trouble

Just a quick question. I have been trying to stick a 360, every time i try and spin, I can't find the handle behind me. I'm not getting the greatest air because its behind my old mans outboard. I can land it, but not with the rope in my hand. Any tips?

get your 180s consistant and i got them w2w consistant before i stuck a 3. after that just do a nice progressive edge in and start pretty much like a 180 then with your head up to stay on axis pass the handle. when i was learning them i thought about fully extending my legs off the wake which made me get full pop off the wake and it also made me get air before i started my rotation. i praticed on my trampoline with a handle for a while too which helped me alot. don't try to rush it because you really don't need that much air.

Take off all your fins and do a few hundred surface 360s until you can pass the handle without thinking. Keep your head level and don't look down whatever you do. Then try it wake to wake. Then learn it switch.

Ed is right, tramp practice helps too.

The single most important part of doing a 3:
(Assuming you are trying HS/FS)

Right after the pop, pull the handle WITH BOTH HANDS, real hard, to your rear hip. Then turn your head in the direction you want to spin. Pulling the handle to your rear hip starts you spinning and advances you toward the handle. This way the handle is close when you reach back for it.

Once the handle is passed to your other hand, the rope tension will pull you through the last 180. Look over your lead shoulder for the landing. Once you make the handle pass, the trick finishes itself.

then learn it wrapped. then learn it blindfolded. then learn it one-footed.



what worked for me was training off-water. what i mean by that is that at work, at home, anywhere...emulate handle-passes. act as if you're doing the trick. keep doing that as much as possible off the water. it builds muscle memory. and before you know it, you'll never miss the handle again.

If your arm is strong enough, pull all the way across your back with the passing hand. when I do that, I can actually see the handle before grabbing it.
Also, when I first started trying 3's, I would swing my arm really far out before trying to grab the handle. I had to slow down a little and work on keeping my grabbing hand in close to my body during rotation.

Thanks for all the help guys!!

One other suggestion. If you are edging too hard through the wake you might have problems pulling the handle into your back. Make a nice progressive edge to the wake and then flatten out a bit as you come up the wake. This will ease the tension and you should be able to get good pop.

Download this small clip of me doing HS and TS 360s. You can see how I flatten out right before the wake.

http://john.panelmagic.com/w800kbps.mpg

I agree with Doctor Octagon. I just landed my first 360 last weekend and what I found really helped was to try some surface spins first. Go finless and drive slow. This will get you to make the handle pass more like a natural reaction and less like a forced movement. After doing this for awhile, I tried a few off the wake and within 6 tries, I nailed it. Give it a shot.

what should the speed of the boat be traveling? My dad just has a lund pro sport with a 115 yamaha outboard. (sad to say) I tried weighing the boat down and going a little fast. is it still possible to throw some tricks down?

i want to try surface 360's without the fins but i have a parks 03 and it still stuck hard on the water.
any help ?