What speed & length to tow little ones at...
 

I've got a 7 year old (boy) and a 9 year (girl) old cousins that just recently started wakeboarding at a local ski school - I'm going to have them out and I'm just curious what speed and rope length most people are towing their kids at that are just starting out?

I'm so pumped to have 2 little buddies to shred with, this will be way more fun than hockey games and dance recitals, haha!

Ian,

My kids are 7(boy) and 9(girl). I tow them @ 65' and speed rt around 15 for now. Daughter is better and working of her switch and 180's. She is a natural. Son is a little more timid and I pull him about 10mph or so. Funny thing is my son is better at snowboarding and popping little kickers. Daughter is a little more timid on the snow. Go figure. They both wear helmets on the water and snow.

Until they start jumping the wake, I would pull them on a long line somewhere around 75'. The longer line will create a less drastic angle when they are in the flats and in turn be easier for them to stay there and carve a bit and work on their balance without being pulled over to the wake. After they get their wakeboard legs and want to start jumping, 60-65' is pretty common. Definitately want to drain the balast so you can drive slow. I seem to remember pulling mine around 16MPH when they were at that age - min speed to get on plane.

Oh it helps if you have someone ride doubles with them especially when they are learning to get up. A lot easier to coach and offer encouragement to a kid when you are next to them instead of yelling from the boat.

Mine learned on a 50' rope at about 13 mph. Weight the front of the boat to keep it down, not to add to weight. If you have a trim tab set it all the way down to keep the bow down. You want the wake smooth. My boat could run flat at 13 with this setup, but slower than that the wake could not get clean. Starting with a really long rope gets them use to the ride when they are inside the wake like AtTheLake suggests.
I've towed them when they worked on surface tricks at 9 mph. The faceplants are soooooo much softer.

I pull my 9 and 6 Yo boys at around 18 for the little guy and 20 for the big one. For learners I use a long poly ski rope to help keep the handle from getting yanked out of their hands. I put an adult on the beach to help launch and an adult in the boat to go overboard on wipe outs. So far so good.

Thanks for all the advice. I'm so excited to get them geared up and on the water!