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Advice for a 1st time wakesurfer


nemalibu

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Ok so I want to try wakesurfing. I found an inexpensive board and want to try it out.

I have a Sunscape 21 LSV with a manual wedge and no ballast.

1. Should I go wedge up or down?

2. About what speed should I go?

3. Should I tie the rope off at a length that puts the handle "in the pocket"?

4. How do you get up on one of these?

5. If I get this right I want to: a. get up, b. get into the pocket, c. adjust my weight on the board so that the rope gopes slack, d. then toss the handle back into the boat. If I can do all of that I will be very happy.

Advice please.

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Well for one you're not going to get a wave with no ballast. You need at least 500 on the side of the boat you will surf on, and bow and centre is also recommended.

Once you get some ballast;

1. Put the wedge down and see how it affects the wave. If you like it, keep it down, if not bring it up.

2. 10mph is a good start, then decrease from there or increase for a longer wave.

3. Make sure you get a wakesurf rope thats knotted, then just use that.

4. I learnt by standing on the platform, with the boards nose up against the transom, put one foot on the tip of the board and then your driver takes off, once at the right speed put your spare foot on the back of the board and shift your weight backwards then move to the pocket.

However, this is actually a pretty silly way to learn unless you have a bunch of experienced surfers with you. Traditionally I've seen most people learn the same way you wakeboard, just with one hand holding the board in front of your feet then the other on the rope.

5. Don't plan on going ropeless the first couple of tries, concentrate on learning how to surf, weight forward makes you go forward, weight back makes you go back.

Misc advice - learn to fall away from the boat and board haha. I've seen some silly women fall forwards and take the board into their skull. Not recommended.

Edited by TheKiwi
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Ok so I want to try wakesurfing. I found an inexpensive board and want to try it out.

I have a Sunscape 21 LSV with a manual wedge and no ballast.

1. Should I go wedge up or down?

2. About what speed should I go?

3. Should I tie the rope off at a length that puts the handle "in the pocket"?

4. How do you get up on one of these?

5. If I get this right I want to: a. get up, b. get into the pocket, c. adjust my weight on the board so that the rope gopes slack, d. then toss the handle back into the boat. If I can do all of that I will be very happy.

Advice please.

1. don't use a rope that has a handle (ie: ski or wakeboard)

2. see # 1

3. it really helps with the learning curve if you can find someone that knows how to surf.

4. wedge down, but you really need extra ballast to get a surf-able wake.

Edited by Cervelo
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Do you have any really heavy friends that you could invite along? Human ballast helps. Telling them why they are invited is not advised.

If you are serious about learning to surf then a ballast system is in your future.

I also found that when you start off it helps to have your surfer behind the boat on the side that he will surf on. Then he steers the board into the pocket as he comes up.

Good luck

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I think the best way to see someone get up on a wakesurf is to find a utube video. Might be a little difficult to describe.

I am at least 95 percent sure you'll want the wedge down with your boat. Learn to surf holding on to the rope. Try to maintain slack in the rope before throwing it in. Put pressure on the front foot= gas, pressure on the back foot= brakes. Toes are generally fairly close to the edge of the board.

There are a ton of threads about how to ballast your boat for surfing, here is a recent one for V-rides that have the same hull as you.....at least I think. Wakesurf ballast

Oh, and it is a really good idea to get a wakesurf rope that is knotted. A handle on a rope that is to long is dangerous. You know my daughter braided one out of an old ski rope....looks just as good as the one we bought.

Edited by Ruffdog
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3. Should I tie the rope off at a length that puts the handle "in the pocket"?

5. If I get this right I want to: a. get up, b. get into the pocket, c. adjust my weight on the board so that the rope gopes slack, d. then toss the handle back into the boat. If I can do all of that I will be very happy.

Advice please.

Make the rope just long enough that you are at the back of the pocket. After you get up, lean slightly toward the boat until you start to move toward the boat. At this point you have slack in the rope and you are surfing. Hold on to the rope, dude, you are already surfing. If you don't nose dive once or twice, you're not learning. :D

Play around with leaning forward and backward, moving toward and away from the boat (stalling). If you choke up on the rope or tie it off too short, you won't learn to free ride as you are always going to be leaning on your back foot.

5. Don't plan on going ropeless the first couple of tries, concentrate on learning how to surf, weight forward makes you go forward, weight back makes you go back.

+1 Keep the rope your first several times until you have a good feel for how much you can lean and how to stay in the sweet spot.

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Make the rope just long enough that you are at the back of the pocket. After you get up, lean slightly toward the boat until you start to move toward the boat. At this point you have slack in the rope and you are surfing. Hold on to the rope, dude, you are already surfing. If you don't nose dive once or twice, you're not learning. :D

Play around with leaning forward and backward, moving toward and away from the boat (stalling). If you choke up on the rope or tie it off too short, you won't learn to free ride as you are always going to be leaning on your back foot.

+1 Keep the rope your first several times until you have a good feel for how much you can lean and how to stay in the sweet spot.

All good advice here. I reccommend finding a good youtube video as well. A visual image will make things a LOT easier to understand if you've never seen anyone before you do it.

Something I do want to mention that I see regularly by first timers is they try to lean against teh rope, as if there wakeboarding. Don't! Your surfing not wakeboarding so you should be standing ABOVE the board not leaning back against the rope.

I definitly agree with hanging onto the rope the first few times. Get some slack and try to keep that slack as long as possible (by shifting weight fornt-back). That way you'll learn where the pocket is and when you do finally throw the rope you'll know how to save yourself from losing the pocket instead of relying on the rope.

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