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View Full Version : Mikey I need your help



chautauquasun
03-18-2010, 08:34 PM
I have never wakeboarded before. I grew up skiing and knee boarding. My son really wants to try it this year and so do I. I dont plan on putting on a waketower this year but have seen the pylon extensions..I am thinking about going that route for this year. I talked with a buddy of mine and he said you can do it with out the tower or the extension but it makes it tougher.

my quetions to you..

What type of board would you recommend for me and my son who are just beginners? I am 5'11 195 he is 4'11 85 lbs? Not sure if that matters or not.

What type of extension would you recommend for the pylon or would you not recommend going that route?

I am not putting any balast in at this point. is that pretty much for just surfing or does it make wakeboarding better as well?

Lastly, is there a video for dummies or beginners?

thanks I know you are the master when it comes to this on this site.

87SunSportMikeyD
03-19-2010, 01:14 PM
Chatauq - Wow a personalized thread! ;) Thanks for the mad props buddy. But there are lots of good boarders here!

I skiied first when I was younger, but I have been wakeboarding since I was about 14yrs old which is now half my life! Wow! I boarded forever with a low pylon in a runabout and it works just fine.

I have ridden forever but I never got to go out on nice wake boats. So when I got my boat, it was probably the 2nd or 3rd time I had even been behind a tower. Honestly I was dissappointed that everyone said it helps with hangtime and getting vertical height, and it is pretty minimal inho. It's all about the size of the wake.

Honestly the worst part about using the low pylon in our boats is how hard it is to have passengers in the rear bench seat! If you can find an extended pylon you should be set. Man you shoulda gotten Oakies with the racks! :)

There are lots of options for boards. If you want to save cash, Craigslist is great or I find the best prices on WakeWorld classifieds. I would be happy to help evaluate gear you are looking at. If you are able to spend a little more you can get some great new gear from last season right now, shop boardersmall.com, boardersbestbuy.com and the-house.com, etc.

Now normally for beginners I recommend a continuous rocker or hybrid rocker (bottom shape of board, how much like a spoon it is) but for your wake I would not be afraid of a 3-stage rocker. Sometimes with bigger wakes the 3-stage creates more KICK off the wake and it can be hard to handle. But you would benefit since your wake isn't huge. Also newer 3-stage boards are a lot more stable than they used to be.

Everyone has their own favorite brands of board, and I would really be steering you wrong if I didn't say to go out and test the boards before you buy. Many shops have a demo program where you can rent it for the weekend, and the money you give them will be held under your name and put towards your eventual purchase. This way you can try every single board they have, and at the end of the summer buy your favorite. And since it's a demo board (ridden by many people for testing) you can usually get a brand new $450 board for $300 or so.

With that said, I have ridden many brands over many years and used to work at my local pro shop and for me Liquid Force is the brand to beat and has been for years. IMHO they have the lightest boards with the best bottom shape and features, the best edges, and pop the best. If the LF Watson was it's own company it would be the #4 board company as far as sales go. Take this humble advice with a grain of salt, as I don't get to ride lots of brands these days and I have just ridden a handful of other boards in the last two years. I would look at CWB.

I have never owned an extended pylon so I don't really know which one to recommend, but I know some come in 2 or 3 pieces, and some need supports to the rear of the boat, while others do not. As far as brand reputation, Fly High is great quality in all their products.

As far as the wake goes, without ballast you will have plenty of fun cruisin, carving big turns like a surfer, you can boardslide out in the flats or on the lip of the wake, ollie, etc. But after a couple months you are going to be ready to start working on your wake-jumping technique.

Sorry not sure of your level of familiarity so I'll try to be basic but quick. You are gonna want to edge out 10-15 weet outside the wake, and then hold right there for 3-5 seconds while the rope tightens up. Then SLOWLY lean back, sink your heels and initiate your edge into the wake. You want constant pressure increasing as you near the wake. No letting up. Hit the wake with knees bent and butt squtted, don't try to jump, just try to stand tall. Pull the handle in to your waist, and try to arch your lower back and stick your chest out really goofy looking.

Oh yeah the wake. It will be pretty hard to get good wake to wakes on a smaller wake like that w/o ballast. It can be done, but your technique needs to be spot on. Even one sac in your ski locker would go a long ways. More later!