Issues with getting people up and out of water.

[walb0244]

I am having a issue with getting a few people up and out of the water. The board I am using is a older 142 cm board. One of the guys I am having trouble with is about 300 lbs. Is my board just too small for the guy?

[Hootreville]

Has this person ever been up on a board before???? I would think you should have no problems. I was well over 200 a few years ago and rode on a 143 with my kid between my legs.

[walb0244]

No. The person has never been up on a board before. He has plenty of upper body strength because I know because he can hold on to the rope long enough that it sling shots half way back to the boat when he lets go. Maybe he is just doing something wrong. I have a hard time knowing exactly what to tell people to do when I'm in the boat. Hard to tell what they are doing.

[kaneboats]

I use a surfboard and surf rope first; then the surf rope and wakeboard; then the wakeboard rope and wakeboard. It really works.

[walb0244]

I don't have a surf board but I could see how that would work pretty well. I guess I could shorten the rope up alot more to help at first. I was able to teach my mom, my step dad, my step sister, my brother, and my dad all how to wakeboard (or atleast start). Just every so often I get a person that I can't for the life of me get out of the water.

I had one guy that I couldn't get him out of the water and we kept telling him what to do. He kept telling us he was doing that. Well when he finally got up he told us what his problem was. He wasn't doing what we had been telling him.

Guess I'll give the really short rope a try. Got a old wakeboard rope that I will have to try.

[jmvotto]

learnwake.com has some pointers as well as youtube.

The book dvd set is good as well for drivers and riders.

Typically what happens is the riders is pulling against the boat and creating awedged with the board, if they point there toes toward the back of the boat the board will slide to the suface and thn he can switch into the riding stance.

[kaneboats]

Pointing toes so they don't push a wall of water is about the best advice out there. Some just never get it though. That's why I love the surfboard. It just slides up on top and ingraines the feeling.

[moombadaze]

if nothing else just tell them to stop screwing around :cool: and when you hit up to just stand up and ride---that actually worked for me with somebody--go figure

[Wake Master]

The best advice is to tell people it is like your sitting on the ground and someone is trying to help pull you up. You must point your toes down and let your but slide toward your heals.

Sounds like he is just pushing water once you do this it is very difficult to get up.

[maxpower220]

The best advice is to tell people it is like your sitting on the ground and someone is trying to help pull you up. You must point your toes down and let your but slide toward your heals.

Sounds like he is just pushing water once you do this it is very difficult to get up.

Actually, make the person sit down with one foot forward. Place your arm out and have then hold on to it. You pull them forward and make them use their front leg to lift their body up.
Getting people to relax in the water is one of the hardest things to do. Everyone want to try really hard and make work out of getting up. The more problems they have, the harder they work.

[Ian Brantford]

The Book has an excellent tutorial for a simplified approach. Plus, if you get the full version of the DVD set, it comes with an iPod-compatible version to take with you and show the rider.

With the Book approach, there is no need to be concerned about pointing toes or otherwise attempting to control the board in three dimensions. All that is required is:

1. Straight arms.

2. Allowing the legs to be folded by the water pressure, driving heels to butt and knees to chest.

3. Allowing the upper body to be brought forward enough to be rolled up onto the board... but not over it.

It's basically the crouching part of preparing for a deadlift. The problem is that all three motions are counter-intuitive for someone who is encountering a new, thrilling/frightening experience. The instinctive response is to push away and counter the rope's pull.

You can spot a failure in #1 by direct observation. If the person manages to get barely out of the water with bent arms, the effect will be significant instability, forward/backward or to the side.

Failure in #2 or #3 will have a visible symptom of a wall of wash in front of the rider, followed by letting go of the rope. Many people will deny even making these mistakes. Occasionally I grab a fender (as a marker in case I get left behind), jump in the water with the rider and observe from the side. Then I can point out what's going wrong, with denials being harder to make.

Mistake #3 (upper body) is a problem for anyone with a lower back issue or a big belly. In fact, the only complete failures to get out of the water that I have observed in the last couple of years were from guys with both issues -- especially the big bellies. It's a problem that does not seem to occur to people who learned while thin and then put on weight. Anyway, taking someone who's already got some girth, making it worse by wrapping a floatation vest around the midsection, and then instructing a "bend over" action is a challenge.

[tysonma]

The steps Ian mentions are excellent. I explain it like this:

Straight arms,
Let your knees collapse into your chest,
Pretented you have to hold a koozie behind each knee ( for some reason that sometimes helps)
Let the boat pull you up into the same position a catcher takes in baseball,
Once you are on top of the water (in the catcher position) stand up, which ever foot foward is natural, will naturally become your front foot.

I've also had to hop in the water to see exactly whats goin on. Sometimes you can get a better look and offer a different tip.

This is just what has worked for me in the past. Hope it helps.

[jra007]

I am having a issue with getting a few people up and out of the water. The board I am using is a older 142 cm board. One of the guys I am having trouble with is about 300 lbs. Is my board just too small for the guy?

If the guy is "3 bills" then give him a beer, put him in the back corner of the boat, load up all your ballast and do some surfing!

Seriously though, big guys always have trouble getting up from a dead water start. If you have access to a swim raft or dock have him sit on that and see if that helps. Normally it does.... since they are mostly out of the water and already in an upright position. All depends though on how athletic the dude is and if he as any previous water sport experience. The board should be fine, even if its a little too small, it will allow him to ride deeper in the water and allow him to track better. Good luck.

[badasshybrid]

I just started to learn to wakeboard. I had several guys tell me how to do it and I watched several videos on you tube. I think the best video was the one in the TRICK ROOM on this site, it was LEARN THE BASICS. I watched it and went out for the first time, got up on the 2nd try and getting better.

[BensonWdby]

I don't board - I am a slalom skiier. However I would make the following observations.

1. Have him be the first guy to go out and dump all ballast before you try pulling him. You can add it back for the rest of you once he gets it. A rookie does not need monster wakes, just wants to get up.
2. Try a shorter rope - using ski rope. A ski rope has a little more strech than the wake ropes and that might actually help??
3. I tried boarding a few times and got up right away- at about 220 back then. But the advice I got on starting was flawed, or I took it too literally. I was told to start with both feet in front of me - toes up. But no one told me when to rotate the board. So I was trying to get up in a side slide in the direction of the boat - as opposed to riding it out to the wake. What helped me with this is to understand that as soon as the boat loads the board I can rotate the board so I am not pushing so much water.

Different perspective from rank amature..
Dave

[its2ez4me2hr]

The easiest way for me the first time was to start with the board under me (standing on it in the water) and then the driver puts the boat in gear and as it starts to rise under you have the driver then take off normally. Only works if the person being pulled is big enough to sink the board under them but at 3 bills that won't be an issue. I was a trim 265 then and it worked quickly! Down to 235 just as a note!

[jamie_abb]

Check out the how to get up section on "detention 2012". They actually show how to from below in a pool I use my ipod and make it mandatory before I will even try it with anyone. Then we take a rope and shorten to about 25 feet. I will sit on the swim platform with my feet in the water and hold the rope and make sure they get all the position right before starting the boat. I'm normally getting people up and riding on the third try. Sure beats letting out 75 feet and turning around 10 times or more.

I will also have my 8 year old get up and ride sideways for 30 seconds to show them how easy it is.

[walb0244]

Got a guy up tonight. He weighs about 250 lbs. I tried two times at first with him doing a deep water start how I normally do.

Finally I tried the deep water start like how mentioned to me on here. He stood up on the board with it under water. We put the boat in gear and started pulling. He was up on the water before he knew it.

Note: Problem was forgot to tell him what to do once out of water. Hahahahaha. J/K

[kaneboats]

Have to admit I have never heard of that and would be very surprised to see someone keep their balance using that method. Somebody please post a video of it. I don't think I could do it, much less a beginner.

[walb0244]

I think alot of people do this but they just don't know it. One problem I have is that people want to try and keep the board out of the water. As soon as the board goes under water they think they are doing something wrong. The bigger guys tell me that the board sinks and then they let go. Then there are others that try and keep the board vertical at the top of the water. Well then they are pushing a wall of water. Hopefully the video below kinda shows what I am meaning.

http://www.facebook.com/v/1357367856140

[mmandley]

I wish i could stand on mine when its underwater i cant seem to do that LOL.

Ok be nice with all the Fat boy comments.

Plenty guys are big and not completely fat LOL. No one be leaves me when i tell them my weight cause i have a lot of muscle mass. i have a good 50lbs of fat im sure too to lose but in any case LOL.

I learned to get up last year and i knew i did it wrong because i could only handle 5 pulls maybe and my hands and arms were dead.

This year i vowed to learn the correct way and now i learned it and i take honestly 15 to 20 pulls a day. Now these don't last for long as im trying to learn switch while im new and i fall a lot like last year learning regular LOL.

I only do deep water starts. I taught 2 new guys 1 big boy and 1 skinny mini this yesterday.

lay in the water relax. < teach this right on the back of the boat in the water >
< someone pull the rope as it was the boat >

Tell the rider to relax and as you pull the rope the board will compress his legs if he is relaxed.

Next tell rider when his legs are compressed by the boat pulling him slowly to pull the edge of the board just under water.
<instructor will need to push the board under with your foot>

Rider this is the GO position.

Now instructor hold the board under water with your foot and pull the rope.

Rider you can now feel the position in force and as this happens you do your sit up and POINT TOES FORWARD.

So in shorter form.

Rider Relax.
Rider Once the board compresses your legs to your chest pull the boards edge down slightly under water
Rider Point Toes forward.
Rider when ready at this point yell GO

Driver hit it man

Rider should pop right out and if they come over the front of the board they stood up too fast.

If they never come up they didn't pull the board down enough and they arnt pointing toes forward.

This link shows it all and i learned it and now i can take pull after pull after pull as it no longer wears me out from doing it wrong and fighting the boat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdeBWB2GdBY&feature=PlayList&p=CE55CE6816A8789C&playnext=1&index=14