Posted: Oct 31, 2011 2:22 am Post subject: Wakeboarding behind a Jetski?? Please Help!
Hey Guys,
Ive just got a wakeboard and am going to try it out with a jetski to pull it. I know that it won't be as good as a boat but I've heard something about a pole that can be attached to the jetski. Does anyone know where I could buy one from? Thanks
wakebeginner, You can but it's not totally necessary, especially if you're just learning. Are you a complete newbie to the sport? Just learn how to stand up, carve around a bit, and ride switch. You can't do much else behind a jet ski anyway so you may as well save yourself some extra cash and just start riding!
Agreed! If you're new to the sport, having a bigger wake won't help you and having a pole won't make much difference. It would be a little easier to get up with a pole, but it really isn't necessary/worth it. _________________ rally to the wake
Yes, that's the way I see it. If you have a boat that puts out a fat wake, you'll have to go faster to keep it from washing over. This, combined with the size of the wake itself, will make your first jumps difficult and intimidating. Even if it doesn't make things harder, it certainly won't make things easier.
The best thing for a beginner is to learn edge control at a slower speed and learn how to pop properly off a smaller wake. Then you can dial things up.
Of course, that's just what I'd recommend based on my own experience and my experience working with some of the newer riders in our crew. _________________ rally to the wake
Another things that's even more important is to keep your line short when you're trying to jump the wake for the first time. This will make the wake a lot narrower, so you won't have to come in with tons of speed.
I find that most beginners, myself included, do their first wake jumps by cutting in as hard as they can, missing their pop, and shooting across the wake just a foot or two above the water. This is a very good way to take a nasty wreck and hurt yourself, and it will also make it much harder and scarier to learn your first tricks (grabs, 180s, etc.).
Keep the wake narrow and focus on going up, not across. Kick off the top few inches of the wake like you're jumping on land. Once you get the timing down, you'll find that even a small wake has a lot of pop to give! _________________ rally to the wake
Joined: 13 Dec 2011 Posts: 918 City: Lake Lewisville, Texas
Posted: Jan 02, 2012 5:56 pm Post subject:
So you need to keep your line short??? See thats my problem I cut in to sharp and face plant. Hurts like all get out. So when you say kick off the top by a few inches what do you mean exactly?
^^ if you're going up the wake and faceplanting, your board is way too horizontal (as in, TOO perpendicular to the direction of the boat/jetski). if you look at videos it looks like people're almost travelling sideways going into the wake, which isn't the case when you're riding. you create the pop by having the heelside edge (for the most basic jumps) dug into the water and travelling at around 45 degrees towards the wake. that means if the boat's going north, you only really need to turn your board towards north west to go at the wake. the important thing is the edging. the harder you're leaning against the rope while edging towards the wake, the deeper the edge is dug into water. the deeper it is, the more upward energy it creates when you reach the wake. focus on jumping upwards not across to the opposite wake.
what TheHebrewHammer meant by kicking off the last few inches of the wake is basically to use the tailend of your board to push downwards against the top of the wake as you launch, to give you that boost upwards. however, at the risk of sounding condecending, i believe this is slightly more advanced than what you need to worry about yet.
a good edging technique, standing 'tall' at the wake and keeping line tension in the air are how you can consistently and safely travel across the two wakes without sketchy faceplants waiting around the corner.
one more thing - many people have their boards way too penpendicular to the wake when they first try to jump across as they feel they need the 'speed' to travel all that distance. truth is that, wakejumping isn't about going fast enough like you're jumping a gap on a motorbike. the idea is to keep a good edge up the wake with good line tension, so when you pop upwards, the boat will pull you across to the other side just like if you swing a lead ball on a chain. the more tension there is in the chain (i.e. your rope), the harder it's swinging and the higher/further you go.
Joined: 13 Dec 2011 Posts: 918 City: Lake Lewisville, Texas
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 5:53 am Post subject:
ediotism, Know that I think about it your completely right. So basically you dont go at the wake straight on, but at an angle? Does line tension have an impact on the jump?? Because I always have slack in my line.
You dont sound conceede at all. Trust me!
Sorry I have a lot of questions...This does help alot! Thank you. _________________ A little part of me dies inside every time I see an $80,000 Malibu Wakesetter pulling a tuber.
wakechick13, yes, you want to go in at an angle as he said. And line tension is extremely important. For a basic wake jump, you need to find a good balance between load and slack. A tight line will yank you out of control and probably cause a very ugly crash, while a slack line just won't give you the force you need to pop off the wake and the speed to carry you to the other side. You want the line to be tight, but not so loaded up that you're struggling to hold on to it. _________________ rally to the wake
Great tips, gonna try some myself. Ive always charged the wake at around 80 degrees to the wake.
I started riding behind a jetski too, its a good way to learn, but dont expect much with the jumps or air tricks. But its great for doing surface tricks.
quite difficult to keep line tension behind a jetski because the jetski is so small you can actually slow it down if you edge hard thats what I found but im also a big fella.
Joined: 13 Dec 2011 Posts: 918 City: Lake Lewisville, Texas
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 3:02 pm Post subject:
TheHebrewHammer, So you want to find aa happy medium in rop tension...not to tight not to much slack??? _________________ A little part of me dies inside every time I see an $80,000 Malibu Wakesetter pulling a tuber.
Joined: 13 Dec 2011 Posts: 918 City: Lake Lewisville, Texas
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 3:50 pm Post subject:
Oh that helps a lot. Im a visual person. Heres another question I have...I was always told to pull the handle to my hip is this right? _________________ A little part of me dies inside every time I see an $80,000 Malibu Wakesetter pulling a tuber.
Yes. This was something I was taught go really focus on this year. That and really slowing down and focusing on doing things right. If you "pin" your elbows to your side after pulling the handle in to your hips, it really helps. _________________ If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
Joined: 13 Dec 2011 Posts: 918 City: Lake Lewisville, Texas
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 7:45 pm Post subject:
So you need to pin your elbows to your side, pull the handle in towards your hips, and keep the rope tight. Right? This will be my main focus and goal of for this year. _________________ A little part of me dies inside every time I see an $80,000 Malibu Wakesetter pulling a tuber.
Yep. To expand on the aspect of slowing down, this is basically the advice I got...
Cut out on your toeside to prepare for the HS W2W. Once you've cut out far enough, pause for a couple seconds and visualize what you're about to do (picturing the proper technique is good). Then, pull the handle to your hip, look at the first wake and let the natural pull back towards the wake begin. That is step 1 of essentially a 3 step process of the progressive edge. At that point is where I also hold my elbows to my side to help keep the handle in the right position. As you get closer to the wake, you can edge slightly harder, essentially step 2 in the progressive edge. As you are about to reach the wake, you should go into your hardest edge and stand tall at the top of the wake (push your board against the force of the wake like if you were trying to jump off solid ground). At this point your eyes should be looking past the wake on the other side so you are already anticipating landing over there.
If you do this in a slow, methodical way, it really slows you down so you aren't charging the wake and you will feel the difference in the way you gain control, feel safe and gain vertical height when you jump. _________________ If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
Joined: 13 Dec 2011 Posts: 918 City: Lake Lewisville, Texas
Posted: Jan 05, 2012 2:53 pm Post subject:
Oh that makes sense!! See i would cut into sharp and faceplant. Thank you so much!! _________________ A little part of me dies inside every time I see an $80,000 Malibu Wakesetter pulling a tuber.
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