tips to free riding

[gus 08 mobius lsv]

ok went out on the boat today and it was the first time i tried to wakesurf. got up everytime with no issues so thats a huge plus but i couldn't get slack in the rope to try to free ride. i had the 750 bag in the back filled and the 300 in the ski locker filled along with a 250 lb and 150 lb guys sittin on the front left side and then tried rear left side and didn't seem to matter much. i'm thinking it might be something i'm doing wrong any help guys. by the way i'm using a cwb ride surfer. still had fun going on top of the wake and coming back down but wanna try to let go of the rope now.

[jeffrogge]

Riding the surfboard is much different that any other ski or board because you really have to lean forward. Most of your weight is on your front foot, more or less depending on if you need to speed up or slow down. Keep practicing you will get it. We also set the perfectpass at 9.8mph.

[kaneboats]

If you are a skier or wakeboarder your tendency is to have your weight back, way back. You have to lean forward 60% or more almost all the time (for me it's more like 70%). When you need to brake you have to lean back for only part of a second or "touch" the brakes just to break the momentum a bit. You also have to get a lot closer to the boat than you are comfortable with at first. You should feel like you are "catching the boat" when you brake. But, remember, brake just a tiny bit. Once you can free ride you should still hold on to the rope loosely for a while until you get real comfortable and can move back and forth in the wake. Good luck!

[gus 08 mobius lsv]

yes i'm a wakeboarder who is trying something new and played around with my foot stance and all that good stuff when i leaned forward too much my front end nose dived and the boat sank. i must say at 10 mph they are pretty soft landings lol! i couldn't get slack in the rope at all so i never attempted to let go of the rope cause i know what would happen. i didn't expect to get be a master at it the first time i'm just glad i got up with no issues it just getting the feel to the board and that size wake is very different being that close to the tail end my boat makes me a bit nerveous as well!
i never seen anyone at my wakesurf nor do i know anyone that does to pick their brain or invite them out to see first hand.

i guess i need to keep playing with the wakeplate and weight distribution with the people in the boat as well cause its new to me and not sure what a good wake surf wake looks like but thanks for the help guys

[kaneboats]

Look at the pics from the prop testing weekend. Good wake pics there.

[mmandley]

Hey Gus i just started surfing last summer two and spent the entire summer holding the rope. It was a bit frustrating but still a ton of fun.

I tend to like to lean back a lot two due to wake boarding.

Sunday i went with Al Cab to learn what i was doing wrong and see his wave. The wave looked a lot like mine as we ran the same weight.

What he told me was get used to standing on the front half of the board if your on a big board. 5.6 or so. Also keep the tip of the board pointed at the back of the boat. When your not paying attention you tend to let the tip point away from the boat and this pushes you out of the pocket.

Also what i really learned was the Liquid Force Board i have is all wrong for me. I rode his CWB Ride 5.4 board and i almost had free rope after only a couple minutes. Ride board was very responsive and i didn't have to lean to hard forward to make it speed up.

As for falling yea, surfing falls hurt fare less, and you can take more pulls, i generally have my hand or my legs finally give out on me lol. Now get up on the very top of that wave and fall backwards off it, that doesn't hurt but it can knock the wind out of you. < not as fun >

[kaneboats]

i never seen anyone at my wakesurf nor do i know anyone that does to pick their brain or invite them out to see first hand.

That does make it harder. Try checking out some of the info and video on this site. Good luck!

http://wake9.com/

[brain_rinse]

...when i leaned forward too much my front end nose dived and the boat sank... WOW! Seriously though, I have the same problem.

[wbarksda]

all good advise so far but I would try moving closer to the back of the boat while you get the hang of it, like right behind the swim platform. Also, don't let go or attempt to throw the rope in until you can ride with slack in the rope for multiple minutes at a time. It freaking drives me nuts when my buddies stand there for 2 seconds with slack and throw the rope in. Another thing is standing on the board, front back, front back, you can't just stand there until you get really comfotable or have a monster wave.

[sandm]

lots of good advice. wbarksda sums up tho, ride for a while with slack before tossing rope.. practice a ways back with the rope tight, put weight on the front foot until the board starts to go fwd and you get slack, then weight back foot to get rope tight again. do this a ton until you have the feel of "working the wake". then focus on holding the slack for minutes at a time, and make sure you are in the face of the wake like ed is above...


on a side note, ed, you're standing the wrong way on the board :)

[gus 08 mobius lsv]

yeah i have gotten on you tube and check things out there and read alot on here ...i know it comes down to just playing with it and see what works for me. i must say it feels a little squirrly be on a board without bindings but i had fun climbing the wake and come back down off it. just my competive nature to get better and let go of the rope. but since i couldn't get slack in the rope i didn't bother but this is my first time i will get yet this summer!! thanks guys for all the pointers and insight.

i didn't realize till i was at the lake i forgot to put the fins on the bottom of it so it was moving like crazy under my feet but still fun and something different!

[gus 08 mobius lsv]

on a side note, ed, you're standing the wrong way on the board :)

i thought something looked different there but wasn't sure

[cab13367]

gus,

Lot of fun, this wakesurfing thing, isn't it? You say that you don't know what a good surf wake looks like so check out the link below. This is on my 2006 LSV so it's the same hull as yours. I have a 750 on the port side, 400 in the ski locker, and the starboard side sac completely empty. Going 10mph with the wakeplate all the way up. I'm driving while standing on the ski locker so my weight is along the centerline of the boat. Only other people on the boat are my wife at 120#s and daughter at about 50#s.

My son makes it look easy as he is barely 100lbs and is riding an advanced, fast board, but note that he is generally pointing the nose of the board towards the rear port corner of the boat. As mandley says, you don't want to ride perpendicular to the push of the wave but rather, almost parallel. If you visualize an ocean surfer, he is moving left to right or vice versa even though the wave is coming towards shore. So it's the same principal when wakesurfing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBKcPO-qYcs

[sandm]

nice vid cab. son's got some skills... nice to see the younger set get involved in boating at an early age.

[moombadaze]

[quote=Ed G;96578]That LSV has no ballast nor will it ever have any ballast on the best side of the boat.

quote]

must be my LSV

it just might one day. ive surfed the goofy side a couple times with it and someday want to try it with a few more pounds added

[sandm]

well ed, you will be happy to know that I added the larger sac to the drivers side this spring so I will be known as an equal opportunity puller :)

[kaneboats]

I learned a lot about surfing goofy-- it's friggin' goofy!:rolleyes:

[501]

Surfing on your heel edge is harder then on your toe edge so make sure to be starting out on the passenger side if your regular.

The biggest piece of advice I give to noobies is it's not an aggresive sport like skiiing or wakeboarding, surfing requires a much more subtle and gentle touch. Fine movements with your weight and feet work best.

[jeffrogge]

Also, I blew up my knee a few years ago wakeboarding and had to take most of the summer off during my rehab I purchased an Indo Board it is sort of like surfing in your kitchen, then next year I was better on both the surf board and the wakeboard. It really helps build up your proprioception and helps improve you feel on the board. Just a little heads up.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-INDO-BOARD-Original-balance-board-roller-n-dvd-/200469013328?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eace26350#ht_530wt_941

[DOCDRS]

well ,heres another vid , take mercy as only my first time this year and about 6th time ever. water was 53 so i wasn't letting go of the rope. It was kevins first time. But 2 days later the bottom of my left foot was sore from leaning on it most of the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQkTvIlFjTw

[pjw]

i am 200 lbs and a very good skier but having trouble wakesurfing also. Does board size make a difference. i am trying to surf on my sons Ronic 4'6" board or is it my technique? I am considerign buying the 5'3" broadcast. thoughts?

[jeffrogge]

I am about 200 lbs and we have the inland surfer blue lake and everyone loves it.

[mmandley]

well ,heres another vid , take mercy as only my first time this year and about 6th time ever. water was 53 so i wasn't letting go of the rope. It was kevins first time. But 2 days later the bottom of my left foot was sore from leaning on it most of the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQkTvIlFjTw

Looking real good man, looked like that wave was pushing you along and you were able to speed up and slow down and lot lose it. At least not till you started paying more attention to the stereo lol.

[kaneboats]

He also figured out how to surf goofy on the other side-- just look in a mirror.

[kaneboats]

i am 200 lbs and a very good skier but having trouble wakesurfing also. Does board size make a difference. i am trying to surf on my sons Ronic 4'6" board or is it my technique? I am considerign buying the 5'3" broadcast. thoughts?

I go about 220. I can't surf at all on a smaller board. I have the larger Broadcast and can really have fun on it. Technique is important but a big guy needs a decent size board or you can't move around at all unless you want to lose the wake. Loved Ed's blue lake though. It's plenty big enough.

[sandm]

I'm 190 and a few :) and surf a drew danielo pro and have no issues with it, and love my inland surfer 4-skim. it's 4ft6 and slick as heck. real loose board and easy to move up and down the wake..

[gus 08 mobius lsv]

ok i know its only my second time out surfing but still no luck getting slack. anyone with a pic of their stance on the board how wide do you stand and your feet placement...does it change on your weight and board or pretty standard?
i do have a blast riding the huge wake but when i lean forward like you guys say the board nose dives and i go down. do you kinda squat down or stand upright ? btw i'm 180 and on a cwb ride.

[kaneboats]

You should have no trouble at all on that board at that weight. Try some of the stuff on these sites:

http://www.howtowakesurf.com/HowToWakesurf.jsp

http://wake-surfing.org/

[kaneboats]

Something goofy about that stance.

[gus 08 mobius lsv]

ok thanks guys hopefully this weekend i get some time to try it again and see what i can do!

[urban8designs]

it took me forever to figure out too. ha. i blamed the boat, the captain, the wake, the board, my 190 lbs, the ballast.

but i kept trying. usually at the end of the day just goofin off.

i have an lsv w/ the bone stock gravity 3 system. now that i figured it out, with just my buddy driving, his wife behind him, and the driver side bag filled, wake plate all the way up (as in nose of boat up), 9-10 mph, i can surf all day.

how? pretty much what everybody else said. it was a matter of finding the correct balance on the board and the sweet spot on the wake. big wide stance, legs bent, your quads should be feeling it. lots of weight on front leg. but not too much or the nose is going in the water, or you'll get so much speed you'll hit the back of the boat. ha. once you get it, you're basically leaning forward to get speed, leaning back to scrub speed. leaning forward to get speed, leaning back to scrub speed. totally different than what i imagined. i thought you'd cut into the wake, then ride down for speed, repeat, repeat. that doesn't work.

the last thing i figured out was the sweet spot on the wake. i kept wanting to be really close to the boat. but after a while, and after learning the leaning forward/leaning back business, i started venturing further from the boat. the sweet spot is right where the wake curls. ride that puppy all day.

once you get it, then you'll start playing with leaning forward, going really fast towards the boat, then cutting into the wake. you'll lose speed so you better start leaning forward immediately.

luke

[spoon03]

I too am having problems with rope slack. I have the 09 OBV with 750s in the rear and stock up front. I usually get the best curl in the wake at about 9 to 9.5 mph. What am I doing wrong? I have a CWB Ride and a Phase 5 Oogle. I'm 6'2' and weigh about 195. I have tried everything. Foot stance, rope length, boat speed, leaning as far forward as possible, still no slack. I am getting really frustrated. I bought the boat with the intentions of learning wakesurfing by compromising my slalom wake. Now I'm starting to doubt my choice in boats. If I can't get wakesurfing down, I at least want a good slalom wake, and the OBV wake is a little harsh in slalom. It's frustrating hearing everyone riding the "endless wave" ropeless. I consider myself to be athletic and a quick learner, but this one has me stumped. I'm mid way through my second season now and still have the rope. Please tell me what it could be? My board? The boat? Or just me and lack of experience?

[kaneboats]

Any photos of the wake or video of you on the board? We can usually help.

[cab13367]

I too am having problems with rope slack. I have the 09 OBV with 750s in the rear and stock up front. I usually get the best curl in the wake at about 9 to 9.5 mph. What am I doing wrong? I have a CWB Ride and a Phase 5 Oogle. I'm 6'2' and weigh about 195. I have tried everything. Foot stance, rope length, boat speed, leaning as far forward as possible, still no slack. I am getting really frustrated. I bought the boat with the intentions of learning wakesurfing by compromising my slalom wake. Now I'm starting to doubt my choice in boats. If I can't get wakesurfing down, I at least want a good slalom wake, and the OBV wake is a little harsh in slalom. It's frustrating hearing everyone riding the "endless wave" ropeless. I consider myself to be athletic and a quick learner, but this one has me stumped. I'm mid way through my second season now and still have the rope. Please tell me what it could be? My board? The boat? Or just me and lack of experience?


spoon,

As Ed says, it's not your equipment. That CWB Ride is a good board to start on for someone of your weight. Best thing to do is have someone record your next surf session then post it on here. I'm sure we'll be able to help you get free riding soon but we need to see what we're working with.

Al

[spoon03]

I think you are all correct. I just need some good 'ol lessons form someone that knows what they are doing. I personally haven't seen anyone ride without the rope other than in videos. Ed, unfortunately, I am in South America working right now. I get home right after that. That could also be the probelm. I only get out about 5-6 times a month and that's crammed into a little less than 2 weeks.

[spoon03]

Al,
As soon as I get home, I get a video up and all of you guys can give me pointers which will be greatly appreciated.

[gus 08 mobius lsv]

thanks guys for the input and advice. 3 rd time out ever trying to surf i got slack in the rope consistantly. when i was ready to quit i threw the rope in and rode for about 30 sec. seems like nothing but this new into trying i'm pretty happy. i think i'm hooked on surfing now as well as wake boardin! my girl took some pics so i'm gonna post them when i get some free time

[spoon03]

I told myself that I would just concentrate on surfing without the rope for the last couple of sessions out. I only slalomed one set a day and then surfed the rest of the days. Yesterday, after a year, I finally sarted to get about a minute a two without the rope. Today, I surfed half way around the lake ropeless, about 7 min. Needless, to say, I was stoked. All of the tips finally paid off. Thanks Ed G., Cab, and all of the rest and their input. You all were right, it was not the equipment, it was my technique. The frustration is finally over. The funny part is, now that I know what I am doing, I fall right into the pocket as soon as I come up and there is slack. What a blast.

[moto822]

hey guys,

I am buying a new LSV tomorrow and ready to start surfing again. I previously rode behind a buddies Mastercraft X14-v with a LOT of water. He had both Island surfer boards (woody and blue). We got ropeless-ness figured out finally after some struggles. I am looking for a good board to buy for myself. I am about 220lbs. would your recommendations be the two he had?

Any suggestions on ballast? I have the stock 3 tanks will that be enough.

[pjw]

i am 6'0'' and weigh 200lbs. I started riding a Ronek 5'6'' board for stability. it was a great learner board and everyone i put on it seem to progress well. As for Sac-- i use a Fat Sac 750lb in my LSV and only fill the middle sac about 30% and have wake plate up. speed 9-9.5 great wake!

seems to work for me -- the 750 really puts a nice wake behind it

[gus 08 mobius lsv]

thanks again guys for all the tips you've given its paid off very well for me and i'm passing the info on to everyone in the boat. here is a pic of my first free ride

[T_M]

I know I'm a little late joining this discussion, but I can't agree more with the opinions on stance, weight distribution on the board and orientation. I was running my stock 400 lb ballast in the surf side locker, nothing in the center, wake plate up and two 170 lb teens on the surf side. The only help I gave my son was that I stood in the middle with my 215 lbs in the middle of the boat while I drove to enhance the ballast. We went about 10.5 mph and with some coaching and trial and error, he found the sweet spot and had several long free-rides. BTW we were riding a liquid force 5'6 board and my son is fairly large at 6'5 210 lbs. learning how to maneuver up and down the wave to gain speed helped alot too. great morning!