Wake to wake help?

[PMart]

Hey everyone last summer my family got a new wakesetter and i boarded like twice a day for a week or so and I couldn't master the w2w. I start out wide and stay flat and then move my way in. I dont know if I am holding a hard enough edge or not? I am just confused on what to do. Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxG7scmzcZU

[the_dude]

What rope length you at?

Look at the spray off your board. You are not generating very much spray which means that is a pretty weak edge. Practice some cutting drills and then try again.

[J.unio.R]

Definitely not enough edge and cut harder to get farther in the flat. You might want to shorten your rope 5-10 ft to start off then back out to where youre at now. That wake is a monster, once you get it, you should have no prob clearing that wake.

[PMart]

OK i didnt know if i needed to go a little faster or not? but it feels like if i shorten the rope its hard to cut out and stuff. But ill try to cut harder into the wake. I approach the wake sitting in a chair and do i just pop up? or like jump? It feels like the wake is also really wide compared to other riders and I have been trying to hard for weeks

[pet575]

Here's my take. You need to do 3 things.

1. Shorten your rope. That wake is WAY wide where you're riding. When you get better, you can move back if that is where you prefer to ride.

2. Cut/edge harder instead of cutting to the wake and just charging hard at it. You should be accelerating as you approach the wake rather than just going fast at it but maintaining the same speed the whole time. You've got to build your cut up gradually as you get closer and closer to the wake. Cutting in and just charging hard won't get it. Make sure you understand the difference. A good, hard, increasing edge can be seen on video with a couple of keys. First, you should see a big spray off of the board. Second, you should be able to see the graphics on the bottom of the board if you are in the boat. When I struggled with w2w, I finally had to get the mental approach of "show your board to the people in the boat." As soon as I started doing that, w2w was a piece of cake. Could easily see it on video, too.

3. Keep both hands on the rope, and keep the handle against your leading hip. When you straighten your arms, it makes it that much harder to stand upright ("stand tall") as you go up the wake. The result is that your hips and spine absorb some of the wake's energy instead of getting launched up into the air.

You've got the "seated" position and beginning of the cut down pretty well. You just need to finish that cut to the wake. Your hardest edge should be as you go up the wake, not when you first make the cut toward the wake. You're not that far away.

[PMart]

ok cool thank you! yeah it looks like i need to shorten the rope...my friend and I have been trying to mess with the ballast and the wedge. We didnt know what the best combination was for a good average size wake what people use??

[slaughterer]

shortening the rope will really help, but also, extending your legs at the moment of contacting the first wake is what really gives you the air. It's a pop that launches you. Once you get the hang of that you will be ready to lengthen your rope again.

[PMart]

ok thanks! what about the wake...should i mess with that all or just the rope

[JeffreyCH]

The wake is easily twice the size of mine and I clear no problem, work on technique and you'll get it.

[PMart]

sounds good...just felt like a big gap, ill work on progressive edge and shorten rope

[sodji]

Hey i seem to be haveing problems with my wake 2 wake also. My question is at what point should i start standing up, it seems like i am trying to stand up a bit to early and as a result dont get enough pop.