Video:
Board Slide - MPEG Video File (782k)

Pre-Requisites: You must have good board control and balance. It helps to be able to board slide (butter slide) the wake and you must be able to ollie unless the slider is a transition type (rainbow) that starts under water.

How To: Sliding rails is simply a game of balance. You start by getting on the rail one of two ways. You can do this by jumping onto the rail (ollie) or hitting a transition that puts you on the rail (rainbow slider). If you are hitting a transition, you need to remember that the steeper the transition, the more it will feel like you are hitting a wall. This will tend to make your body want to trip forward. Real mellow transitions feel really smooth and don't have that tripping feeling.

You want to cut out on your heels, so you are actually on the side of the wake where you do your toeside tricks (right side of the wake if you're right foot forward). For a transition slider, right before you hit it, you want to position the nose of your board on the far side of the rail, and have your tail on the boat side of the rail. So when your board first hits the rail, it will be the middle of your board, between your feet, that actually hits the rail first, not the nose of your board.

You want to try to absorb the transition. Imagine cutting into the wake at 3/4 speed, completely absorbing the wake and getting absolutely no air. That's what you want to do. Try not to get any air from the transition on the slider. Do this by using your legs as shocks and sucking up the upward force that the rainbow transition gives.

If you are going to ollie onto the rail, you need to approach the rail however you feel comfortable and basically jump onto the rail.

So you're on the rail...now what? Ninety percent of people that get on to the rail do one thing....FALL BACK. You need to concentrate on putting weight on your toes, not just your heels. Sliding on PVC pipes is MUCH faster than board sliding on the wake, so don't let your board fly in front of you. Expect it to be fast.

You want to keep your legs bent. Your body should be facing the way you are moving, so your board is completely sideways on the rail. Hold the handle however you feel comfortable. Just like wakeboarding, you want to have a nice, strong, comfortable position while on the rail.

Finally, you want to either ride off of the end of the slider or ollie off of the end. The landing from the slider to the water will be simple. Just make sure to absorb the landing like you would a normal wake jump.

Pro Tips: Taking baby steps will make you progress nicely, taking giant steps will send you to the hospital and taking no progressive steps will bore you and everyone that watches you. Progress, but don't do anything that is way above your skill level. And don't forget to always wear a helmet when hitting any kind of obstacles.

When trying to ollie onto sliders, make sure you can make it up to the rail. To make this easier, try approaching the slider from the side, rather than straight on. This allows you to bend your front leg a lot and at least get the nose of your board over the slider so you don't eat it. This is why transition sliders are better for learning.

The more surface you are sliding, the slower the slider is. Pipes are fast since you are only touching a small part of the pipe.

On transition sliders, you can cut slightly back towards the wake on your approach to the slider. This way, you will only hit the first part of the slider, and then you will come off of the slider because the boat will pull you off. This way you get used to hitting the first part of the slider without having to tackle the whole thing.

If you are falling off of the slider on one side, you can do one of two things. You can change the angle that you take to get on to the slider. You may be cutting with too much or not enough angle. The other thing you can do is shift your weight to the side opposite of the way you are falling. If you start to fall off of the right side of the slider, shift your weight to your left foot and vice versa.

Slower speeds make rainbows MUCH easier. Pull first timers at about 15 to 17 mph. Do this on rainbow sliders ONLY.

Use your brain and common sense when building sliders and always wear a helmet when hitting any kind of obstacles. Safety should always be your number one priority.

Equipment: Expect the slider to tear up your board a little. If your wakeboard is your most prized possession, don't slide it. Honeycomb boards are even more prone than foam boards to denting on sliders.

If you use fins, I would suggest nothing bigger than a 2.0 and would recommend something smaller than that (like a 1.5 or smaller). The more bolts that attach your fin to your board, the better. If you have a single screw attaching your fin to your board, expect it to be destroyed soon. You need at least two and preferably three screws attaching your fin to your board. If you have plastic fins rather than strong after-market style fins, expect them to break.

Video Rider: Patrick Hagan
Patrick works at The Wakeboard Camp in Clermont, Florida. Patrick is always building new sliders for the camp.

Author: Mike McLin
Mike is sponsored by Neptune, Malibu, Reef, Rainbow, and Performance Ski and Surf.

 Return To WakeWorld Trick Tips