First time out soon- ANY POINTERS?

[Daboarderkid12]

I'm gonna be borrowing a wakeboard from a friend here soon. I plan on taking it out this week-end. I was just wondering if anybody has any pointers on getting up or riding.

Please reply, thanx

[CDawg]

When I started last year, I heard: "Let the boat pull you up" a hundred times, but it didn't really mean anything to me. It's good advice, but this is how I would put it in detail:
1. Start in a crouched position with your knees between your elbows and the bottom of the board facing the boat.
2. Assuming the driver is a nice person and starts you with a gradual pull, rather than yanking you out of the water, just hold on tight with your hands, and let the force of the water push the board back toward you. The bottom of the board will no longer be facing the boat at this time, it will be facing down and to the front of you.

At this point, make sure to keep your balance back so that you don't get pulled over the top, which is game-over (this may happen a few times as you find your balance point). If your balance is back enough, the heel edge of the board should be touching your butt, and the toe side edge should be angled higher than heel side. If this is the case, then the angle, plus the increasing speed of the boat will pull you upward, out of the water.

3. Stand up. This was the most important thing for me and what I didn't get at first: Don't even *think* about trying to extend your legs until your board is out of the water, and planing. Once it does that, stand up, allow your front foot to angle toward the boat, bring the rope to your hip, and you're boarding.

Good luck! Hopefully this made some sort of sense.

[iwannawkbrd247]

follow CDawg's advice and you'll be up in no time!

just as a little side note...when you're in the water, have the driver kinda idle/slowly pull the rope tight. this tiny pull forward will automatically get you into the "ready position" with the line tight and your butt pulled into the board.

and like CDawg said, don't stand all the way up until the board is flat and you're ready!

good luck!

[Wake2face]

you have to make sure to point your toes when getting up. This allows water to rush under the board and lift you. I suggest letting a friend pull you off of the ground for practice. Dont hunch over and lean foward. Keep you back straight and lean against the line when you stand.

[mcooper]

Hey,
I tried to wakeboard last weekend for the first time.
I've salom skied for years and am pretty good.
I learned to snow board last winter.
I'm 5 foot 9, 175 pounds so not overweight.

I gave it 4 shots to get up last weekend and was no where near "popping up."

I had the board between me and the boat. Driver pulled me ok. Seemed like I really drug through the water and the board fought the boat. I don't think I had my toes pointed.

What is the trick to this?

[River_Rider]

This may seem pretty obvious but I didn't have anyone to teach me I had never seen it on TV. When your in the water start the board vertical and when you have some speed from the boat taking off flip the board so its in the riding position. You may allready be doing this but it was a problem I had.

[n00b]

mcooper and others, there is no reason you could not get out of the water bar bad technique.

On the dock, or anywhere on land, put the board on and sit down on the ground, bring your heels tight to your butt, then curl your feet up so that you can feel the muscles tighten on the front of your shins. In this position (if held corretly) the boat will pull you right out of the water, as the board forces water down and under you, thus pushing you up.

Hold the rope and place your arms around your knees (or in between them, what ever you find easier) and get a friend to pull you up.
This will get you used to the idea of what position you should be in.

Only when you are planing on the water should you attempt to stand up.

Higher education and the book (get started) have detailed video's on how to get out of the water.

[ozwest]

When I was first learning someone told me to keep squatting like you're taking a (pardon me here) dump in the woods. Gotta' love friends. I have since then taught others the same advice but added on the advice similar to what has already been posted. The DVD series "The Book" mentions letting butt slide forward to meet the back edge of the board. This is much better explained visually but all in all if you remain calm and don't try to pull yourself up or stand up right away, you should be up and riding in no time. Have fun!

[Ride DH]

be a man

[DeloBoarder]

Like a lot of people, I learned to ski before I even had tried wakeboarding because the parents had skis already. I know one of the problems I had in getting up the first time I tried was that I tried too hard to push against the water in order to get up, kinda like you have to do on skis. After reading all these forums before I got out there, I realized you just have to basically not even use your legs until you're out of the water. If you push against the water, which is natural to do for a skier, then it'll just make force water around your board instead of having it push your board out of the water. I am just a beginner, so what do I know, but that's my take on it. Just sit back and dont push at all with your legs. Maybe that'll help.
Oh yeah, here's a helpful video that gave me a visual as to what it might look like:

http://ridecwb.com/2006/?mod=video

Watch the "Basic start video"
Well, just have fun and keep riding.

[kool_wakeboarder]

Instead of letting the boat pull you up try pulling yourself up. For some reason it helped me