Wakeboard help

[kailec00]

My son is wanting to get into wakeboarding this summer. I have to admit that I have no clue about it. He is 10 years old, pretty tall and weighs about 105 pounds. How do the feet go into the board? He grows out of his shows all the time. Would I have to buy a new board every time his feet grow? I am wanting to do this with him and not sure if I could use the same board or not? Any advise would be great. When we bought the boat we had wakeboard tower put on it for this reason.

 

[solar7647]

Re: Wakeboard help

My son is wanting to get into wakeboarding this summer. I have to admit that I have no clue about it. He is 10 years old, pretty tall and weighs about 105 pounds. How do the feet go into the board?

The feet go into bindings the same way a snow board works.

He grows out of his shows all the time. Would I have to buy a new board every time his feet grow?

No, the bindings are removable and replaceable, but as since he is a beginner you can get a beginner package that has open toed bindings that are adjustable and will fit two or three differant foot sizes

I am wanting to do this with him and not sure if I could use the same board or not? Any advise would be great. When we bought the boat we had wakeboard tower put on it for this reason.

You can share a board if you are similler in size but by judging from his age I would say you arent. If you use the same board it will ether be to big for him or to small for you. The riders size effects how long and wide the board is.

Stores like bass pro, Dicks, Gander Mountain and Cabellas sell package deals that will have everything you need board and binding for about $200, other then that they are sold seperate and you would be looking at $400-600.

One thing to remember the package deals like that are not made for doing big tricks. So if you or him get to that point you will want to at the very least update to a stronger binding. They will run $150 and up but it worth it.

My brother and I started at the same time and shared a board, but he started doing tricks sooner than I did and he was using the bindings that came with the board and ended up ripping them off the board and spraining his ankle so he learned the lesson of the bindings the hard way

 

[brick75]

Re: Wakeboard help

As a start, read through these links to understand how to choose a board and bindings.

http://www.evogear.com/how-to-choose-a-wakeboard-and-wakeboard-size-chart.aspx

http://www.evogear.com/how-to-choose-a-wakeboard-boot-and-bindings-size-guide.aspx

You can get bindings that will accommodate a range of foot size. This will allow him to use them for at least a couple years. After he outgrows them, you could just replace the bindings (if he hasn't also outgrown the board).

 

[kailec00]

Re: Wakeboard help

Thanks for the help. It makes more since to me now. Guess we both have a lot to learn about it.

 

[solar7647]

Re: Wakeboard help

Thanks for the help. It makes more since to me now. Guess we both have a lot to learn about it.

Yea but its a ton of fun. Just dont give up if you dont get up on the first try and shake the falls of....Fall backwards if you have a choice a belly smake at 19mph hurts like hell.

I would also recomend you look up info on pulling a wakeboarder. The speed and stuff really makes a differance

 

[kailec00]

Re: Wakeboard help

So I am 6 feet 1, weigh 195. What size board should I get for me or is it just adult and kid? My boy is around 5 feet 2 and weighs around 105 give or take. What size does he need. How fast do you pull wakeboarders? The boat has a tower and will be pulled from there.
Any info everyone can give me would be great.

 

[solar7647]

Re: Wakeboard help

Well you are going to want a board about 57 inches long and he will want one about 51 inches long. He is probably big enough for an adult board.
You will want to pull between 17-22mph. It all depends on your comfort level once you master getting up and staying up. I would recommend you start at about 18mph.
You will also want to go out when the water is the calmest, early morn and later in the evening when the wind is low and the boat traffic is low. The more chop there is the more energy it will take to keep control.
You both should practice on skate boards. They have the same fundamentals as wake boarding and it will help you get a head of the learning curve because they turn the same and the stance is similar. If you have a street or drive with a slight downhill. You can cost down using your body weight to lean and turn the board, it is the same on the water.
It will also allow you to practice having soft knees. The wake board is designed to get air born, and if you don?t have soft shock absorbing stance you will get air born and you don?t want that yet. As the board is riding over waves and chop and as you learn to go in and out of the wake, you will want to absorb the shock with your knees as smooth as possible.
If you tense up and lock your knees and the board hits a wave or the wake its going to bunny hop and you will find yourself in the water.
The next import thing is to not hold the rope in front of you as if your where skiing but will want it close to your hip. If you where to stand as if your riding a surf board you would slightly twist your upper half and bring the rope down to about hid level. If that, makes sense.
To help you get up on the board remember, don?t let the boat pull you, forcing you to bend. You will want to create some resistance as if you are playing tug of war with the boat. What I found is easy for me ( I have a bad leg so it?s a little differant) is, once the boat starts to pull I lean back extending my body and using my upper leg strength push against the board. That causes the water in front of the board to build pressure and force the board to plan. I just continue that motion through my body allowing the boat to do most of the work, because I use my weight to keep the rope tight until I am on plan, the same way you would if your where standing on a ledge holding a rope and leaning back keeping your body straight as a board making the rope hold your weight.
Hope that makes sense.

Hears a video of me and some freinds I made laste years as we where learning; It funny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29hP6D-NJ1E



Here are some videos to teach you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT0O-HM--6M&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bjXtz2-bHM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkQhVeNEd18&feature=related

 

[brick75]

Re: Wakeboard help

So I am 6 feet 1, weigh 195. What size board should I get for me or is it just adult and kid? My boy is around 5 feet 2 and weighs around 105 give or take. What size does he need. How fast do you pull wakeboarders? The boat has a tower and will be pulled from there.
Any info everyone can give me would be great.

See my previous post above.....seriously.....all the info you need to make an informed decision.

Not sure where you're getting the inch measurements solar7647 (are you converting) because all boards I've ever seen are listed in centimeters.

 

[Dave.Mishchenko]

Re: Wakeboard help

I found the following videos helpful in addressing how to get and maintain proper posture. The guy is pushing a product, but the info provided will be helpful for getting a new user up on the water.

http://1hourwaterskiing.com/video1/
http://1hourwaterskiing.com/video2
http://1hourwaterskiing.com/video3
http://1hourwaterskiing.com/video4

 

[solar7647]

Re: Wakeboard help

See my previous post above.....seriously.....all the info you need to make an informed decision.

Not sure where you're getting the inch measurements solar7647 (are you converting) because all boards I've ever seen are listed in centimeters.

Yes I converted. Sorry should have said that.