Anyone wakeboard anymore

[windy1]

57 and flying though the air is still fun

[windy1]

one more of my son

Edited June 2, 2019 by windy1

[granddaddy55]

On 6/2/2019 at 9:12 AM, windy1 said:

57 and flying though the air is still fun

58 and right with you, I’m riding more and more ,surfing spoiled  me and made me soft in my comeback from a broken femur in 2015, any excuse not to ride including wiping down boat or any other excuse I could invent  or riding my skate ,

now as of just last weekend I can’t wait to ride, had one of my best riding days in years last weekend 

went to wake school in March riding everyday for 5 days at 9 am , reality gets you in shape to ride and really built my stoke !

Edited June 5, 2019 by granddaddy55

[hawaiianstyln]

On ‎6‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 10:14 AM, windy1 said:

one more of my son

Nice indy Tantrum form.  this is peak quality folks! 

[UWSkier]

On 5/13/2019 at 10:36 AM, Raimie said:

We wakeboard still, but surf more. Usually the first set is wakeboard while its calm, then switch over to surfing for a couple sets. The last few years we were contending with a lot of wind so it was better to surf than to deal with the choppy water on a wakeboard. Both are very fun to me still and I am just as happy with either activity.

I think surfing gets talked about so much more is because having a good wave is more important to most than a good wake. Most inboard boats put out a decent enough wakeboard wake for us hacks, but some have less than desirable waves which makes it very difficult to progress in surfing. I pulled some friends that were pretty decent wakeboarders behind my 98 sportster with only a wedge and some human ballast. They had no trouble hitting their inverts and spins behind that setup. Sure it's better behind a slammed v-drive, but if the proper technique is there, you can still make due with a lesser wake.... maybe just not get the height or launching out to the flats type air. Having a small or washed out surf wave can make it nearly impossible to ride, especially for larger riders.

I read a theory on another site that somewhat ties to this.  It posits that wakeboarding is partially dying as a young person's sport because the boats these days are creating a barrier to learning the sport.  The wakes of the giant boats these days, even unloaded, are advanced level wakes from boats 15 years ago.  Think about it.  When we older folks (I turned 40 two weeks ago so I count ) started wakeboarding, it was behind runabouts or DDs with tiny wakes.  You could learn to go wake to wake easily.  It forced you to learn fundamentals and got you comfortable on a wake that wouldn't necessarily kill you if you got out of shape on it.  Those DD boats could then be loaded up with more weight as skills progressed.  Even my Response with a single fat-sac, wedge, and fly-hi can make a decent wake for tons of inverted tricks.  Now picture a 12 year old kid learning to go wake to wake on a G23 or 25 LSV wake.  You can't mellow it out enough to make it not intimidating.

Not saying it's the only factor, but I'm sure it doesn't help.

Edited June 7, 2019 by UWSkier

[hunter77ah]

1 minute ago, UWSkier said:

I read a theory on another site that somewhat ties to this.  It posits that wakeboarding is partially dying as a young person's sport because the boats these days are creating a barrier to learning the sport.  The wakes of the giant boats these days, even unloaded, are advanced level wakes from boats 15 years ago.  Think about it.  When we older folks (I turned 40 two weeks ago so I count ) started wakeboarding, it was behind runabouts or DDs with tiny wakes.  You could learn to go wake to wake easily.  It forced you to learn fundamentals and got you comfortable on a wake that wouldn't necessarily kill you if you got out of shape on it.  Now picture a 12 year old kid learning to go wake to wake on a G23 or 25 LSV wake.  You can't mellow it out enough to make it not intimidating.

Not saying it's the only factor, but I'm sure it doesn't help.

Wife wakeboards but complains that our wake is too wide.  My friends won't ride with us much anymore unless I mellow it out.  I think you are on to something....

[windy1]

1 hour ago, UWSkier said:

I read a theory on another site that somewhat ties to this.  It posits that wakeboarding is partially dying as a young person's sport because the boats these days are creating a barrier to learning the sport.  The wakes of the giant boats these days, even unloaded, are advanced level wakes from boats 15 years ago.  Think about it.  When we older folks (I turned 40 two weeks ago so I count ) started wakeboarding, it was behind runabouts or DDs with tiny wakes.  You could learn to go wake to wake easily.  It forced you to learn fundamentals and got you comfortable on a wake that wouldn't necessarily kill you if you got out of shape on it.  Those DD boats could then be loaded up with more weight as skills progressed.  Even my Response with a single fat-sac, wedge, and fly-hi can make a decent wake for tons of inverted tricks.  Now picture a 12 year old kid learning to go wake to wake on a G23 or 25 LSV wake.  You can't mellow it out enough to make it not intimidating.

Not saying it's the only factor, but I'm sure it doesn't help.

This happened with first catamaran sailing then windsurfing. The sport abandon the beginners and intermediates. Catamarans got to high tech, fast, fragile and expensive and windsurfing started catering only to advances sailors. Kiting is hot right now but eventually I believe that too will peak and move on. 

Wakeboarding is past its heyday for sure mostly because surfing has a smaller learning curve with no eye popping face plants. I believe the downfall of surfing will be bigger restriction on wake enhancement devices. Its coming.

I don't mean to sound like a Debbie downer I just have seen this stuff cycle through over and over because people are always looking for new fun. that's a good thing. Their will be something after surfing.

[granddaddy55]

9 hours ago, hunter77ah said:

Wife wakeboards but complains that our wake is too wide.  My friends won't ride with us much anymore unless I mellow it out.  I think you are on to something....

Shorten the rope !

[granddaddy55]

9 hours ago, UWSkier said:

I read a theory on another site that somewhat ties to this.  It posits that wakeboarding is partially dying as a young person's sport because the boats these days are creating a barrier to learning the sport.  The wakes of the giant boats these days, even unloaded, are advanced level wakes from boats 15 years ago.  Think about it.  When we older folks (I turned 40 two weeks ago so I count ) started wakeboarding, it was behind runabouts or DDs with tiny wakes.  You could learn to go wake to wake easily.  It forced you to learn fundamentals and got you comfortable on a wake that wouldn't necessarily kill you if you got out of shape on it.  Those DD boats could then be loaded up with more weight as skills progressed.  Even my Response with a single fat-sac, wedge, and fly-hi can make a decent wake for tons of inverted tricks.  Now picture a 12 year old kid learning to go wake to wake on a G23 or 25 LSV wake.  You can't mellow it out enough to make it not intimidating.

Not saying it's the only factor, but I'm sure it doesn't help.

You don’t fill them at all to teach snd their really nice  no matter the size vdrive , my a20 wake with 700 lead for a crew and no other ballast is a perfect young kid Wake with a short rope snd 18-19.5 mph once they can actually ride 

[boardjnky4]

On 6/7/2019 at 2:08 PM, UWSkier said:

I read a theory on another site that somewhat ties to this.  It posits that wakeboarding is partially dying as a young person's sport because the boats these days are creating a barrier to learning the sport.  The wakes of the giant boats these days, even unloaded, are advanced level wakes from boats 15 years ago.  Think about it.  When we older folks (I turned 40 two weeks ago so I count ) started wakeboarding, it was behind runabouts or DDs with tiny wakes.  You could learn to go wake to wake easily.  It forced you to learn fundamentals and got you comfortable on a wake that wouldn't necessarily kill you if you got out of shape on it.  Those DD boats could then be loaded up with more weight as skills progressed.  Even my Response with a single fat-sac, wedge, and fly-hi can make a decent wake for tons of inverted tricks.  Now picture a 12 year old kid learning to go wake to wake on a G23 or 25 LSV wake.  You can't mellow it out enough to make it not intimidating.

Not saying it's the only factor, but I'm sure it doesn't help.

I don't really think that has anything to do with it. You can certainly get a 25LSV wake pretty dang mellow.

[kerpluxal]

1 hour ago, boardjnky4 said:

I don't really think that has anything to do with it. You can certainly get a 25LSV wake pretty dang mellow.

Also, if this were the case, why not buy a starter boat that will? People can still by a older boat if that is a concern.. And..  many others, including myself,  started behind an I/O so has nothing to do with boat IMHO.

[85 Barefoot]

because people that are new to watersports want a boat that can surf out of the box.  

 

I agree w UW's premise (plagiarized from Ball of Spray )

[shawndoggy]

On 6/7/2019 at 11:08 AM, UWSkier said:

Even my Response with a single fat-sac, wedge, and fly-hi can make a decent wake for tons of inverted tricks.  Now picture a 12 year old kid learning to go wake to wake on a G23 or 25 LSV wake.  You can't mellow it out enough to make it not intimidating.

I'm not "good" by any means but I like going wake to wake both ways and throwing in a 180 here and there if feeling frisky.  Went to the Boarding School last April and that xstar wake is so huge/long/intimidating (but not really lippy or vert) that it took me several days to feel confident enough to hit it aggressively enough to get any pop out of it.  I haven't wakeboarded behind a G or a 25LSV, but man I totally get what you are saying about the xstar.

My unloaded T22 with a crew of 4-5 and 150 in lead is plenty of wake for my skills.  Even putting the wedge down makes the wake too scary for my 49 year old potential corpse to hit it hard.

[granddaddy55]

18 hours ago, shawndoggy said:

I'm not "good" by any means but I like going wake to wake both ways and throwing in a 180 here and there if feeling frisky.  Went to the Boarding School last April and that xstar wake is so huge/long/intimidating (but not really lippy or vert) that it took me several days to feel confident enough to hit it aggressively enough to get any pop out of it.  I haven't wakeboarded behind a G or a 25LSV, but man I totally get what you are saying about the xstar.

My unloaded T22 with a crew of 4-5 and 150 in lead is plenty of wake for my skills.  Even putting the wedge down makes the wake too scary for my 49 year old potential corpse to hit it hard.

I had big thoughts with my new prop of full ballast wedge , pnp, and hit it , then I remembered what that was like the first year I got boat and it was like hitting a 3 foot garden wall!!

ive figured that 700 lead, driver , stock ballast and wedge is all may ever need 

theG23 wake definitely sends you even on novice setting snd a short approach 

Edited June 11, 2019 by granddaddy55

[theloungelife]

On 6/10/2019 at 11:47 AM, shawndoggy said:

I'm not "good" by any means but I like going wake to wake both ways and throwing in a 180 here and there if feeling frisky.  Went to the Boarding School last April and that xstar wake is so huge/long/intimidating (but not really lippy or vert) that it took me several days to feel confident enough to hit it aggressively enough to get any pop out of it.  I haven't wakeboarded behind a G or a 25LSV, but man I totally get what you are saying about the xstar.

My unloaded T22 with a crew of 4-5 and 150 in lead is plenty of wake for my skills.  Even putting the wedge down makes the wake too scary for my 49 year old potential corpse to hit it hard.

Also have been to the boarding school lately and experienced the new xstar.  Wake is huge, but like you said doesn't have a mean lip.  Took me a little to adjust but it forces you to have solid fundamentals.  Going back to my A22 wake after was wild.  Pretty much everyone in the crew is started riding .5 - 1mph slower and the wake still isn't as wide as that xstar.  Looking back it was kind of like a whip to force proper technique.  Wouldn't want to ride a wake that wide every day, but good for practice.