Help a newbi out, where is the sweet spot?

[jbgp1200]

Ive only been at it this summer and we seem to have a great wave off the back of our boat but I can not for the life of me find the sweet spot. 600-750lbs and people on the surf side. As long as im on the rope I can ride the wave all day long, carving the wave and pulling myself back in if needed. its fun even with the rope but I'm dying to lose the rope and I just cant do it.

I usually have my board about 2-3 feet off the back of the boat, but ive tried with the board damn near on the swim deck and as far back as 8 feet. Just cant seem to get it. My brother in law was able to let go for about 20 seconds and then gone. So i know its there, i know it can be done. Any advice?

JB

[kaneboats]

Move forward on the board.

Can you get some video to share with us? We can diagnose you in a second with a little video. What boat are you running and what speed and where's the wakeplate if you have one?

[wolfeman131]

Add your boat year & model to your signature so folks can give you pinpoint advice.

Just offhand it sounds like you need more practice and learning the "feel" of the weight shift that is required to keep you in the sweet spot (aka pocket). Easy starting place is that your lead foot is the gas and trailing foot is the brake. You really can't just stand there, you have to do a bit of work to stay in the pocket. You'll get it one dayu soon and think "that was EASY."

[wolfeman131]

kane & I must've been typing at the same time!

[08LSV]

First kaneboats is asking about your boat/speed/setup because if your wake is not dialed in it will make it really hard to see significant improvements.

Second wolfeman is absolutely right, it is much easier if you move around verses just trying to stay in one spot.

Third. Not sure if this will make sense to you but its how I teach people that we take out, you have to move forward or backward before you need to. What I mean by that is that there is a "delay" when you shift your weight from your front foot (speeding up) to your back foot(slowing down). If you wait until you are already slowing down it is too late to try and recover unless you are very comfortable on the board and vice versa if you are too close to the boat it is tough to slow down enough not to freak out when your board rides up on the platform. I recommend to most new peeps on our boat to constantly shift their weight front, back, front, back, front, back, front, back for a few seconds each the whole time they are riding. This technique also helps combat leg fatigue as it allows better blood flow and less lactic acid build up. Hope that is as clear as mud for ya.

[moombadaze]

I think my sweat spot in the wake is about 4 feet off the swim platform, just about strait back from the corner of the boat--also make sure your board is not facing straight forwards, you want to be pointed about a foot in from the edge of the boat on the swim platform.

to give some reverence

My typical setup is 750 port locker, 400 under port seat base-cooler removed, 400 in the front, wake plate about 3/4 in the bow up position and run about 10.5mph-boat is 08 LSV

[mmandley]

When trying to see the sweet spot look for this, look for where the water is dark and smooth shaping the wave. Generaly this should be from the peak up the wave right behind your swim deck to 10ft back when the wave is curling and starting to crash thats the end if the pocket. Now if you can see this its a > shape from the swim deck to the wave curl its wide at the front and narrow towards the back.

[lsvboombox]

Logon to inlandsurfer.com. they got a video on finding the sweetspot....

[rsinger]

I just started as well and managed to let the rope go this year.
1. My "sweet speed" is 9 mph or 15 kph
2. Rear built in ballast filled
3. 3 people sitting on deck on weighted side of boat.

This was a trail and error process. Make sure you're pretty balanced on the board. Too far back slows you down. Too far forward and the front of the board digs into the water for me. Finding the sweet spot in the wave was more of a feeling than anything. By feeling, I mean you can feel the wave pushing you and the board (sounds like you're almost there already). At that point either shift weight forward or back to keep in the sweet spot.

That's how I ended up throwing the rope into the boat. Feels great once that happens.