Line Length- Why So Long?

I've been riding at 60' and wondering if I sould ride with more line. I have a 99star and put about 1000 pounds in the back at 21mph. I do land in the flats most of the time, but land on the down slope of the other wake from time to time. I rode at 70' last week and didn't notice a difference besides a wider wash area. It seems like everyone on here is talking about much longer lines than 60'. Should I go longer? And, what will it do for me?

Longer line give you more hang time in the air for more technical tricks. Also, many ride longer lines because the weight in the boat means they have to ride faster to clean up the wake and it puts them further back where the wake is less narrow.

Eric

I just rode with a guy last weekend that broke all the rules..... His board was only a 133, and he rode at 55 feet. He went HUGE! Straight up pop. Very impressive. Big Backrolls, roll to revert, scarecrow, and every kind of grabbed, tweaked out 180 you can think of.
How he wasn't landing 20 feet into the flats is beyond me.
Fun to watch though.
I guess my point is, line length is all personal preference.

Just b/c he was going huge on I assume board that was too small and at 55 doesnt mean that he wouldnt go even bigger at 80'....But yes, line length just like everything else is all personal preference. But in many cases peoples personal preferences arent always exactly the best. haha

Hehehe, I had a regular here tell me that 10 cm won't make any difference.

So what if he was on a 133 or a 143? hehehe.

Many of the top wakeboats need to go 24-26 mph just to get the poor thing on plane. Having to go this fast makes the wake narrower and puts the perfect wake further back. Riding at a longer length puts you at the peak. It also gives you more time in tha air as you get a longer cut at the wake and thus generate more speed and edge to boost you over the wider wake. Honestly it is awesome. I rode a loaded VLX at 90 feet a few weeks back and it was so much fun. Huge floaty jumps and so much time in the air.

Jeffrey: You might have to change the way you weight your boat. If you have wash at 70' try moving weight forward and maybe riding a little faster. At 70' you might need to ride around 22-23mph. Riding the longer line at a faster speed will give you the ability to go much bigger while also increasing the distance for wake 2 wake tricks. Also, going faster means the board rides higher in the water and has less drag.

personally i have found out (for myself) riding with a longer rope (about 80ft) and faster speeds (about 24) i got really intimidated by the wake and speed so in turn i would hardly ever try anything new because i was more worried about making it w2w on a new trick and eating it hard. since the end of last season i've been rocking any where from 65ft down to 55ft at around 20mph and have learned more than double the amount of tricks i was doing for two years. going from 3 inverts and no spins to 6 inverts and 5 spins rocks. it seems like a magical combination for myself until i get all the tricks i can at that length and speed, then i will work my way back up to 80ft and get that sweet hang time. just like you all said, personal preference.

Thanks a lot guys, I'll give it a try tomorrow. Also, do you count the handle line or just what the mainline says for distance? Because, the line on my handle probably goes about 5' itself. I suppose if I ride with a 70' mainline, it's really 75'. How do you measure it?

line and handle is what you use...

long line is fun and you can go soooo much bigger. You just have to graduate slowly. You can't just decide one day to ride 90' at
25.5 mph. but once you get there it is a blast.
Have fun and good luck.

ya, plus you have to be a freak to ride at 90. I find inverts to be alittle easyer at long line but when it comes to spins and blinds you need to start at about 70 then go longer. The longer the line the more tension is created. Inverts like alot of line tension. Ride where you feel is right. I suggest you lean your tricks on a shorter line then add 1 ft extions and find the length you like.

I have to agree with Squid. I like a long line because I don't spin much and I like going into the flats.

It all depends on the boat, but 70 feet with stock ballast in an X-2 at 22 was good for me, 75 was a bit wide and required me to really edge at that speed
I ride 72.5 behind my boat
another thing, not only do you get more loft, but with more loft, things happen slower and the wake changes shape
going from 70 to 75 feet on a supra launch SSV with stock ballast made the wake change in crazy ways...