Surfed for the first time last night

[walb0244]

Thanks foe the replies. We has never tried wake surfing before but my buddy wanted to so I told him to buy a board and we would give it a go. Planning on moving 400 more lbs of ballast to that corner. I didn't get to surf much. Figured since my buddy bought the board and drove a hour that I would let him try it more. I think right now I would rather have a shorter wave with a long pocket so more room for error. It feels weird being so close to the boat.

[walb0244]

Now for new questions.

Right now I am starting with my feet at the back of the board so it flips up once moving till I stand up on the board. Then I have to move my feet to where I normally stand once up on the board. Is this how you are suppose to do it or no? I find it really hard to move my feet to my normal stance once up on the board.

Also, my understanding is that weight in the front makes the pocket longer. when first learning is it better to have a longer pocket then to have a short tall pocket? I was thinking it would be so that you could have more room for error. I'm not trying to do tricks. Just to free board. I'm getting pretty close to being able to do that.

The front of the board dives under on us alot. We got a 4'6" Obien Alias. We both weigh about 160. Is the board too small. We werent' sure what to buy at first.

[kaneboats]

All right. Start at the beginning. You are fine for that board. It just takes some time. Stand down on the front for more speed and "TAP" back on the tail to slow it down.
The weird part about the pocket will seem more normal very soon. A little weight up front in the boat will lengthen the pocket but more weight on the urf side will malke the wave taller and easier to surf.
Just keep experimenting and having fun. You'll have it in no time!

[cab13367]

Now for new questions.

Right now I am starting with my feet at the back of the board so it flips up once moving till I stand up on the board. Then I have to move my feet to where I normally stand once up on the board. Is this how you are suppose to do it or no? I find it really hard to move my feet to my normal stance once up on the board.

Also, my understanding is that weight in the front makes the pocket longer. when first learning is it better to have a longer pocket then to have a short tall pocket? I was thinking it would be so that you could have more room for error. I'm not trying to do tricks. Just to free board. I'm getting pretty close to being able to do that.

The front of the board dives under on us alot. We got a 4'6" Obien Alias. We both weigh about 160. Is the board too small. We werent' sure what to buy at first.

Walb,

Start with your feet in the position you want them to be when you're up and riding, then press down on your heels to flip the board up right before you get up. That way, you don't have to shift your feet once up.

I would say, longer pocket and smaller wave vs shorter pocket and taller wave. You don't want to be ramming into the back of the boat.

You've got everything you need to start freeriding, you just need to put the time in and figure it out. I read about so many people that add a ton (literally) of ballast to their stock set up when they first start wakesurfing cause they can't free ride their first time out when what they really need to do is just put in the time behind the boat and figure it out. Practice, practice, practice. And don't be in a hurry to throw the rope in.

Al

[saskyrider]

Walb,

Start with your feet in the position you want them to be when you're up and riding, then press down on your heels to flip the board up right before you get up. That way, you don't have to shift your feet once up.

I would say, longer pocket and smaller wave vs shorter pocket and taller wave. You don't want to be ramming into the back of the boat.

You've got everything you need to start freeriding, you just need to put the time in and figure it out. I read about so many people that add a ton (literally) of ballast to their stock set up when they first start wakesurfing cause they can't free ride their first time out when what they really need to do is just put in the time behind the boat and figure it out. Practice, practice, practice. And don't be in a hurry to throw the rope in.
Al

very good advice.... the first couple times i got up i'd throw the rope right away.... then lose the wave... keep the rope until you can go a minute or 2 without losing the wave (at least) before throwing the rope...

Geoff

[jamie_abb]

Here's what I tell my kids...

If you have a surf rope, tuck the handle into your shorts and ride with no hands. If you fall out, you can catch the rope and climb back into the pocket. Sure beats having to turn the boat around every two minutes.

[cpatten]

This was my first weekend too, it looks like you had better luck than me. I had my 08 LSV with 400lbs of balast in th center, 400 lbs on the left of the vdrive. Wakeplate all the way up and 10mph on perfect pass. I think I am going to buy the 1100lb surf fat sac for this weekend. Does anybody have recommendations on this. I am also considering the 750-800lb size. I just think the bigger sac is the better buy. I figure I don't have to fill it all the way up if I don't want to.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qixGGY7rDIg

[wolfeman131]

I would say, longer pocket and smaller wave vs shorter pocket and taller wave. You don't want to be ramming into the back of the boat.

Ditto!

We had an awesome weekend of surfing with Mark from WakeLakes Surfboard Company (I'll post some pics & video later) and found that a longer pocket worked best for sharpening technique and getting new riders started. We got 3 out of 4 people started & free riding by the end of the weekend. One was a 13 yr old boy, a 15 yr old boy and a 70 yr old Great-grandfather!

[walb0244]

This was my first weekend too, it looks like you had better luck than me. I had my 08 LSV with 400lbs of balast in th center, 400 lbs on the left of the vdrive. Wakeplate all the way up and 10mph on perfect pass. I think I am going to buy the 1100lb surf fat sac for this weekend. Does anybody have recommendations on this. I am also considering the 750-800lb size. I just think the bigger sac is the better buy. I figure I don't have to fill it all the way up if I don't want to.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qixGGY7rDIg

I don't understand why your wave looks like it does. I used stock ballast and have a pretty good wave that the top rolls. It is a pretty good wave I think. The wave on my drivers side of the boat is better. I am trying to learn to surf on the passenger side so maybe it will improve my wakeboarding switch. I don't see why you would have to upgrade yoru ballast right off the bat. There are vids on here where guys are surfing freeboard with no ballast at all. Don't focus so much on the ballast at first.

Here's what I tell my kids...

If you have a surf rope, tuck the handle into your shorts and ride with no hands. If you fall out, you can catch the rope and climb back into the pocket. Sure beats having to turn the boat around every two minutes.

I don't have a surf rope yet. Is there a cheap place to buy a surf rope. The rope that I have is a kneeboard rope that I had. It has the little handle on it to do body wraps. Well the handle had all the foam coming off so I cut the rope so that the 15" handle is gone but I still have the little handle from where you do body wraps. It was free and works. I really need to get a wakesurf rope tho.

[bergermaister]

Cpatten-

I'd go with the 1100 bag - they don't cost much more. My boat is older and the rear storage compartments are a bit smaller than the newer boats. I have a 400 on each side for wakeboarding that fit fine. I've stuffed my 750 on one side and it works, has room to spare side-to-side and top-to-bottom, but is a bit too long to fit perfectly.

I just got an 1100 bag a few weeks ago and I can fill out my rear compartment even more, but still have the problem with the length so I'm not getting it quite full. However I'm getting more weight since the 1100 is 24x24x50 compared to the 750 that is 20x20x50. It basically conforms to the space that you have so I'm guessing I'm getting it around 90% full which is plenty.

My $.02 is to go with the bigger bag - if it feels like too much you can always opt to not fill it all the way. A smaller bag may leaving you wanting more in a very short timeframe.