Losing control before hitting the wake...newbie help!

[Zito]

This is my second season wakeboarding (started late July last year), and at the end of last year, I was pretty much comfortable going w2w, and that's about it.

Unfortunately, I've only been out a few times this year, but I really feel uncomfortable now. I guess you could consider me a more of an "aggressive" rider, or at least I cut harder than all my friends.

So basically here's the rundown: I usually take a huge cut outside the wake, then slowly wait for the slack to be tightened and begin my cut. When I get to the point that I start bending my knees, I feel like I'm losing control and going way too fast. When I hit the wake, I either: keep my knees bent and locked, absorbing the wake completely, or make an attempt to stand tall and wipe out.


I also found it interesting that despite how far out I cut, it always seems that I have such a short (time wise) cut before I hit the wake. In all the videos I've seen, the rider usually gets...2+ full seconds before he/she hits the wake? For me it seems like I only get half that amount.


Since I can't seem to find my physical riding problem, I also have a theory that it may have to do with the boat that I'm riding behind. I've been riding behind a Boston Whaler 17' Outrage with a 115 HP engine (not a wakeboarding boat, but it gets the job done). I weigh about 175-180 lbs. Anyways - when I cut outside the wake, sometimes I slow down the boat enough to cause a ton of slack...and I'm thinking that in that time that the slack is being caught up, the boat speeds up since I'm not being pulled at the time, and I begin my cut with the boat going a lot faster than intended. However, I don't see this being that big of a deal even if it was actually happening.


I plan on going out all day tomorrow, and I'm probably going to focus on being less agressive, and take shorter cuts to see if it helps at all. Thanks for the help! I'm open to any suggestions.

[lake erie waker]

i ride behind my 19' spectrum with qa 90 horse mariner and my rope atatched to the "D" rings on either side of my motor. usually my rope drags and is caught up in the wash of the motor. i weigh 240 lbs. and i really didn't notice any really hard tugs when i got way outside the wake. I rode for about 4 hours today and most of the time was spent tring 180's wich i landed once the crash and burned when i tried to go back. the rest of the time i spent almost right along side of my boat and tried to catch some air. I really didn't notice a slack problem in the rope when i was out there but, i did catch some air and soon after my usual mouthful of lake water. LOL.......all i can say is that maybe the driver is adjusting the throtle when u r riding. try to keep the same speed maintained and u shouldn't have a problem.........and i found that a nice smooth cut to the wake takes alot of leaning just keep that rope tight and catch big air.........

[Wallrat]

It almost sounds like your cutting too hard too early. The whole deal with a progressive edge is trying to increase your cut as you approach the wake. Start with a slight edge towards the wake and increase it gradually, almost like turning up the volume on your stereo. You should be at your maximum right when you hit the wake.

[Zito]

Wallrat, after my friends were trying to help me out, that's the conclusion they came up with, too. So that's what I've been working on, some attempts have gone really nicely, others ended up in a massive headache.

It seems like I want to go into the wake aggressively, but I can't handle it...if that makes any sense.

Does the speed of the edge matter as long as it is progressive? Because the way I see it, an aggressive rider is going to be going faster into the wake compared to a relaxed rider. So with that mentality, I think I've been trying to cut way to hard overall, sending me out of control.

I should be going out today, and I'm going to try a much more relaxed approach...hopefully I'll see some success.