to fork out $70+ for one of these things when a 2 liter soda bottle and a piece of wood looks like it might work just a well.

[ragboy]

I like the idea of the INDO board and would really like to get one. However, not excited to fork out $70+ for one of these things when a 2 liter soda bottle and a piece of wood looks like it might work just a well.

I was looking at one of these, for my real little ones.

http://www.balance360.com/index.php?PID=43