Rocker Pattern and Wake Shape

[Dave W]

Looking into buying a new board for next season, and I'm trying to sort through all the marketing propaganda.

Manufacturers spend a LOT of time talking about how rocker patterns influence how much/what type of pop you get. But doesn't the shape of your wake influence this as well? Not everyone has a perfectly weighted X-Star to ride behind, so the size and shape of the average Joe's wake can vary a lot. So an abrupt three stage rocker on a nice wake with smooth transitions might be "abrupt but manageable". Take that same board onto a steep wake with hardly any transition and it might be totally uncontrollable right?

So a nice continuous rocker board on a steep wake might pop you vertically wake to wake like a 3 stage on a smooth wake right?

Right now I'm riding a 3 stage board and when I really crank a progressive edge I get bucked out of control on a regular basis. I'm looking to mellow things out a bit with a continuous rocker (Trip) or possibly a more "mellow" three stage (Witness?).

While I'm at it, what's everyone's take on the Fish? LF claims it pops big, spins easy, carves hard, and lands soft. With a pitch like that why wouldn't you want to ride a Fish full time? What are the drawbacks that make it merely a secondary board?

[Tyler~Moore]

Dave W, as far as the fish goes. I dont personally like it. but some people love it. I feel the transfer from edge to edge it is SUPER slow, due to how wide it is. The pop on it is really nice, but i dont find the landings softer than the watson.

Continuous rocker gets its pop from speed. Since there is no flat spot, the pop tends to be a little more consistent, Most continuous boards and faster than 3 stage. Murray and lyman both go huge on continious rocker boards, so dont worry about not getting as much pop as a 3 stage, the pop "feeling" tends to be a little more mellow tho. I hope this helps

[Dave W]

Yeah, I've ridden both and am aware that you can get lots of air on either. Interesting comments about the Fish.

So I suppose I knew the answers to my inquiry before I even started this thread....... I need to find a shop that has a demo program. Not sure if my local shop will let me demo anything though.

[scott a]

Whatever you do, make sure you get a board with a Morning Wood core.

[K-dub]

damn Canadians.

[jt09]

Dave W, I asked this same question about a month or so ago and Blake produced a pretty great document addressing the topic. Get to searchin!

[Dave W]

OK, a quick google search confirms my initial suspicions. This whole "morning wood" thing makes no sense whatsoever. Apparently morning wood is either a spontaneous erection you get in the morning, or lumber that is cut in the morning and has poor grain quality because of the time of day it was cut.

So either the Canadians are into making hockey sticks out of poor quality wood, or all this fear of running out of morning wood is something that can easily be solved with some pharmaceutical assistance.

[Dave W]

Thanks jt09. Here is a link to redirect this thread. http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?t=70969&highlight=rocker+pattern


Made a newbie mistake.

[justin h.]

It is the rider that controls a board’s flight path, not the board.

There are plenty of riders on three-stage going coast to coast and plenty of riders on continuous boards only going wake to wake.

Side note: Three stage is very vague. It can mean almost anything and produce all kinds of results.

[jt09]

Shut up justin - you land in the flats behind freakin johnboats! The rest of us need to believe the boat and board are actually doing something for us!

[scott a]

Dave W, the whole Morning Wood thing was a bit of a joke. the link that JT provided is good.

[gene3x]

Most of that marketing talk is fluff. The only way to find what you like is to ride them. I thought I always liked an abrupt 3 stage with alot of rocker but have been on a few continuous rocker boards lately and love the different feel.
I think all boards just take a set or so to adjust to the riding style.

[Dave W]

[LakeIolaLuke]

Depending on what level of rider you are, you may want to reverse your thinking about "steep wake=continuous rocker/ Mellow wake=3 stage" To optimize the trajectory a steep wake will give you, a 3 stager will give you more of that W2W boot. Likewise, to really take advantage of long-transitioned mellow wake, you can use the increased speed that a continous rockered board gives you. Just my two cents though. I really like the slower, abrupt feel of the pop on a 3stage, but I ride behind a malibu.

[jhilly8982]

if you are getting bucked off the wake it is most likely that you are "jumping" at the peak of the wave to throw you off axis...at least that is what i was told by cobe mickachich a couple years back when it happened to me and it helped alot.

[Dave W]

jhilly8982: That's a really interesting comment. The times that I've been TOTALLY bucked are when I'm taking a nice progressive cut more of a seated position and then trying to extend and stand tall right at the wake. The landings are never nice when that happens. Does this mean I just need to stand tall earlier?

If that's the case it's going to make me feel a lot better. I was starting to think that even after close to ten years of riding I'm not advanced enough to "handle the pop" of a three stage rocker.