www.iFourWinns.com

After quite a few tries and frustration, I actually got a couple of professional lessons for my kids when they were learning last summer. Best money I ever spent!! All it took were two half hour lessons each. They were taught to squat like a frog and just let the boat pull them up. Now they just pop up out of the water like a cork!

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Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

Man that is a great way to think about it-squat like a frog. I wish I'd thought to say it like that.

As for questions, fire away. I'm no expert, but I'm experienced. There are a few other guys on here who seem to know their stuff too, so let's try to keep some good wakeboard threads going this winter.

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

There are a few things that really helped me when learning to wakeboard. One was I bought "The Book" on dvd and it helped a ton. It is a 100 ordeal but you can ussually find it on ebay for about 60 for the set. Also I bought a CWB board with hinge bindings. Awesome board. Has molded and removeable fins. The hinge bindings help getting in and out of easy and CWB's customer service is awesome.

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Four winns 180 horizon

Ya those hinge bindings are great for beginners-very easy in/out. They aren't great performance-wise once you really advance, though. For anyone else following along, "The Book" can be bought in separate volumes. The entire 5 volume set is $100-ish, but you can get a single volume for $25-30. You don't need anything but #1 and #2 unless you are an upper intermediate to advanced rider. Many wakeboarders will never do much more than a 180 or a 360 or learn to jump the wake. The last 3 versions are for spinning, aerials, and really advanced tricks and stuff.

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

I was lucky enough to get a very cheap used wakeboard, which was well suited to my lack-of skill level. After a few years, some friends got intereseted as well. While teaching them to get up, I decided to learn a few tricks myself. We used this site to get a good deal of info....
http://www.wakeworld.com/TrickList/TrickTips.asp

And, if you are interested, One of my friends has archived the movies of us. In the first video you can see my greatest attemps at jumps, and even trying a 180.... all with hilarious results. BTW This was skiing behind my 18' Maxum.
http://youtube.com/profile?user=dirtybob3

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Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

LOL, I love it Walt. I wish someone had filmed me my first time or two out! That one where you jump the wake and then bury the nose into the water (followed by you burying your face into the water) was freakin awesome!

Not one to critique too much, but a few pointers to all 3 of you (in case you didn't get a chance to ride much/figure things out) to help you improve quickly:
1. Wakeboarding is all about the toeside edge and heelside edge. Ride either one of them as much as possible and avoid riding "flat" on the bottom for too long-it causes the back end to wash out if you have bad fundamentals.
2. Put the rope handle on your lead hip, stand up straight at the waist, and glue the rope handle there. All turns, cuts, and jumps are based on this. This helps prevent the washout and also keeps from pulling you over the toeside edge when you catch a little air. Avoid straightening your arms like you're skiing on 2 skis.
3. Keep your weight more evenly balanced between your front and rear foot. Almost all of you guys (and Dozzle more than the other two) look like you're riding a slalom. Perfectly natural if you come from a slalom background (I do, so I can sympathize). However, the more weight you put on your front foot (without getting pulled over by the rope or sticking the nose of the board in the water) the better. It will improve your edging and control a ton because more of the board will be touching the water surface. Leaning hard on your back foot feels "safe" so that you don't go over the front, but it is counterproductive to your improvement. It takes more of the board out of the water and thus makes it harder to control.

Good luck thinking about that while there is snow on the ground. Save until April/May.

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

+1 Paul...
I can't believe how much it helps to look at exactly what you did wrong. No second guessing... the video doesn't lie.

For all of you getting into Wakeboarding... I can't say how much a video cam helps.

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Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

Huh who said hinge tech bindings are for begginers . . . . Uh oh don't let CWB know, Alot of the pro's out there use hinge tech, I can't see how anyone would go any other way.

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Four winns 180 horizon

No I said they are GREAT for beginners. The point I was trying to make about advanced riders (which I didn't do very well) was that they have a tendency to stretch and break a little more often than the traditional lace-ups do. The pros don't care about that though. What do they do when they bust a binding? Tell their sponsor to give them another pair. Wouldn't THAT be nice to be able to do?

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

The awesome thing about cwb is there warranty is excelent. break a binding and it will be taken care of. It would be awesome to have a sponser and get free gear.

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Four winns 180 horizon

Thanks to all of the tips pet575, I was able to successfully get up on my board today. It took me a few tries, but I was able to figure out what I was doing wrong and get it corrected. Once figured out, I couldn't believe how much easier it was getting out of the water than skis.

I didn't try anything fancy, just getting the hang of front and backside turns. What a blast through.

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-Rob.


Current boat: 2011 Yamaha AR210
Previous boat: 1998 Horizon RX 4.3GL SX

Pet,
Thanks for the detailed post some time back. I have the exact same questions on what to buy and even how to do it. From what I read I have a better idea now, thanks.
Don

Older thread, but still very applicable. I just bought the GF a CWB board at Gander Mountain. Was only $200 with Hinge bindings. She likes the fit, and can't wait for her first lesson! Maybe next weekend, you know... after the water warms up a bit!

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Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

Excellent thread. I have printed it for reference this summer. One question I have is the driving of the boat when the wakeboarder is trying to get up. I have a 2001 Horizon 180 with the VP 5 liter V8 and 4 blade SS prop so I have plenty of pull. Should I just floor it or should I go for a slower easier pull out?
What is the recommended speed for wakeboarding once the boarder is up on plane?
Thanks Rob

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Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Overdoing
2001 Horizon 180

Getting a rider up should be done easily without tearing thier arms off. For me, before PP, it was: Tension, Throttle to about 3000 rpm until rider was up, then set and maintain speed at about 20-22 mph using hand-held GPS.
After PP- tension, throttle to about 3000 rpm. Done.

With some experience, you'd be amazed how quickly/easily a rider gets up on a wakeboard.

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Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.