Boat Speed

[wan2RYD]

So some buddies and I have been boarding all spring and having one hell of a time. Yesterday, for kicks and giggles, we GPS'd the speed-o on the boat. Turns out what we thought was 21, was actually closer to 30. When going 21 via the GPS, it seems SUPER slow, but we checked the GPS against another GPS AND my Denali Speed-o and were right on. Anyone ever go 30? I can tell you, the wake is unreal at 21 instead of 30!
Another question, when I edge out hard toeside and stand up to get the line tight to edge hard into the wake to get my jump in, I end up drifting pretty far back towards the wake before the line gets tight enough to toeside edge hard enough to where I get pop off the wake. Could I be edging too hard out? My theory is I actually edge hard out and close the gap between the boat and I, then have to wait for the boat to move away from me to be able to lean back and egde hard back in the wake thus creating the drift towards the wake while waiting for the line to tense back up. I have a good Ronix no stretch line. Possibly could it be the driver as well? Not realizing that I'm pulling the boat to me and compensating? I always feel when I drive the boat when my buddies edge out, I can feel the boat being pulled slightly and I compensate by driving the opposite direction. Could this be my problem? Inexperience?

[shonuff]

30 is definitely too fast. The wake will be smaller and falls will hurt more. Start around 20-21 and increase speed until the wake cleans up. Perfect Pass is worth the investment.

[pet575]

[TheHebrewHammer]

One of the interesting things I've noticed about YouTube videos of wakeboarding is that there are inevitably several people asking what speed the riders are riding at, as if there is a proper speed to wakeboard at.

There really isn't. Obviously, there is a range of speeds. 17 is slow and 30 is way too fast, but the ideal speed depends so much on the boat, rope length/material, the conditions, the board, and most of all, the rider.

It's a personal thing. I have a hard time generating pop from my toeside edge, so I like to take a lot of speed to the wake when I'm cutting in toeside to ensure that I get enough distance to clear the wake. If the boat speed is too slow, I can't do this. When I'm trying a trick like a 360 and I don't want much line tension, I like to ride at a slower speed. When I'm doing a heelside 180, I like to turn up the speed and go way out into the flats.

I find that I generally like to ride a little faster than most of the people in my boat, but I've never worked out and memorized an exact speed that I feel comfortable at. I'd much rather just get out there and adjust with thumbs up or thumbs down signals to the driver. I find that I just "know" when the speed feels right for what I'm doing at a given time.

[wan2RYD]

[pet575]

Definitely get video. I'm willing to be you'll find yourself not edging nearly as hard as you think you are when you watch it. It will make you double your edge.

[hyperlite11]

We have a Malibu Wakesetter with perfect pass. We started out boarding around 22 but with the more experienced we got we sped up some. I could not clear the wake toeside but now at 23.6 mph I can do a TS w2w 180 and land out in the flats every time and I'm working on a TS backroll. I'm sure it had to do with just getting better at wakeboarding. But even now if I slow back down to 22 I don't think I could clear the wake toeside. It just seems so slow and harder to load the rope

[cubbies017]

A good speed is between 20 and 23 mph. Anything over is gonna be too fast.

[Plave]

I had the same problem, I thought I was wakeskating at 19/20. I was wakeskating at 24/25.

Feels a bit dull slowed down though.