Newbie Question

[first timer]

I have not wakeboarded in 10 years but I never had a problem in the past, however I tried again last weekend and was not able to get up. I have put on about 60 pounds since the last time I wakeboarded and I am curious as to how much HP is required to pull someone that weighs 255 lbs. I have an 09 Tahoe Q5i with a 220 hp. I thought that would be more then enough, however there were 4 people in the boat totaling about 700 lbs. plus me behind the boat adding another 255 lbs, and i could not get up. My forarms are so sore I can barely make a fist today, it just seemed like the boat did not have enough power to get me out of the water, I was just getting drug behind the boat and never plained out on the surface. Any tips or advice?

[Christobull]

I know for a fact some guys on here are riding behind that same boat. You technique most likely changed from the last time you got up. Be patient, wait for the boat to pull you forward and hug your knees till you come on plain. Other things you'll hear are heals to butt. I can't do that because my stance is too wide, but I still take my chest to my knees and the boat does everything from there.

[skinny99]

Sometimes I ride behind an older 21ft I/O that only has a weak 5.0 v8 in it. Also it has a big time cruiser prop on it,it does not take off quick at all! I weigh about 260 right now and I have no problem getting up,I do however have to be patient and let the boat build up a little speed before I fully stand up. Christobull's advice is spot on,when the boat takes off let your heels come back to your butt,also when you think it is time stand up wait one more second to do it. If you do it this way your hands do not take that much abuse,the first two times I tried to get up I couldn't open a soda bottle the next day I hurt so bad,once I found this site I learned this technique and get up easily every time. Keep trying,once you get the proper feeling it is like a lightswitch goes off in your head,it will be that easy!!

[browneye253]

I've gotten up behind my boat fully loaded with 7 peeps and ice chests galore and all my ride has is a 220hp. I'm sitting just under 220 but I still pop right outta the water. As I've gotten older I've learned like others are suggesting to let the boat do all the work.

[first timer]

Thanks for the advice, I knew that something was not right, i think that i might not have had the proper positioning of the board, i had it completely perpendicular to the water and my forearms took a beating trying fight the resistance, if I pushed more with my toes instead of my heels and had the board at an angle it would help, maybe? Also, do you have to keep the board above water, or is it ok to let it go under?

[Christobull]

Most of the time, actually every time for me, the board naturally goes under. The best way for you to feel the right position is to squat down on land, either with the board on or off and mimic that position when the boat starts to pull you. There really is very little effort on your part when done correctly. It's all about position and just simply holding on. You can either hug your knees with the handle out in front, or rest your elbows on top with your arms straight. I've just started using this technique this year and I noticed that I don't wear myself out at all doing it this way, where before I was doing a lot of the work myself to get up and I got worn out quickly.

[pet575]

first timer, it sounds like you are really fighting the boat a lot more than you think. You should be able to control everything by going with the heels-to-butt/squat like a frog/knees to your chest/whatever you want to call it position. If you then point your toes at the boat just a little you will plane out. If you dig your heels in too much, you will plow the water a lot and really make things too hard on yourself. This is possible even if you are squatting properly.

Give the pointing of the toes a shot, and don't panic of the board goes under the water's surface just a little bit. It can still plane up to the top of the water if you do it right.

[JeffreyCH]

Board UNDER the water to start, if your leading edge is above the water line, you will plow water and it is very hard on shoulders/arms. I'm 230 and ride behind a 185hp i/o with a f***ed up carb that pops as we hit it....still no problems as long as you shove the board under the water as you come up. The frog position Pet575 mentioned is the key, once the slack is gone have your driver bump it fwd just a bit, as you coast let the board go down under you, once it is a bit under the water, hit it, we always roll into the throttle smooth and easy rather then wide open all at once.

[HHI Dave]

230 lbs here and my boat makes a whopping 135 hp with its 3.0 Mercruiser. Its all about technique. Hang in there.

[howabouttheiris]

I (all 240 of me) got up yesterday behind a 72' unbranded POS with a 75 Johnston (with a missing seal) towed from a rope at water level, with 2 adults and 3 kids on board .

Sit like a baseball catcher, keep your board under your body, parallel to your shoulders, with the leading (toeside) edge only a couple degrees above the trailing edge.

This will allow the boat to pull you forward and you can slowly get going fast enough to plane up to the surface.

For me it took about about 50' for the speed to get to a point where I was on the surface.

Just don't be scared of being pulled over the front of the board, you want to be as close to that as your abs will allow.

[OperationROL]

Focus on your technique. I found that I can get up behind anything at any speed if I master "dragging" Sometimes, when the driver does not pop me up, I remain in the squat position with the board still perpendicular to the boat. I let the boat "drag me until I feel enough momentum to get up easily.

Moreover, I boarded all weekend behind a Tahoe. It was plenty.

[SPARC]

I agree with everything said here. Our Supra is getting the finishing touches on a new stereo install so we were stuck taking my wife's parents boat out the past two weekends. It's a Bayliner I/O with the 135HP Merc. With 5 people in the boat we were trying to get a new guy started and he struggled most of the day due to impatience. Once he just relaxed and gave the boat some time to get out the hole he popped right up.

It was quite funny though because this gentleman had a tendency to let go of the rope if it started pulling "too hard"...so my wife yells at him to not let go unless his head and shoulders were under the water. He didn't like it, but he didn't go prematurely again!

[walb0244]

Hopefully no one gets mad for stealing but i was having the same issue. I tried the other day to teach a guy to wakeboard. One of the biggest problems is that I'm probably not the right guy to be teaching anyone. I have only been wakeboarding a few days. But the first time out I came right up out of the water. I have since then taught my brother-n-law, dad, and brother all how to wakeboard or atleast how to get up and out of the water. But the other day we tried with two people and i couldnt' get either one of them up and out of the water. Everyone else I have tried to teach including myself are all 160 or below and none of us had any issues. When I tried to show a buddy that weighs around 250 to 270 we couldn't get him up and out of the water. Our boat has a stumble in it right now and I thought maybe that was the problem since it stumbles right when you get on the motor to get the guy out of the water. Then I thought maybe it was my board since it is a 142 cm board. Also thought maybe our 4.3 didn't have enough to do it too. Maybe we just need to give it another try. He is just a big boy and seems to have a hard time balling up like I try and tell him to.

[the_dude]

Wakeboarding is one of the easiest to get up sports behind a boat once you have the right technique down.

Several people have already covered my #1 instruction which is butt to feet. Just to be clear knees to chest does NOT equal butt to feet. I've since learned that a simple demonstration on land really helps hammer this home for new people.

sit of the floor (no need for board) and either have someone help you up using a rope and handle or with their hand by pulling forward (not up). Try this two ways. First sit naturally with your butt maybe 1-2 feet behind your feet. When pulled let your but slide to your feet and then rotate onto your feet and then stand. Now try it without sliding your butt however still letting your knees hit your chest. You will find that the pivot point of your body is no longer your feed/ankles but 6" to 1' higher and takes waaaay more effort for the puller and person being pulled to get to their feet and stand.

#2 point. Allow the board to slide under water all the way.

#3 stand up much later than you think you need too. Seriously over 90% of noobs stand up too soon their first times.

If you are pushing AT ALL with your legs/feet and are a big/heavy dude then you are doing it wrong.

[OperationROL]

Also, other than "rightsizing" the board, forget about the weight of the rider. The technique is the same at any weight. It will be more difficult for the driver of the boat to pop the rider out, but the rider should not be doing anything different because fo their size.

Another problem that I find is most beginners are told not to pull themselves up and let the boat do the pulling, but they take that as they should not have to try hard to hold the handle. One of my friends kept letting go early. We asked him why and he said that we told him that he should not be pulling up. We told him that he still had to do what it takes to hang on, just dont pull. We also make sure that the handle has an EVO grip on it, so that the beginner has an easier time hanging on to the handle.

[first timer]

Thanks everyone for the advice, I hit the lake last weekend and popped right out of the water without any trouble, all of the tips really helped.