PLEASE HELP!!!

TravNasty · Newbie Joined: 13 Mar 2005 Posts: 16 City: ORLANDO

Ok here's the situation,

Just bought a Sea Doo Speedster (twin engine inboard)

I am 29 years old and have always wanted a boat. I live on a lake in Orlando, Florida so the weather is pretty good all year round. After buying the boat I saw some guys wakeboarding and thought it looked like fun. I used to surf and skate in highschool. I was never any good or took it too seriously. But I could do the basics.I went down to the used sporting good store and bought the wakeboard the guy behind the counter recommended. It is a Neptune 143. I have no idea what the number means, except that I think the higher number is better for a beginner. I am 6ft 195 pounds and in good shape. After I picked out a board the guy told me I needed bindings.....so I bought what he suggested. The are Concrete brand. Again, I don't know if this is good either. I also bought a rope. The board did not come with a fin.....are they supposed to have one? none? two? Then I bought a rope. My boat came with the big roll bar thing on top of it that you hook the rope to. I am under the impression that this is for wakeboarding. Long story short, I went out for the first time today.....I have a lot to learn. I got in the water and put my feet in the bindings. They were very hard to put in, but I got them on. I did what the guy at the store told me and kept the board paralell to the boat and waited for the tip to come up. Then I stood up and it worked! I was pretty proud of myself for getting up the first time. I fell soon afterwards, but I did it again. On my third try I started having questions on how the heck to do this. Here they are:

How long should the rope be?

Are my board and bindings good to learn on?

How fast should the boat be going? I think we were doing about 15mph

Does my wakeboard need fins? I think it does because the board was sliding all over the place and I couldn't turn.

How do you turn?

How tight should the bindings be? I think mine were too tight.....It took me and my buddy about 10 minutes just to get one foot out. He was pulling on my leg as hard as he could and I was stretching the boot and pushing on the wakeboard. We looked like a couple of retards and I was more tired after that than the actual wakeboarding.

I think that is it. I should be ready for the x games in no time.

Any help would be much appreciated......

wakerider1223 · Posted: Mar 13, 2005 6:57 pm Post subject:

I have never heard of the brand of the board or bindings, as for the number, thats the size of the board, 143cm, usually boards come with fins and I would recommend them for you to help get you started. As far as rope length and boat speed go, everyone has there own personal preference, I have my rope at 65 feet long, and go about 21 mph when i ride. Good luck and have fun!

matt_mobius · Newbie Joined: 01 Jan 2004 Posts: 24 City: Fenton

Hey don't feel bad most of us have been there.

To get bindings off. Grab the top of the board with one hand, other hand on bottom pushing(might need to push on the heel). Another hint to get bindings to break in faster is put them on and soak feet in hot water.

I never heard of your setup. You should have gone to a wakeboard shop for proper fitting.

DavidHoff · Posted: Mar 13, 2005 8:41 pm Post subject:

Welcome To wakeboarding!

TravNasty · Newbie Joined: 13 Mar 2005 Posts: 16 City: ORLANDO

Hey thanks for all of the great input! I can't wait until I get to go out again. You said to loosen the bindings when I take them off. How do you loosen them? Are your feet supposed to pop out of them when you crash, like with skis?

wesgardner · Posted: Mar 14, 2005 5:13 am Post subject:

Hey TravNasty,

Yes, when you fall (pretty hard) your feet will come out....With lace up bindings you can adjust that somewhat. However, your feet should not come out on every fall, just when you really nail it....

Whoever is driving the boat should give you a nice CONSISTANT pull, don't gun it!

You might want to buy the video "Higher Education" as it's a pretty good instructional from the very basics on up...

As DavidHoff, recommends, use your binding slime or dish detergent to help the bindings slip on and off. Some folks like to put their board on in the water some do it on the boat, whatever works for you is the way to go.

As you've discovered, start with the basics - riding behind the boat...at first you'll probably not be able to steer very well, it's done like steering a skate board (and surfboard) ...just keep at it

When you get a little better , you'll want to get a no-stretch rope (if you haven't already). I'm also not familiar with your board/bindings but don't be too concerned, there's a whole lot of fun built in to what you have.

Spend a bit of time looking around the forum here, there are a lot of talented individuals and a bunch of good info on gear, riding style, etc.

You yeah, others touched on it - boat speed - you'll want to work up to riding at about 20 mph, but do what you need to at first to be able to ride the board, if 15 is good, fine, stay there and get the feel of things. You can always bump it up... Later on you'll want to play with wake shape which is dependant on speed and weight placement in the boat - you'll find many discussions on ballast systems - the intent is to enlarge and shape the wake for jumping.

Wes

buckthis · Posted: Mar 14, 2005 1:05 pm Post subject: please help

trav, now why would a boat have a roll bar on it? Laughing

what everyone else said,
and put both of your feet into the bindings before you jump in the water

Murraywannabe · Newbie Joined: 14 Mar 2005 Posts: 32 City: Arlington

if you are six foot 195lbs then thats good and the number is for the centimeters and its the bigger the number the bigger the rider

nickdakoolkat · Posted: Mar 15, 2005 6:43 pm Post subject:

if it took you 10 minutes to get your bindings off htey might be too small, boot lube helps to get the bindings on but it does nothing for you when trying to get them off........I would go back to the shop you got your board from and try to squeeze some fins out of them because most boards come with them and they will definately keep your board strait.....hope this helps

TravNasty · Newbie Joined: 13 Mar 2005 Posts: 16 City: ORLANDO

Thanks for the input guys.....I learned another lesson....don't run over your ski rope.....It will suck up into your jet drive and you will spend your afternoon picking it out of the intake....ARGGGG!!!!

I signed up for two months of lessons at the local wake board shop...start this weekend...

nickdakoolkat · Posted: Mar 16, 2005 6:17 pm Post subject:

the lessons will definately be good if you could afford them

vawakemonster · Posted: Mar 16, 2005 6:40 pm Post subject:

I Wish there was someone who gave lessons on my lake for intermediat riders.......

TravNasty · Newbie Joined: 13 Mar 2005 Posts: 16 City: ORLANDO

I live in Orlando, which I guess is a big area for skiing and wakeboarding. So there are several schools, and lots of instructors. Correct Craft has its world headquarters here. The lessons are only about 45 bucks a shot. I imagine I will progress a lot faster than I would on my own. Well let's face it, I almost had to call 911 to get the damn bindings off!

Hyperlite23 · Newbie Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 17 City: Pearland

You will definetly need fins on a neptune, i tried riding one without fins and ate my stuff very badly, also the number is how long the board is in centimeters, and the boat should be going 18-25

wesgardner · Posted: Mar 17, 2005 4:59 am Post subject:

Hey TravNasty,

TWO MONTHS...wow I'm envious, you'll be way better than me at the end....yeah lessons are going to be very cool.

They (your coaches) may recoomend you get a better? set of bindings if you're still having problems...it may be worth your while to cruise over there and show them your set up ahead of time....

Good luck to ya, sounds like you're well on your way, oh yeah, we forgot to tell you about running over the rope Mr. Green

Wes

TravNasty · Newbie Joined: 13 Mar 2005 Posts: 16 City: ORLANDO

I am going to bring my checkbook and buy whatever they tell me to. I figure I might as well spend the money now on some decent equipment that will be safe and last longer.....oh yeah and make me look cool. I have no idea what a good setup really costs. I paid $220 for my board and bindings. I think I would be ok with spending up to $1k on the gear. I need to buy a new rope now, since my boat ate it. I stopped in to the Correct Craft World Headquarters. Holy crap! It was awesome. I had no idea how big this sport is. I am totally hooked!

nickdakoolkat · Posted: Mar 17, 2005 4:38 pm Post subject:

1,000 is pretty steep, you could get a really nice board and some bindings for like 400$ maybe 500$ but I wouldn't spend any more than that.....as for a good rope probably about 75 bucks................maybe wanna get a nice life jacket too, I would reccomend buying year old models, you will ususally get killer deals for quality equiptment

deneng · Criminal Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 88 City: femont

If you are really going to spend time in this sport i would recomend .
#1 Clean up the ski doo and sell it..
A. reasons
1. no wake, unless you get some fat chicks to ride with you.
2. I did the same thing you did with the rope with my seadoo, and spent 3 hours pulling out the rope. Like you I was very lucky the motor did not sieze 2000 bucks for rebuild.
3. You can buy a decent wakeboard boat with a few extra grand.
4. You will be able to do tricks with your set-up ,but your technique
will have to be very good.
Try wakeskating . I don't think you need as big as a wake.Thats what i use my see-doo for know. Don't want to discourage you. Your my hero ! Love that story ..You got the fire bro!!!!!!

wakerider1223 · Posted: Mar 20, 2005 9:32 am Post subject:

If your gonna spend up to 1k on new gear and stuff, make sure you look on ebay cause you will be able to find some awesome deals on boards and bindings.

TravNasty · Newbie Joined: 13 Mar 2005 Posts: 16 City: ORLANDO

Had a blast this weekend, got to go out saturday and sunday. First lesson was totally awesome! Bought a new board, hyperlite 3ds, and Liquid Force Sphynh bindings. What a difference. Also picked up a stretchless line. My coach has a Nautique, and I am quickly realizing that my Jet Boat is not good for wakeboarding behind. I was out on the Jet Boat today, harder to get up, and keeping a constant speed is tough for the driver. The lessons helped so much, I can't even beleive it. Caught air a couple of times and landed it. I love this sport, can't beleive it has been around so long and I never found out about it until now.

wesgardner · Posted: Mar 21, 2005 5:12 am Post subject:

Hey TravNasty,

Told ya so....you're hooked now Very Happy

If you're considering a wakeboat, take your time, try to define what you need and want along with a realistic budget. Go to flipsell.com and I know there are a few others I can't think of right now to get an idea of what's on the market and for what price.

Good luck

Wes

wakerider1223 · Posted: Mar 21, 2005 3:52 pm Post subject:

Awesome set up you bought there... glad to see that your enjoying the sport.

buckthis · Posted: Apr 03, 2005 9:01 am Post subject: please help

trav wrote "Also picked up a stretchless line."
i can't believe they sold you a ski rope for wakeboarding on your first setup