What does "wake transition" really mean?

Wakeboarder3780

I've heard this a couple times in reference to a particular boats wake. They will say something like "it has a nicer transition". I always assumed it just meant a bigger landing area (wide wave). Is this accurate? If it only deals with wake width then a "nicer transition" would be subjective. Let me know what you think.

ctgretzky99 · Posted: Aug 10, 2010 7:38 am Post subject:

In for the answer from someone more knowledgeable than me. I had thought is refers to how quickly the washed out wake on the landing side cleans up after you pause for a moment before jumping to that side.

Hopefully someone who really knows can answer us both.

AaronATX · Outlaw Joined: 17 Jun 2010 Posts: 136 City: Austin

i always though transition had to do with the steepness of the wake and the curve that connects the horizontal portion of the wake to the vertical portion. at least that's kind of what a transition is with a quarter pipe for like skateboarding or snowboarding Question

LFADAM · Posted: Aug 10, 2010 9:03 am Post subject:

AaronATX, yea thats pretty much it. Basically the transition is the steepness and length of the wake between just inside the boat spray, through the trough, and up the wake. Short transition means you are cutting in, go through the boat spray then all of a sudden you are in the air, like hitting a brick wall of a wake. long transition is like an Xstar where you start riding up the wake just inside the boat spray and are cutting up the gradual slope for what seems like 20 seconds before you hit the lip. So transition is related to landing zones as a wake with a long transition will have a big landing zone vs a short wake you will either hit the tiny window of the downslope or you will land it the trough/flats.

ctgretzky99 · Posted: Aug 10, 2010 9:11 am Post subject:

Thanks LFA

AaronATX · Outlaw Joined: 17 Jun 2010 Posts: 136 City: Austin

Wakeboarder3780 · Posted: Aug 11, 2010 3:41 am Post subject:

So the transition is the distance (width if you think like me) from the tip of the wake down into the trough. In other words the width of the "effective wake" - whether it be popping or landing.

If that's right then thanks for the clarification Smile

Wakebrad · Ladies Man Joined: 11 Dec 2003 Posts: 12257 City: Dallas

Adam got it. For spins I prefer a ramp, for inverts I prefer a wall..

brichter14 · Addict Joined: 27 Apr 2008 Posts: 705

and if you find one in between a wall and a ramp, you can do inverts with spins!