Couldn't get up

Mac_48 · Newbie Joined: 07 Aug 2010 Posts: 20 City: Issaquah

I rented a board for Sunday because mine was sitting in the ups shipping hub and went out on the water. I figured it would be cool to get up on a wakeboard before my board showed up, but that did not happen lol. What I don't get is what I was doing wrong. The first thought that I had was that the only one that I could find to rent within an hour of me was a 139cm when I'm 220. Every time I tried to get up I was making it out of the water and right before I made it to the surface something caused me to faceplant or fall in some way. The possible reasons that I fell that I could think of was that: the driver gradually increased speed and it might have been too slow, the water was very choppy i.e. wake a foot tall, I stood up too early(I know that this happened once), I wasn't able to curl up into enough of a ball (but I think that I was fine), and there are probably more. Sometimes that I was about to make it up and everything seemed to go good but then the handle got ripped from my hand (I never thought of myself as a weakling lol...). Now I have my vault in (and it's a 144) and I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions on things I can do that will help. One thing that I noticed was that every time I was starting to get up the board had about an inch or two of water covering it. Thanks,

wow...it looks worse after writing it down...oh well....lol

OperationROL · Criminal Joined: 11 Aug 2009 Posts: 92 City: Rockford

Your conditions were less than ideal. I would forget about last weekend and focus on the upcoming attempts on your own board. Also, make sure the water is flat. It is bad enough to have to focus on the mechanics of getting up. You don't need some other obstacle. And, yes. The board will be under water for a few moments. Just keep hanging on and going through the motions. The board will fully surface by the time you are up and turned. Good luck.

ctwo · Newbie Joined: 12 Aug 2010 Posts: 19

My biggest issue was not letting the boat do the work.... This year I just relaxed and let the boat do it all and before I knew it I was up and cruising. I'm a bigger guy than you and the board was under water for what seemed like a long time before it came up on plane, but it did eventually.... It was a 140.

So don't worry about last time, just try not to over think it, the next time you're out.

hawkster0001 · Soul Rider Joined: 21 Jul 2010 Posts: 441 City: GR

you dont need to crouch up that much,try a couple dock starts or raft or whatever by just sitting on the dockwith your board in the water, when your getting up try pretednding your in a chair keep your thighs perpendicular to the water, and put most your wheight on your heels and have your heels about 8- 12 in infront of your knees, keep the handleclose to your waidt and lett the boat do most fo the work, youll get the feel for whens the right time to switch and go to riding how your normally do, and by this time you sould have gradually progressed to having your legs almost straight at about more then a 60 degree angle, and have the rope near the bottom of your ribcage and a foot out, then start to look slightly to your right, and bending your right knee putting 2/3 your wheight on your right foot (that is if your rigth handed, right handed left foot forward left handed vice versa) keep your right leg bent and your left almost straight. thenits pretty much your either up or not, and by what it seems to me is that your staying facing the boat too long if your faceplanting, try turning the board a tad sooner, this is what i did wrong when i first started, just stayed forward skier style plowing water.

neverwinter · Criminal Joined: 12 Aug 2010 Posts: 66

hawkster you couldn't be more wrong.

ctwo, it's completely ok and actually desirable to let your the handle go past your board while your board is perpindicular to the boat as you are in the water. you can surface slide until the boat is at speed if you want.

you actually don't want to turn your board to be parallel with the boat too soon as you decrease the amount of water your are displacing and therefore make it much harder to stand up.

focus on keeping your knees bent and sliding your butt torwards your board (remember you should let the handle go past your board) and after you feel like your board is on top of the water and you can turn...turn...

pet575 · Posted: Aug 18, 2010 8:53 am Post subject:

2 most important things to getting up:

1. Let the BOAT do the work. Rope getting ripped out your hands is caused by only one thing-you standing up/pulling against the boat by straightening your legs on the way up. This is fighting the boat instead of letting the boat pull you up.

2. Keep your knees bent and let the board compress toward your butt as the boat pulls you up and planes out. YOU DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE TO STAND UP. You could actually stay squatted and ride the board sideways all day behind the boat if you wanted to.

If you are faceplanting and/or falling once you stand up, that means you're standing up too soon and the board is sinking into the water because it has not planed out and the boat isn't going fast enough yet to keep the board on plane.

DO NOT RUSH IT.

Mac_48 · Newbie Joined: 07 Aug 2010 Posts: 20 City: Issaquah

thanks for all of the tips guys, I'm feeling a lot better about it lol

Outdoorbum · Newbie Joined: 27 Jul 2010 Posts: 10

Having struggled with getting up myself, I would really go with what pet575 said, especially #2. Let the board plane sideways then stand up imo. Remember, butt to heels...that helped me

Enygma · Soul Rider Joined: 26 Jul 2009 Posts: 356

Also hawkster is wrong about what foot to put forward. I'm right handed and ride right foot forward. If you want to know what fut to put forward there's 2 methods.

1:put on a pair of socks and run and slide on a linolium floor. Which ever foot you put forward here will be the same on the wakeboard.

2: stand straight up with both feet toegther and have someone gently push you from behind. Whichever foot you put forward to brace yourself will be your forward foot on the board.

neverwinter · Criminal Joined: 12 Aug 2010 Posts: 66

pet575 · Posted: Aug 19, 2010 11:40 am Post subject:

neverwinter, I don't think we were saying much that was different other than me adding that you really aren't required to "turn" the board at all and you can ride perpendicular all day if you want. The point of my saying that was to help the OP avoid the urge to rush into standing up or trying to turn the board parallel to the boat.

Seems like we're both saying the same thing for the most part, tho.

Outdoorbum · Newbie Joined: 27 Jul 2010 Posts: 10

Mac_48 · Newbie Joined: 07 Aug 2010 Posts: 20 City: Issaquah

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm going to be going out this saturday with someone that knows how to wakeboard this time so hopefully I will be able to make it up this time. All your advice is helping me alot I think that I am not patient enough when getting up and there are some other factors that you guys helped me with. Very Happy