I got a wakeboard for my birthday a few years back. When I first got it I tried a few times to get up on it, then got frustrated and gave up. I can get up on skis and on a kneeboard, but for some reason this wakeboard is something I couldn't figure out.

Yesterday I saw that dusty ol wakeboard and want to give it another shot. Any tips for a beginner on getting up on a wakeboard? It seemed like last time the rope kept getting yanked from my hands before the board would plain out. Last time time I never came close to getting up.

Thanks for the help!

Hold the board sideways.

sit in the water, board tip sitting out of water (this looks like you are sitting on the toilet)

boat goes (needs to have the nuts to pull you up, a 90HP ain't gonna cut it on a small wakeboard)

maintain the "sitting" position until you start to plane

literally "stand up" (imagine you are in your desk chair and you rock forward to sit up, this is EXACTLY what it should feel like) just roll forward while extending your legs

profit

I always lean in too hard, and skis or wakeboard plane out from under me and I fall on my ass after getting up a few secs.

Kneeboarding is a piece of cake compared to standing on something...

You might one to point one foot forward while sitting in the water so that the right, or left side of the board sits a little farther out of the water before the boat takes off. This helps especially with bigger guys as it creates less drag.

If the rope is getting pulled out of your hands, then you are fighting the boat too much. Let the boat pull you up over the top of the board. Even if you get pulled literally over the top and fall forward, you can then start to "average" the amount of lean back with the amount of letting the boat pull you up. A lot of people lean really far back and fight too hard when trying to get up on a wakeboard. I'm a fatass and I still pop up pretty darn quick. It's not like having to drag behind the boat like slalom skiing or even double skiing.

If you stand up too quick, the board will sink and you'll fall forward. If that happens, just hold on and lean slightly back just a little bit longer.

Also, I keep the board perpendicular to the boat until I am basically all the way up, and then put weight on my back foot to straighten the board out. Don't try to force the board to turn while trying to get up. Let it happen naturally.

There's really only three rules to wakeboarding:
Rule #1 - don't bury the tip (or an edge)!
Rule #2 - don't lean back too far!
Rule #3 - don't be a pu**y!

My cousin teaches wake board lessons. The one piece of advice he gives that generally gets everyone up on a wakeboard is: "Let your butt slide forward to the board" What he means is this:

While sitting in the water, rope in hands and over the top of your wakeboard, don't try to stand or do any when the driver hits the throttle. Feel your back end slide forward towards the board - so up towards your ankles. As this happens, bring the rope to your waist - and you should pop right up.

Easier said than done, I know. If you are having trouble holding onto the rope, try some gloves. Ski gloves float, so those are nice to have, but just go purchase some $10 weight lifting gloves from Academy. They will do the job.

There will be plenty of other opinions on this, so read it all, but don't forget your #1 friend: You Tube

Im naturally a left foot forward guy, so i like to keep the left side just an inch or so higher than the right. Like the others said, just "sit on the pot" till your up. Don't lean back like a slalom ski or the board will fly out from under you.

I.Y.A.C.Y.A.S. '91

I taught all kinds of water sports for 5 summers.

Key to wake board:
Arms Straight.
Palms down grip.
Knees slightly bent.
Toes slightly pointed toward boat.
As the boat starts out, let your knees take some of the water pressure against the board.
Start pointing your toes more as the pressure increases. Drop your heel on your strong leg and let the board swing around and plane up.

Once up, DO NOT LEAN FORWARD and keep your arms straight. Also change your grip to a baseball bat style.

Deats has it down, the only thing I do differently is getting up with the baseball grip, hands spread out about 6 inches (ends of the grip permitting). This is something I started to do when getting up on a slalom that practically sank in the water (heavy, high-performance slalom with tiny surface area)

you are trying to stand up too fast. stay seated as long as you can.

Don't let Deats little hint about your toes go by. I forgot to say it, but pointing your toes down, or even curling your toes down into the board helps a lot.

I was going to remark but considering I have not ridden since I had brain surgery(insert pu$$* remarks here) It all sounds right. I always kept beer and aspirin in the boat. Wipe outs tend to be rough. Good Luck!

Of mention is the driver. It was said to "gun-it" or a 90hp won't get it done for a wakeboard. Not true. A wake board has 3-4x the planing surface a slalom has and requires very little acceleration compared to a slalom. If the driver hits it like launching a slalom you'll end up with the handle in the boat and pain in your hands/wrists or sinuses full of lake water from the face plant if you are just learning.

Just a little fyi. A good driver is alot of the battle, plus there's someone you can blame when you look like a foo..

As you begin to plane your tendency is to go left or right slightly depending on which foot you like forward. My advice when getting up is don't fight it, just let the boat do the work and haul you up and go with the flow (left or right) until fully planed.

I have people watch this video before I take them out. Most of them get up within a couple of trys. The trick is keeping your arms straight, letting your butt hit the back of your ankles and letting the boat do all of the work. Staying up is another story. The guy is a little freaky but the girl is not half bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0nHR3ubdmo

Another question we get all of the time is "which foot do I put in front?". We always tell people to have someone push them from behind, which ever foot you use to step out with to catch your balance is probably the one that should go in front. Neither foot in front is going to feel all that natural at first.

thanks for all the tips. last time i tried i pretty much had no idea what i was doing, and it didn't work out so well. no i've done some research and watched alot of youtube videos, we'll see.

i'll report back after the weekend. just don't give me a hard time if i never was able to get up again

Good point about the boat driver. Although, if it is a 90hp motor, you probably have to mash it to get him up, and enjoy drowning in the process. (If you enjoy this, you should try slaloming on a narrow ski behind a 220hp boat. First thing you have to do when you get up is clear the sinuses and pull your trunks out of your a$$.) Also, don't let anyone tell you that if you are left handed right handed, put the corresponding foot forward/back. That has nothing to do with it, I hear it all the time at texas wake, and I just want to smack the people that say it.

seems like eveyone is talking about having one edge slightly higher than the other.
I've never seen anyone get up like this. My friends and I always come up sidways. IN other words if you lead with your left foot forward which yo should do unless you are what they call goofy foot then you should be in the water with the left of the board out of the water and the right end of the board under the water. Try to bend your right knee so that the right end of the board touches your butt or is at least under you. This will put you in the water sideways. You stay in this position until the driver yanks you out of the water at which time yo simply stand up on the board.

i assume you are holding the rope with both palms down. if the rope keeps getting yanked out of your hands, grab the handle with like you would grab a baseball bat and hold it at an angle instead of holding it flat. this will let you pull with your dominate arm and hold of with your weak arm

If you're not using a tower on the boat it'll take longer to plane out. A tower really helps as it it pulls you up out of the water vs. the boat pulling you through the water until enough speed is built up so you can plane out. If you get tired , take a breather. Don't let it beat you down.

This gonna sound ******* any way I say.

No one needs a tower to get up on a wake board unless your form absolutely sucks.
Just hold on and keep those arms straight.
Bending arms will lead to fatigue much more quickly.


[This message has been edited by Deats (edited 7/16/2009 6:50p).]

Crocker Mom does -

I assume crocker mom does not have nuts so I will refrain from making fun of her.

She is fun to watch wake board though.

Make sure you try to do a trick as soon as you get up

last weekend was an epic fail. couldn't seem to master it

When I was first trying to get up on skis, I was having trouble. The next week, the rope he threw me was a double handed one and I got right up. After my confidence was raised, I could get up with any rope, but you might try a double handed one to start.