How do you drive?

What path do you typically run when pulling a skier/wakeboarder? I drive in the shape of a P, cutting out slightly to the left, then making a sharp turn to get back into the middle of my wake. Not so concerned with a double up, but just trying to keep it smooth for the rider and not drive in a huge circle.

I towed a friend this weekend who thought I was crazy for making a tight turn, he got too far inside and sunk. I told him to stay more in the middle of the wake.

How does a pro driver do it?

I don't know about pros but I keep my turns fairly tight and advise my riders to keep to the outside of a turn. No sense in wasting riding time on a large circle.

watch the book

Pros drive in a P like you describe, there is a little more science to it for the double up. Detention has a piece on driving as well.

Dave Briscoe taught me to drive a "key hole", P,or backwards "P" depending on the turn around area. All 3 minimize the rollers down the course by having the wake collapse on each other. The smaller the turn the less the rollers down the course.

if your on a lake obviously drive on the side that the shore is blockin the wind (the smoother side, I usually drive about 5 ft further away from the shore than the absolute max length that the rider can cut out. I would recommend driving a double up just as practice for the driver, then one day when your crew wants to learn double ups both the driver and rider aren't trying to learn together. plus the rider can just stay inside when your crossin the rollers and catch some air off of the rollers if they are learnin. anyway when your drivin your line just before you turn make a hard 60° turn AWAY from the shore (turning away from the shore first makes it to where your not sending rollers back down your line). by hard I mean make it quick, turn the boat sharp and get it back to flat as quick as you can, and hold for a couple seconds. the start your loop back towards the shore. when you start to turn keep an eye on the rollers you just made and try to spot the biggest roller. as far as how small off a turn to make it doesn't matter all that much, the important thing is that you flatten off from your turn with enough time that your rider can cut out and start driftin in. also make sure you are back up to normal riding speed when you flatten off. then after you cross the rollers and the rider lands, make sure your pointed back down your same line. if you do the double up correctly you shouldn't have to make any adjustments because you'll already be heading down your line.

I just drive until someone falls, then pick up and start again. I only turn around when the water gets rough or we are ready to call it a day.

Back in the day a water skiing friend showed me the P-turn. We were actually sharing a nice cove at Shasta with another water skier. With both boats doing the same thing, the water was nice for all. Since then I drive the same way whether a skier or boarder. People that don't know or aren't expecting it are often time surprised by the sharp turn. They like it once they figure out you don't actually have to make a big u-turn and spend time riding over your own rollers.

Turn as sharp as you can and get back inside your wake.

Your friend is a dumba$$ for going to the inside on a turn. Tell him to shut his mouth and ski and leave the driving to the driver.

unless hes really good and the skier cuts wide inside and the boat turns inside of that... lol saw it in a ski show once, have come close a few times but always sink. its also really dangerous if your driver is not reallllllllly good. oh and the boat was unweighted

from a barefooting perspective, we drive straight lines and usually if someone falls we cut the throttle and out of gear and let the boat settle still going straight then spin the wheel ingear at idle and idle back without making more rollers(turning under power is what sends unwanted wake action up or down your course), if we have left the guy way back we might accelerate back to him but usually just idle back, depending on the site we do barefoot around corners and love to get the whip(go to the inside barefoot and you'll drown!) but flatwater is found more easily in smaller more protected bodies of water, narrow sloughs offering glass conditions and no other boats is where we like to hang out and we still keep our rollers to a minimum. We had a boat named "Glass Seeker"

PS Always blame the driver.

Thanks for the feedback. Keep it coming.

Any aerial videos out there of trick driving, stunts, and the dreaded power turn that everyone hates?

Yup, most of the time P turn. Sometimes due to space I might do a "light bulb" turn.

faceplanter..couple questions.. first, why is his friend a dumba$$ for cuttin inside? maybe he didn't want to be whiped around like he was on a tube. and you cut to the inside in order to do a d-up...unless you have invented something new or just think you're suppose to hit one from the outside in...last time I checked your suppose to stay to the inside. this is one reason why I'm sure there are a bunch of guys/gals trying to learn the sport that don't ask questions on this forum, because instead of saying, "try this next time" you effin call him a dumba$$ (even when your advice is wrong).

if yall would put that sharp turn first then come around the loop straight back down your line (bassically drive a double up) you wouldn't throw as many rollers down your line. by the way if your making a turn so tight that the rider sinks from just sitting in the inside then you need to make a bigger loop. basically all your doing is a powerturn while towing a rider and not the "p shaped" turn. its actually not a "p" to begine with because the first part of the turn is a 45 degree turn then come around the loop.

X2 on the "when a rider falls" method. bring the throttle back to stop, turn the wheel all the way and bump it forward to spin at an idle, the idle back to get him/her. the only time to do a powerturn is when your rider is in danger or hurt.

usually a P-turn but sometimes the lightbulb. I usually make them fairly tight to minimize rollers.

Another thing I learned, especially with beginner wakeboarders, is the turn the opposite way of which foot the rider has forward. So, if they are left foot forward, swing a right turn at the end of the line, because if you think about, if they took you on a left turn, then you would have to torque and twist your shoulders even further to the left than they already are.

This is often times just too must twisting for someone beginning to wakeboard and they will likely become unbalanced and fall. My 2 cents.

RidinNSippi, last week this guy called Travis Moye was pulling me, and when he turned around I would have sunk if I was in the inside of the turn

No sense in wasting time with a big turn around since you're only doing tricks when on the straight line.

What does Travis know about driving? Ha ha

I use the buttonhook or light bulb turn so that I cross my wake on an outside of the turn wake and I make them quite tight. My 9 year old chooses a fast whip sometimes and cuts as far in as he can sometimes just to stay up while his board sinks.
He's OK even at idle speeds for about 30 seconds so tell your buddy to suck it up and handle it like a little kid

Riders: Where do you hang on turning around? I always hang on the inside and will do slides or surface 3's. The inside of a decently fast turn will provide you with a short rest for your arms since the pull isn't so hard. Sometimes I will whip around on the outside but that makes me tired!

The safest spot is between just behind the boat, following the prop wash to just outside the outside wake, where there is a beautiful wall for slashing, sliding and carving up. And you can still make it to the inside for a double up, which then send rollers down your course.

A tournament turn is always best, it's a P, your driving line is straight and the you make a LT or RT depending on the rider ( RT turn first for goofy followed by sweeping LT vs reg. LT turn first then sweeping RT) then come back around through where your wake at the point where you made the first turn ( doing this will cut down on the slamming of the boat across your own wake) thus placing you back inside your wake and no rollers going down your driving line.. PS Power turns when picking up fallen riders are for #$%@