Wakeboard more please! Even if you think it's too gnarly...

A lot of people are just surfing now and not wakeboarding at all. Or they started out wakeboarding then switched to surfing and leave the wakeboard on the rack or garage. Obviously, I think you should do whatever you want. You all have a lot of reasons why you surf and don't wakeboard which is totally fine, I'm not going to give someone a hard time or call them a wuss because they want to surf instead of wakeboard. But, one of the reasons I hear though is that wakeboarding is just too scary and your aging body can't take the slams (I'm paraphrasing).
I want to encourage you to still get on on the board though but just change the way you ride.
I wrote this on the Moomba/Supra Facebook group, but I thought I'd post it here too.

I know when you're starting out, people don't want to ride the biggest wake because it's scary but I think speed and rope length make a bigger difference in how gnarly it is. If you have a longer distance to gap (wake to wake) plus higher boat speeds, you can get really peeling across the water. I think you should ride with full ballast or at least most of it and just slow down to like 18/19 or even slower as long as the wake is clean and you're not dragging too slow in the water. Too slow and you're going to get a really sloppy release off the wake which makes things more difficult. Then ride at the shortest rope length you have. Speed is what really hurts, but if you're concentrating on straight up and down pop those falls typically aren't too bad. It's way easier to ride a big wake as far as trying to get pop because you work way less to get it. It's more like riding up a ramp as opposed to loading your board and dealing with more line tension.
Having said that, you need to learn how to handle more line tension and loading your board to progress but starting by cruising off a big wake is fun and easier than trying to clear wake to wake on a wide small wake.
If you're still really scared you can also lengthen the rope to full length so there's no way you'll be going wake to wake. That way you're just jumping a single wake without having to worry about coming up short and casing into the other wake. You don't want to stay at this stage forever though, because that wake to wake landing is the good smooth feeling you're after.
As for weight placement, if you're not going full 100% then I'd definitely side on a heavier bow. Heavier rear weight make the wake a lot steeper. A longer mellow wake (even bigger) is a lot more predictable and comfortable than slamming into a vert wall. It's less abrupt and you can focus more popping at the top of the wake and keeping your board in control. You can always steepen the wake as you progress to your preference.

I know many of you know all this, but I see so many awesome boats on this forum with so much wakeboard potential and I think many of you are missing out on what wakeboarding can give you. Ya, surfing is fun but it's just not going to give you the feeling that wakeboarding potentially can. Once you string together a line of tricks back to back on a wakeboard pass... I'm sorry but no amount of surface 360s are going to feel like that.

I'm not hating just trying to encourage you all to not give up on wakeboarding (no matter how old you are)

We love to wake board. Kids and the kid's friends love it too. I heavily encourage them to ride. We are probably 75/25 for wake board vs surfing.

I switched from wakeboard to surf. 2 reasons. 1. It’s super hard to find good clean water in AZ, it’s so rough it make it much less enjoyable and 2. I broke a rib a few summers ago wakeboarding.

I really did enjoy wakeboarding but I guess I never got good at it so it was an easy switch to go to surfing. I do sometimes miss it though. I really think your advice is pretty good and may motivate me to do a little wakeboarding again this summer.


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Even if you don't want to jump, it's still fun to play around on the wake and pretend it's a little quarter pipe with re-entries. You can get way more aggressive with your turns and slash the wake so much harder then you can on a surfboard. You can ride doubles with a partner and have a game of "WAKE". You can also whip out on turns and do some surface/butter tricks. You can find junk near the shore to ollie over. There's a lot you can do on a wakeboard that you just can't really do on a surfboard. Just because you don't want to chuck mobes and 9s doesn't mean you shouldn't go for a rip.

I also don’t like to be strapped into the board with the bindings, more potential for injury. Wakeboarding is cool but more of a younger mans game to me.

gave it up and donated my board when we left wisconsin in '17. for me at 52 it's more about costs. 100% correct that one doesn't need to get big air or spins BUT catching an edge on a board can lead to broken or torn stuffs soooo much more than surfing ever will. I'd MUCH rather put 3k into our house, trip or some new toy than pay my insurance deductible for hospital care from that frontside edge. not sure how many on here are as old as I am but I have def. noticed a change in the old bod over the last 2 years than the last 30 and even while working on our last flip and current house I find myself farming out a few more tasks each year from having more birthdays.

I have NO issues towing a boarder and seeing someone throw down inverts is fun to watch but for us, surfing is where it's at and a board will not ever be in our garage racks again.

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Originally Posted by sandm

gave it up and donated my board when we left wisconsin in '17. for me at 52 it's more about costs. 100% correct that one doesn't need to get big air or spins BUT catching an edge on a board can lead to broken or torn stuffs soooo much more than surfing ever will. I'd MUCH rather put 3k into our house, trip or some new toy than pay my insurance deductible for hospital care from that frontside edge. not sure how many on here are as old as I am but I have def. noticed a change in the old bod over the last 2 years than the last 30 and even while working on our last flip and current house I find myself farming out a few more tasks each year from having more birthdays.

I have NO issues towing a boarder and seeing someone throw down inverts is fun to watch but for us, surfing is where it's at and a board will not ever be in our garage racks again.

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My friends goaded me into doing my last wakeboard set ever a few seasons back. Took some easy wake 2 wakes, then on the last jump I messed up and ended up facing backwards, but landed and then proceeded to catch the edge. I felt every bone in my spine separating like a whip then smacked the back of my head on the water. Wakeboarding is truly a young and dumb person sport, tore my acl, broken ribs and numerous concussions. You don't realize this till you're older.. lol...

I'll bust out the wakeskate every now and then, we also been riding the homemade wooden disk, loads of fun..

My heart loves this thread...

My 49 y/o knees, back, and shoulders...not so much.

I have to be somewhat physically apt to do my job, having a surgery would put me out 6 months at 60% pay. That's why I ski mainly green runs anymore...

I am 43 and agree, wakeboarding to me is way more fun the surfing could ever be. The key is to progress properly and get training. I started taking real lessons 3 years ago and my riding has vastly improved. Landed my first invert 2 days before my 43rd, then learned another and am now working on a third. I get it people don't want to get hurt, but highly doubt they really ever took it serious, most likely just full huck and pray if I was guessing. I disagree that this is young and dumb sport, my retired neighbors still strap in at least once a week to do exactly what Andy said, they have fun! Strap in, stay healthy.

The old saying "You don't stop moving because you get old, you get old because you stop moving."

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Originally Posted by KnoxMojo

I am 43 and agree, wakeboarding to me is way more fun the surfing could ever be. The key is to progress properly and get training. I started taking real lessons 3 years ago and my riding has vastly improved. Landed my first invert 2 days before my 43rd, then learned another and am now working on a third. I get it people don't want to get hurt, but highly doubt they really ever took it serious, most likely just full huck and pray if I was guessing. I disagree that this is young and dumb sport, my retired neighbors still strap in at least once a week to do exactly what Andy said, they have fun! Strap in, stay healthy.

The old saying "You don't stop moving because you get old, you get old because you stop moving."

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LOL. I said those same things when 43..lol

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Originally Posted by parrothd

LOL. I said those same things when 43..lol

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You said your neighbors are still wakeboarding in retirement, they're over 60, so that's cool....I also keep myself in great shape and stretch a lot, because I absolutely love riding.

My knees, my back, my neck, shoulders....that’s a no-go on Wakeboarding anymore..Surfing is the only way to go 8-)

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Originally Posted by Andy

I wrote this on the Moomba/Supra Facebook group, but I thought I'd post it here too.
you can get really peeling across the water.

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What's the link? Can't find it.

You guys wanna know the key? Don’t have bad wrecks.


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I'm 40 and still love to wakeboard. I finally broke down and bought a couple of surfboards last year and will give it a go once the water turns to crap, but it is not the same. Even my pops at 66 still loves to wakeboard.
I did take a good slam toward the end of last year, but got back out the next weekend and was a little timid the first run.

I couldn't agree more! I wakeboarded competitively in the early 2000's and slowly let it slip away. We started surfing a lot in the 2010 era. When I bought the Moomba in '18 (my first new - or even newer than 20 years old - boat) at 33 I vouched to do it justice and started focusing on wakeboarding again. The newer tech in the boat helps. my friends still think I'm crazy and I'm one of 3 people who have ever been on a rope longer than 15' behind my boat.

Wakeboarding has been my motivation to get in shape over the last few years, changing my lifestyle (well not completely, lol) and dropping 40lbs (and counting). I'm up early on lake weekends for that butter and drink less through the afternoon hoping to get that sunset shred on. I won't be so dramatic to say wakeboarding saved my life or anything, but it sure has made it better!

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Originally Posted by Andy

Even if you don't want to jump, it's still fun to play around on the wake and pretend it's a little quarter pipe with re-entries. You can get way more aggressive with your turns and slash the wake so much harder then you can on a surfboard. You can ride doubles with a partner and have a game of "WAKE". You can also whip out on turns and do some surface/butter tricks. You can find junk near the shore to ollie over. There's a lot you can do on a wakeboard that you just can't really do on a surfboard. Just because you don't want to chuck mobes and 9s doesn't mean you shouldn't go for a rip.

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^^^^ This 100%

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Originally Posted by Bch53211

I also don’t like to be strapped into the board with the bindings, more potential for injury. Wakeboarding is cool but more of a younger mans game to me.

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How old are you? I'll be 49 in July and I never got to the stage of doing any kinda inverts, but when the water delivers, there's no possible way that surfing can compare. I mean, yeah, we've surfed when the water was still glass, but it doesn't change surfing much at all. But even just going straight on a wakeboard and sliding the smooth buttery water takes me to a special place.

And even a little bit of air is amazing... that feeling of flying is something that surf will never give me. (though since this pic I wear a helmet and a knee brace for protection).

https://i.imgur.com/ZSa8L3y.jpg

We're new to surfing (last year) and only getting into it because it's the only thing you can do on Sunday afternoon's chop (on or new to us small lake), but this 41 year old and two teenagers will be be doing a whole lot of wakebording and skiing in the mornings. You are right, nothing beats the thrill and speed, but there's also something about spending an afternoon on the boat with a bunch of pips cheering and laughing at kids falling in the water at 10 mph. Plus when you have guests everyone is willing to give it a shot = more laughs.

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Originally Posted by dakota4ce

You guys wanna know the key? Don’t have bad wrecks.


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This is the answer - don’t need insurance either just don’t get sick or have a crash

Too funny. Us waterskiers said the same thing of wakeboarders. Things change.

Im 25 and this Is my first boat ever really, will only be surfing, motorcycle dislocated my shoulder pretty nice and now every time I hit the water my shoulder decides to leave the chat. Life jacket does a great job isolating the shoulder so it gets a nice push haha

But will absolutely pull anyone who wants to wake board if that helps! Actually a little nervous about even hitting the water surfing with a life jacket.

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Originally Posted by zabooda

Too funny. Us waterskiers said the same thing of wakeboarders. Things change.

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This! For a decade it seemed like we were the only people that skied anymore. I will say though, in the last couple of years, there seems to be more waterskiers than wakeboarders in our area.

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Originally Posted by zabooda

Too funny. Us waterskiers said the same thing of wakeboarders. Things change.

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At least wakeboarding still took a high level of skill, commitment, and training; similar to waterskiing. There is also the higher risk for injury in skiing and wakeboarding. Surfing is so ow risk it is just boring in my opinion. Boring to do and boring to watch, but to each their own and do what makes you happy. I do get kind of sad when I see the posts of the little ones wakesurfing. I understand if you are old and don't want to take a hard fall, but at least teach them to get up on skis and a wakeboard. Just my two cents.

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Originally Posted by mgswake

I understand if you are old and don't want to take a hard fall, but at least teach them to get up on skis and a wakeboard. Just my two cents.

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I agree with this. we don't have kids but if we did they would all know how to slalom and board.

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Originally Posted by mgswake

At least wakeboarding still took a high level of skill, commitment, and training; similar to waterskiing. There is also the higher risk for injury in skiing and wakeboarding. Surfing is so ow risk it is just boring in my opinion. Boring to do and boring to watch, but to each their own and do what makes you happy. I do get kind of sad when I see the posts of the little ones wakesurfing. I understand if you are old and don't want to take a hard fall, but at least teach them to get up on skis and a wakeboard. Just my two cents.

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Agreed 100%. I am 41 now. I have been wakeboarding since around 16, but didn’t have a wakeboat until I was 31. Tried my first invert immediately when I got my Supra. Not going to lie, I am not as flexible as I once was, but I can still get after it. Wakeboarding is still my first love and I do it every chance I can. I have gotten into surfing more, but that is just because it is easier to do with rough water. I have a 10 yr old who learned to wakeboard last year and my 6 yr old isn’t far behind. Clearing the wake with a grab, doing a 180, or going upside down is just so much more of a rush than a surface 360 on a surf board. However, I like the challenge of something new, so I can’t say that I dislike surfing. What does irritate me is to see these $160k boats with 10 people on them and one surf board on the rack. If you are going to buy a wakeboat, use it like it was intended.... otherwise go buy a runabout.

I agree with everything you said besides the last statement. People should be free to spend their money as they want and use their boats as they want.

If they have the money and they want to spend it it isn’t for us to judge.

With that said. Wakeboarding is first love and most definitely board much more than I surf. However, I am guilty of surfing, especially with newbies and my wife.


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