Deep Water Start....
 

I've heard that a lot of pros will do a deep water start - which appears to be them standing on the board under the water and getting up that way. I've watched a bunch of videos and it looks like they just pop up. Am I totally wrong on this? Does anyone have any tips on this kind of start? I don't know why I'm so intrigued - but I'm always looking for something new to try...

It's called a pro start.
Deep water start is the conventional lying on your back start.
Shawn Murray explains this start in great detail in Detention 2012 instructional video.

This start requires less energy, and is easier than a deep water start when getting up behind a jetski or a boat with a small engine.
First thing you need to do is get the board underneath you (I can't pull the board underneath me without huge effort, so I cheat and grab the rope as the boat idles past me and use the rope as leverage to get the board underneath me) , Then just sit in a squated position, knees high into my chest and my toes pointed up. Keep the handle low. Once the boat begins to pull away you just pop straight up.
If the board catches and you get pulled over the board then you haven't brought your knees up enough or pointed your toes up enough.

I saw that too and thought it was cool. First and foremost, that has to be a tower thing, becuase there's no way I can do that with my tower-less boat! :p

i learned the deep water start at the wakeboard camp in clermont florida.what i do is wait till the boats in gear and act like i'm getting up that sinks the board. i'm in a upright position with the board 4' under water i'm 5'6" so you dont need alot of knee bend at all.NOW the main secret my wife[the boat driver]takes off real slow as i rise up out the water. the board act like a airplane wing just picture your sideways riding position with your leading edge higher than your back edge.the faster the takeoff the more you have to squat and lean back . like i said the secret is the boat driver.P.S. melissa you can do this start on any boat or jet ski even a 40hp pontoon boat.it's not about speed or power. and i can hold the handle with my left hand [i'm right handed] and get out the water easily if i have my wife or other good boat driver .

Nah, you can get up that way behind anything. Once you have been wakeboarding a while, it just becomes second nature. My wife insisted on getting up that way the first week she learned to wakeboard. It definitely takes less effort. Just practice standing on your board in the water. Works great for wakesurfing and wakeskating too.

I think it is very simple, I don't even give it any thought any more. Next time you are out riding and you fall, work on being able to hold the board under water kind of like you are in the riding position. Knees bent like mentioned earlier. There is kind of a "sweet spot" and once you locate it, you can hold the position with very minimal effort. Once the boat starts pulling you, you pop right up. I have been doing it for awhile, so I can pretty much stand up once the slack is out of the line, right before the driver gives it gas. Don't need a tower, like Robert said.

I had no idea. And here I've been, sitting in the water eating my knees the whole time! :rolleyes: Gonna have to try it next time we're out.

By the way, I did learn to dock start, which was great until the lake dropped 2 feet due to a broken dam. Now its a little tricky.

Melissa I pro start behind our Sea Doo wake jet ski all the time, it's much easier to get up this way and it's even easier on the ski.
Give it a try, you'll have it dialled in no time!

I've been doing it this way as long as I remember. I find it way easier then laying on your back or having the board floating. You just have to make sure the nose or toeside of the board is up to plane once the boat goes. I even do this with the surf board as well. It's all water balance.

Learning the Pro Start your going to use a lot of energy trying to figure how to keep the board under you. Keep at it, it's way worth the pain to learn to keep balance. Maybe when your not riding take a few and just float with your board and get it under you. You will see that your using a lot of movement until you figure it out.

I've "pro started" my second time out it is a ton easier on you and the boat. The way I do it is I put the board under me with a small amount of bend in my knees and when the boat starts going I suck up my knees allowing the boat o get to a higher speed and when my knees are almost all the way bend I just stand up there's no being dragged it's all one fluiant motion with very little effort. At the same time you get on top of the water much faster that way too so you can hit the start up wake if you want.

I've been starting that way forever, but I really suck at being able to get the board back underneath me after a fall. I always have to use the rope tension to do so. Is there a certain technique you guys have perfected at being able to pull the board back down after a fall?

Kat ~~ That is the hardest part after you fall. I myself try and lean over my hills while using a swimming motion to push my board under and get my chest over the board. I'm set and ready before the boat idol's back. It takes time to figure it out but once perfected you will save a ton of energy. Look at me talking like I know what I'm doing, LOL!

I just do it, but then again I bet I weigh a lot more than Kat. My wife does some weird back arch thing that works to get the board back down.

I usually try to grab the board like a tail grab, and then swim with other hand, this is the easiest way i have found to get the board underneath me. trick is to try to get your heals under your butt as soon as you can

Kat the easiest way is relax wait for the rope and just gripthe rope while you are lined up with it while you are holding it rotate your board down to your balance point. The whole reason for the pro start is to save your energy for wakeboarding! Relax breath slowly calm down chill! Lol

Yeah - no problem using the boat/rope to get set....just feel like a 'tard that I can't do it without the boat's help. I will try the tips around the swimming motion/tail grab - thanks, Guys!

Call me a tard but you can't call me tired. Lol

lol, Robert! Yeah, I won't spend too much time on this. I'm thinking the bun buoyancy factor makes it more challenging than it should be!

Reading yalls post I didn't realize so many people had trouble with getting the board under them. I can't think of anytime that I am in the water with a board on that it is not under me but I do remember having to learn to get it there. The best tip I can offer is lean your chest forward and then "stomp" your feet like you were going to jump if you were standing on the ground. Eventually you'll wonder why you ever had trouble.

And a point to add.. This is more difficult when you are wearing a very buoyant life vest. I've noticed that it is much harder when you're wearing a wetsuit.

another good way to get the board under ya while floating is to
bend knees as much as possible
turn the board so that the tail is under your but
rock forward.

...
...much easier seen than said.

a lot of how you position your body and board in the water helps add leverage and make things easy.
as D.F.T.R. Josh said. take a moment when not boarding and float around a bit with the board. even practicing grab holds and such help.

hmmmm

Anybody have web video of a prostart they could share in a link?

I never knew this was a special technique. I just kind of do it naturally sometimes.

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lol, Alan! I'm thinking that wouldn't work very well behind the boat!

alan if my tower was that tall i couldn't go under the bridges at lake anna!

hahaha

thats funny

CWB do you ever get any further north? I live just north of DC......Never been to Lake Anna hear its nice but I have also heard it can get a bit crowded.

This thread inspired me to try starting like this... i took some of the pointers given... WOW... so effortless... I wont go back to the traditional start method I used to use.

steven i haven't been north of anna i keep my boat there. and head south to the cable parks when it's cold. as for anna being crowded its like any lake busy on weekends butter on weekdays.

I use Jeremy's technique. Turn sideways so my tail is pointing straight down, and then bend my back leg and use my back arm to push myself over the board.

I have always used a modified version of this deep water start. I tried the full deep water start by letting the rope pull me over the board WOW that is the easiest way ever to get up. We had a guy out with us thur. that I got up about 8 months ago. It took him a ton of tries but he did get up. He has not been wakeboarding since, I decided I was going to teach him this deep water start he said "WTF why dint you teach me this last time" He got right up with no trouble what so ever. Looked like he had wakeboarded all his life. He said he had so much more fun because he was not so wore out from trying to get up and had much more time on the board. Thanks for the tips on the deep water start.