Beginner Techniquies - How to get up easily?

As a noob, I am looking for advice on how to get up easier on my board. I put the board at a shallow angle and hydroplane underwater until it surfaces then transition. I get some wobble to the board though. A neighbor advised me to put more weight on the downhill foot and it will transition more easily. Haven't tried it yet. Any other techniques? I am also being pulled by my wife who has never pulled anything before so we are both learning.

It's always tough when the driver and rider are both green. Where do you get the wobble? Are you getting up or is that wobble before then? You might be transitioning too early.

The wobble is just as I am getting pressure on the board.

Well, I'm no wake instructor, nor a professional rider by any means, but...I'd be glad to give you my .02...

For getting up,
I always tell people "knees bent arms straight" at least for when getting up out of the water...suck your knees to your chest, keep your arms on the inside of your legs nice and straight..sit in the water like you've fallen in a rocking chair..and the boat is pulling that rocking chair back to normal..the boat pulls you, you don't pull the boat..

For driving,
Whenever I get a guy out that whats to try and learn, I usually hammer down the throttle to "pop" them out of the water as quickly as possible, and then ease back slowly..you might to have the 'ol lady give that a try (but make sure she remembers to slow back down to speed, or you're goin for a ride)...

When riding,
State leaned back with your hips pointed at the boat, and keep the handle low and near your waist, knees slightly crouched in an "athletic posistion"..keep shoulders above the board, and ride!

Tips might not be right for everybody but like I said, I'm no pro nor instructor, but thats my .02, good luck!

Ha...

Jake, that is the same stuff I tell my noobs. Funny you mention the part about slowing back down. I remember teaching a noob to drive. Last thing I yelled from the water was "MAKE SURE THE PERFECT PASS IS ON". He yelled back "OK". And off we went. When he finally looked back, we were doing 39 mph and I was yelling and flailing my arms. No bueno...

Jeff, How many times have you gotten up. I would say if it is less than 15, you are probably working through the normal progression of getting "comfortable" with the process. I remember thinking it was going to feel awkward forever but it came quick.

Ryan

In my opinion, when you are just learning how to get up, the board should be perpendicular to the boat and you should lay back. I tell people to bend their knees, hug their legs with their arms on the outside of each leg and keep their arms locked. This way when the boat puts pressure on you, your legs push back on your chest and you ball up in a stable way, evenly distributed so you won't wobble as much. Additionally, you should really just lock into this position and let the boat do the work. If you are trying to flex with your arms or pull yourself up, you will become unstable. Think of it this way, if you are lying on your back, is it easier to lock your arms out and let two people pull you up, or is it easier for you to do all the work and pull against them to pull yourself up. When you start to pop up, keep the board sideways until you have completely planed and then when the board is completely out of the water and you are upright, turn the board. I also tell people to look up some while they are coming out of the hole. Many have a tendency to look down and get pulled out the front. The driver should throttle up in a smooth and steady way, not hammer down on the throttle. That way there is no jerking motion on the rope that could throw your form off and make you unstable.

I have only had one day of working at it. Got up on the third try and ran for about 600 yards when I caught a rogue wave (must have been 20' high, I swear). Got up again on the next pull and immediately caught another rogue wave. At that point, my arms were tired so I switch to my ski's. Water was a little rough that day, but acceptable. I am heading up this weekend again and hoping for calmer water and warmer weather. To add to the difficulty, I have three young kids, so getting out early is not always easy.

Stephen,
I agree with your tips as well, except for the slow and steady part (atleast when pulling a male)...guys usually tend to what to fight the boat, and when you pull slower, it really causes a drag and makes it even harder...i've found that when you throttle down faster, it will pull them up right away, then once you see their out of the water, that is the time so go slow and steady..when i pull girls, I will go slower because their so light the boat will just pull them right out, and they don't seem to fight the boat like guys generally do..

different strokes for different folks i spose...

I always recommend people either buy or borrow "The Book". It is a great tool for those just starting the sport. When I first started I was one of those boat pullers. I would fight my way up every time. After watching the book, my whole family now gets up with no work at all, great videos. Even has a section on boat driving.

Just ordered the 5 disc set of "The Book".

ummm guys it really helps when learning NOT to have your arms straight as that will more often than not force noobies to fall forward, i always say bend your knees and sit on your ass, then lock your arms at 90 degrees with your elbows on your knees. then let the boat do all the work. That usually gets people up on the first or second try if they do it like i tell em.

What do you tell an 11 year old who can't hold on to the rope long enough for the boat to pull him out of the water? I seriously sat with him for an hour trying to get him out of the water and nothing is said helped. Literally everything you guy's mentioned didn't help him. I was pretty bummed that I couldn't help him. Advice for that?

Try some on the shore coaching or on the swim deck teaching. That way you can see what is going on firsthand and critique him. You could even use a handle, have him sit on the ground mimicking the position and pull him up so he can learn the mechanics.

I have not tried it yet, but i came up with an idea of using an inflatable chair or even a tube to help get someone up who is not getting it.

try this
have the person sit in an inflatable chair and then take off and then stand up out of the chair (or off the tube) when the boat gets to a speed fast enough to put the board on plain

(note: the tube and or chair is NOT tied to the boat on this one)

I think I know that wobble. I got it when I tried wakeskating on a skateboard, not worth the effort as it turns out. Maybe your board is a little on the small side.

I have a 143 board for 200lbs. It's sized right. I think I was trying to push back with my legs too early. I am going to try the squat method mentioned above this weekend.

Jeff , everybody i teach , i tell them the same thing.....which is.....first, and formost of all set your I can do mind in ,..then relax and with rope over center of board, hands bicycle grip( all the way out) , put fore arms near elbo on knees , squat possision,tilt head to see boat..LOCK ALL THIS IN ! keep pulled to center, tell driver to hit it,as you are comming up turn board nose to boat, stay leaned back slightly with same pull on hand.-n- rope hope it helps Don

For beginners, we usually duct tape their hands to the handle and tell them if they don't get up the first time, they'll be drinking the lake.

Board position is key. Beginners can have a tough time with getting the board into position, so we usually have them start with one foot out of the binding. Just place it next to the binding when getting pulled up.

The transition from a sideways stance to forward is also tricky. So, we have the rider point the board forward right away and to forget about going sideways at all.

If the rider is still having troubles, we'll ride on their back so we can yell instructions to them during the whole process.

NOTE: If you try any of the above, I'm not responsible

I have always preferred the "hammer down" method when I get up, but usually I will try to pull new riders up slower. I like to pull them at an idle for a couple of hundred feet before giving it the gas. The slow pull can give you a sense of what the board is going to try to do when you speed up. I have used this technique on over 20 people and they have all gotten up on the first or second try.

We will try varying the pull up speed. I didn't have a problem getting up, just want to make sure I am getting it right instead of learning a bad habit from the start. We are heading up to the lake tomorrow for a weekend of fun.

Wes,
If your 11 year old cant hold on to the rope, the boat might be pulling to hard. When i pull my 11 year old I barley give it any gas and he pops up like a cork. Unless he is a really big 11 year old it will not take that much speed to get up. If he is in a good squat position and lets the boat do the work he should be fine. Have him push his toes down when he feels the boat pull to help the board get on plane. I also always tell people that when they feel like they should stand up wait a couple of seconds more. Way easier to stand up to late than to early. I also think it is a good idea to put them in the water at the swim step facing the back of the boat with the handle in their hands. Put the board against the back of the swim step and pull on the rope so they can get the feel of the board sliding towards their but and what it feels like to be in the crouch position. I hope this helps, I would also recommend "The Book" video series.

Just got back from the lake. Tried the knees bent elbows around technique and had no problems getting up. No wobbling whatsoever. I only got into trouble when I tried to stand too early. Tried switching with quite a bit of success. Had one bad edge catch and face plant. Felt hard. Found out my wife was going 27 mph. She is learning too.

Faceplants are unfortunately a wright of passage. I am glad the new approach worked for you, now you can move onward and upward.

Face plant wouldn't have hurt so much if my wife wasn't going 27. But we are both learning. Water was smooth when we went out which helped a lot. Not glass, but not whitecaps.