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

[Andy]

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)

[MJHSupra]

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.

[Turbinesurgeon]

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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[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.

[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.

[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.

[parrothd]

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.

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..

[Guppydriver]

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...

[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."

[parrothd]

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."

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