How many wake surfers do we have here?

[jcyamaharider]

Myself and the wife love to wake surf! Added my ballast system this fall and bought an inland surfer tako board. I will post some pics when the boat hits the water of the wake after I get it the way I want it.

Here is my first time out with bags just laid in the boat.

 

[Julian]

Love wake surfing! I learned how much at one of the Shelbyville gatherings (pic below) and can't get enough of it! (oh...its the same pic as from my avatar....oh well....just bigger now! LOL)

 

[jawsf16]

Got a board at the end of last season - looking forward to getting addicted this year...

 

[Bruce]

@Backwash, this thread needs your attention.

 

[KXCam22]

Surfing is all we do now. Such a great family sport and low impact for us old guys. All my wakeboard and ski stuff gathers dust now. Surf on!! Cam.

 

[jcyamaharider]

Awesome pic Cam! I love that surfing is low impact also.

 

[jetboater4life]

I'm into it. Thinking about getting a long board for the wife this summer.

 

[Suchawittygal]

I bought a wakeboard at the end of the year last year, however, this looks really fun. Stupid question, how do you get up on the surfboard? it seems like it would be really hard without boots to keep you attached to the board.

 

[Rigger]

Have never tried before but I so look forward to it. Just bought an Island Surfer Squirt a few weeks ago. Now it's time to outfit the boat with ballast, an adventure I'll certainly be posting here

 

[jetboater4life]

I bought a wakeboard at the end of the year last year, however, this looks really fun. Stupid question, how do you get up on the surfboard? it seems like it would be really hard without boots to keep you attached to the board.

There are three main ways I have seen it done. One is to set the tip of the board on the back of the boat and hop on to it. Not recommended for beginners of course. Two is to start with the board sitting flat on the water with your heels on top of it facing the boat. As the boat pulls, you push down on your heels and then balance on the board pushing just enough with your legs to keep the board on plane until you are out of the water. The third method which I employ is a little trickier for the driver. I get behind the boat with the board and while the driver is idling forward get both my feet on the board similar to the positioning of a wakeboard, then have to signal the driver to go immediately because the idling forward of the boat quickly pushes me too far outside. As the boat starts going, I find I pop right out of the water. Personally I found method three easier than method two, and have not tried method one. Your best bet is to youtube some surfboard starts. I think you will find that option two is the most popular. Your boat doesn't have a tower which will make it a little more of a challenge. I would get a dedicated wakesurf rope that only has a knot on the end and not a handle. Most ropes are 15-25 feet long. If your going from a cleat or tube tow point then you might need less length.

 

[KXCam22]

The platform starts (method one) and stop are what we do when we show off to people. For beginners I feel that it is much easier to start in the water. We start with the board 90deg to the path of the boat, and with the board to the side. Then when you start the surfer cuts outside and the pull of the boat pulls him upright onto the board. I find it take 3 tries mainly because it feels odd when you get up so most people fall instantly. Once you get up once then it is a cinch. There are some decent youtube training videos. To get people comfy with the wake we sometimes start them kneeboarding on the surfboard (with rope). It is actually very fun. We even dual bodysurf back there (which is even more fun) but I am told that it is bad due to the CO from the boat engines. I have been meaning to take a CO reading at water level in the surf pocket to see if it truly is a concern or if it has dissapated enough by then. Its too much fun to not check. Cam.

 

[Backwash]

Its all I want to do. Very addicting. Started doing many years ago behind a Mastercraft. People never seen it before back then and were tripping. Its a smaller pocket behind the Yamaha but once you get used to it, can ride all day.

 

[Suchawittygal]

Very interesting. Thanks for the explanations. Would love to try it sometime.

 

[Backwash]

All the cool kids are doing it......

 

[Julian]

I find a wake surf start to be very similar to a wake board start. I too was curious how in the hell one got up without ones feet being strapped in, but in method 2 above, your feet get planted and forced onto the board, so you really don't need to be strapped in. The hardest part is to plant those feet and keep your heels hard between you and the boat. Once you do that, you just pop out and up. A good teacher (like @007 or @OperationROL and Jim Buck--on his way here I hope) also helps a lot!

 

[jcyamaharider]

Method 2 is the way the wife and I get up on the board. Learning how to get up on the surf board helped our technique for getting up on the wakeboard. Can't wait to get back out on the water!

 

[Suchawittygal]

I'm going to be essentially teaching myself how to wakeboard, never done it before. We shall see how that goes. Would love to give this wake surfing a try though. Maybe at one of our get togethers I can try it

 

[KXCam22]

Cheryl,
Thats how me and my family learned how to wakeboard. Comical really, but we went to the lake with nothing but a vague idea and a bunch of printed instruction we got of the internet. It worked. Learning to surf was much the same. Cam.

 

[surfer212]

We surf more than 50% of the time. Wakeboarding and a little wake skating takes up the remainder of our time behind the boat. My wife, both sons, and I learned 6 or 7 years ago behind an inboard wakeboard boat down on Norris Lake in TN and have never stopped since. Now we have the 212X with onboard ballast, and two additional SUMO sacks (900 lb and 225 lb) to help create more wake. My wife bought me a new Hyperlite wake surfer at the Cincinnati boat show in January - I can't wait to try it out!!

Chiming in on the start methods - we usually use method 2, sometimes method 1, never tried #3.

 

[ar240owner]

I like to surf