Hangin Ten on a wakeskate

[Rugburn]

I saw awhile ago on Nitro Circus Parks Bonifay pulled out of his wakeboard boots and climbed on the nose of his wakeboard to hang ten, then to speed up and and jump off to barefoot.

Id thought Id take the less adventurous route and see if I could hang ten on a wakeskate. I kept creeping my feet to the nose expecting at any moment an atomic faceplant but the board kept holding as I worked my way to the nose. I got both feet on the edge and rode it for quite awhile. I even steered in and out of the wake. Never thought that was physically possible on such a little board. Someone with a physics degree is going to have to explain how that is possible to have all that board behind you and your toes hanging off the front edge of the board. One thing is for sure, Im going to try it again!

[Diver14]

This is from Learnwake.com

As water travels under the board from nose to tail it creates up pressure under the nose but also suction on the tail of the board. So, while the nose is being forced up the tail is being pulled down. This enables the rider to stand centered on the board or even a little nose heavy without the nose of the board submerging. A rider can actually take both feet out of the bindings while riding, walk up to the nose of the board and hang all ten toes off of the nose and the board will not go under at about 18 to 20 mph. You can actually bounce a little on it and the up pressure created by the water and the tail suction will keep you planing. This is a concept that a lot of riders aren’t aware of and it forces them to guard themselves from burying the nose by standing too far over the tail of the board when they can really just stand evenly.

Now the more you bend a board the more it plows or pushes water. Instead of the water freely moving underneath the board the water now runs into or deflects off the upward curve which redirects the water down. This deflection slows the board. A board with no rocker would ride or skim across the surface fastest because there would be very little redirection of the water but the nose would be more susceptible to submerging because there is no bend to force the nose up. A board which is bent to an extreme would push, plow or redirect the water so much that it would ride slow, however this board would plane the easiest because of the upward lift placed on the board.

Along with the plowing, upward pressure and redirection of water by the nose of the board the tail suction also plays a role in speed. A board with no rocker creates little suction down on the tail and the water running under the board releases better than a board with an aggressive bend. The aggressive bend on the tail creates a lot of suction which will slow the board. So, the nose bend and the tail bend both affect the speed at which the board rides across the water. The front or nose pushes water and tail sucks against the water.

[NCSUmoomba]

Yeah, my buddy Adam does this on his wakeboard sometimes. The first time he rode like that, I couldn't believe it. It didn't seem possible. Ahh the wonders of physics!