selecting a wake surf board

[mraz72]

I am reading about choosing a board and it appears the selection has a lot to do with weight.

My question is, what are you guys doing with families, buying two of them?

The kids are a lot lighter than me, so I might get a beginner board for them, and I guess if I want to ride, I'll have to make do until I can afford another board for my weight

the weight difference between me and the kids is 100 lbs, I'm around 200, they are around 100.

 

[Scottintexas]

I was in your situation two years ago,
It depends on how much money your willing to spend,

A board bigger for your kids just means they'll have a harder time cutting and going up the face of the wake (more advanced moves). A shorter board means you probably won't go ropeless (half the fun of it).

I chose a 5''5" liquid force fish. I thought it was a good compromise for everybody to learn on. We can all go ropeless and have fun and you might be able to buy a used one cheap from someone ready to upgrade.

 

[Hana]

We have one board based on the heavier. It just makes it much easier for the lighter ones!

 

[mraz72]

so a board meant for a 200 lbs adult is usable for a 100 lbs kid? They get learn on that?

 

[buckbuck]

Yes, the kids will be fine on a board meant for you. Like @Scottintexas said they will just have a bit harder time doing advanced moves. The other thing that may come in play is that some kids have a harder time getting up because they don't have the weight or strength to push their heels down. We have the Hyperlite Broadcast and I can go ropeless and we get noobie kids up for the first time every summer. I personally would not recommend you spend a lot of money on your first surfboard.

 

[haknslash]

Agree I wouldn't spend a lot of money on your first board. Anything you get that would work for you would work for the kids just harder for them to do anything advanced. I went with a Liquid Force Fish 5'6" and I'm a bigger guy at 230 lbs. I think a 5'4" board would probably be perfect for you and the kids. I'm hoping I can go ropeless this year with a little more ballast.

Let the summer fun begin!

 

[mraz72]

Buck, what size hyperlite did you get

How does something like this look?

https://www.buywake.com/liquid-force-2017-rocket-5-4-wakesurfer

EDIT
after a bit of reading, it appears that the Liquid force rocket is a great all around boat. The 5' model fits most on the boat

http://www.liquidforce.com/wakesurfers-rocket.html

 

[buckbuck]

I went with the 5'-4" Broadcast. I suggest you consider the widest and longest board to set yourself up for initial success.

 

[swatski]

Yes, the kids will be fine on a board meant for you. Like @Scottintexas said they will just have a bit harder time doing advanced moves. The other thing that may come in play is that some kids have a harder time getting up because they don't have the weight or strength to push their heels down. We have the Hyperlite Broadcast and I can go ropeless and we get noobie kids up for the first time every summer. I personally would not recommend you spend a lot of money on your first surfboard.

Any tips for getting (lighter) kids up on a big board? Would you recommend platform starts?
Sorry if this was already covered.

--

 

[KXCam22]

With the right coaching even small kids can get up easy. I put some video clips on here somewhere that show foot positioning on a water start. The platform start is a bit scary for kids until they get used to it. Last summer I took my eng office out to the lake and we got almost every body up, even the 10yr olds. Cam.

 

[spatty99]

The CWB Razr is a great board for heavier riders on our smaller wakes. Durability is crap, but that kind of goes with the territory for a super light board.

 

[Scottintexas]

I've found that an extra few minutes in the water with them explaining what they want to happen and actually positioning the board correctly to the boat, placing their feet on the edges and then tilting the board so they really understand what needs to happen when the boat starts pulling helps.

if you put one engine in neutral and one in idle forward it helps put just enough pressure to help keep the board positioned correctly.

If they are still having problems I may leave an older kid or adult in the water to help keep the board positioned correctly and tilted, It only takes a second, as soon as tension is put on the rope for them to stand up.

it's all about having fun and getting wet so if a kid is still having problems I may start them laying down or kneeling and let them get used to the feeling of the boat pulling them and let them try to stand up.