Boatless Wakeboarding

I want to build a boatless wake boarding facility. Can anyone provide information where I can get information from such as cost, requirements etc.?

Like a cable park?


www.cablewakeboard.com


Danny T.
www.OKCBoardShop.com
www.WakeboardOklahoma.com

Or a winch

So you live in florida. Take a look at Orlando Watersports Complex. O and good luck.

What needs to be built is stationary wake, where you have the hull of a boat and water is forced under it to create a wake. You could have a couple different boats for different wakes, it sorta be like the wave tank for surfing. Or the batting cages of wakeboarding you pay for a 1/2 hour on whatever style off wake you want.

"Or the batting cages of wakeboarding you pay for a 1/2 hour on whatever style off wake you want."

Do you have a link to this? I was not aware such a thing existed (and am still a bit skeptical that it does in fact exist).

Gordie is talking hypothetically. I think it's a great idea. I don't think there is a wakboarder that hasn't thought about that concept. I always think it'd be amusing to see what happens to the rider when they fall (with the water moving at 25 mph).

Dante, It's just an Idea, but if you ever seen a wave tank it would be something like that.

I would like to see what would happen with two streams of water that were angled towards each other, I don't know if you could make it wide enough or if it would just wind up being a big spine with no trough in the middle. You would have to rig up some kind of killswitch or something, but that would limit the handle pass tricks that could be done.

There is something sorta like that at Schlitterbahn in Texas. The form a shallow wave and do boogie boards on it. I have never been on it, but I know its there

yea im pretty sure every wakeboarder who has a winter or a windy day even has thought about it. a pool 100 feet long or so. too deep to hit the bottom (7ish feet). water moving at a good speed. some sort of water displacement at the front of the pool to make the wake. wide enough to make your cut. some sort of beach at the back so when you fall the water just pushes you up the beach. next rider jumps in from the side like jumping off a chase boat.

I think the moving of that much water is possible. wouldnt be easy or cheap. I think everything about it is plausible just not cheap.

plus i would think that since the rider is "stationary" and the water is moving the entire feeling would be different. It would be more like a trampoline because you arent being pulled by the boat your only movement is laterally. wake to wake 1080s? a 1260? someone build one of these things! i wanna see a 1260!

ok kool. is the vans surf pool open in orlando yet? id like to visit it.

Haha Evan, I se some drawers (and tops if we are lucky) droppin.

If there were something to that affect, just think how much faster the learning curve would be. It could be a training center similar to Lake placid. My son seems to think if the water moving 27 0r 28 mph you will have enough line tension that it could feel very much the same.
If we only had a million extra. I think it would be cheaper then a cable park.

What about those artificial surf facilities. I mean they have to have a way to have the surfer exit when he falls.

One thing is for sure, it would require a LOT of water cycling through the system.

It'd be like a bigger version of the swimming treadmill pool.

All you would have to do is get enough water circulating through their at the right speed then put a boat hull down in there, weighted correctly.

In fact, it would work like a wind tunnel, but for boats.. a water tunnel if you would.

Could be good for fun and R&D.

-S

It would definitely have a different look/feel to riding behind a boat, but I think you could make it feel very similar. If you added some air movement to simulate boat speed you could give it a very real feel.

with out the line tension from the boat that would be really awkward...i dont think you could do more spinning, because the line tension helps you spin. On a trampoline you can use momentum, and you don't have a board strapped to you, I have thought about it before and i think it would be rad to try it, but if you could somehow figure out a way to keep forward momentum on the line you have got a money maker$$$

If the water is passing beneath you @ wakeboarding speeds (22-28 mph), there will be line tension.

Can anyone say "indoor wakeboarding"?

All you do is go up to the spill way at your local reservouir on a heavy run off day, tie a rope to something, wear a good helmet and jump in.

TackleBerry,

I think he is talking about when you are in the air, not while on the surface of the water.

I also believe this would be a problem, but if it isn't it would be sweet.

I agree the line tension would be lost in the air, but could be somewhat compensated for by a more flexible line. This would be very cool. It would take a large turbine or turbine-like mechanism to move enough water. Keep thinking, start acting.

Hey Matthew, hope all is well with you.

You could also figure out some kind of line tensioner (counterweight) that would keep the tension when you are airborn, it would have to be subtle so that it wouldn't pull you forward when you leave the wake. I can't imagine the size pumps you would have to have to move the water though.

so what happens when you fall nose down on the board? lots of damage and flexing joints even if it is a padded surface like the flow rider

Just like riding behind the boat, the line tension is built on the water (when edging is done properly). Between that and the pendulum effect, the release from the wake (and that tension) creates the lift. It would be the same. Think about it this way - if there were no water tension on the board when you are riding it, would it be just like standing up in a moving boat? Is there any tension there once you get your balance?

(Message edited by socalwakepunk on November 06, 2006)

Hey Jeff, that's what Larry said. But who knows it just sounds like it would be pretty cool.

This may be a long shot...

What if they built an under water electromagnetic propulsion track (similar to the superman ride at Six Flags)

This track would have a mechanism to attach different boat hulls to it and could sink the hull as deep in the water as needed. (no weight needed)

Because it would be computerized, the pull would be straight and have consistent speed. Also no prop wash or noice.

The down side would be how to pick up a fallen rider. ???

I don't know... Just a rant...

What about those never ending pool things? It seems that the technology is alreay there you just need a bigger pump something to make a wake and a really big pool. If you didn't have a big pool you could spend tons of time dialing in your fundamentals. Think about the possiblities of progression if you could do it by yourself at home.

Ryan, Ive thought about that too; the only problem being that you still need a massive strip of water.

I dont think the flowrider system with the boat hull will work. A wake is created by two forces, the boats moving and displacing the water, and the pressure of the stationary water around it forcing the water back to where it came. the flowrider example only addresses the displacement not the pressure. I think the only way to do it in the flowrider model is to make a "false wake" by manipulating the shape of the flooring. This may or may not produce an authentic experience.

If you could create the flow couldnt you just have a single ramp in the center of the pool. to hit. You could shape it however you want and run water over it. Then you would ony have to move enough water to keep the wakeboarder up and not to produce the wake. It would not allow wake to wake but would be like landing in the flats on every jump.

Im thinking the best way to do it would to be like a cable, but with an indian line. You just use a flat flowrider type system and do all thricks with load and pop, like on a cable. However, use a higher angle on the rope so you get more life, like using the short line on the cable.

How about you have an outdoor lake like a normal cable park, but instead of cables you have different wake boat hulls connected to a chain rotating around the lake. The chain is underwater holding the hull down to create the wake, basically a cable park with boat hulls so you can actually have a nice wake without paying for an expensive wakeboat.

dan, that actually sounds like a really cool enexpensive way to ride the only problem with it is that if you would fall you would either a get run over by a boat and rider or b have to stop the whole thing

At least you wouldn't get your head lopped off by a prop.

Nice thread. Someone better make this happen.

So I'm thinking there's two things that create line tension: 1)flow of water under board 2)wind from forward movement. So the system has 2 things: 1) cycles a lot of water 2) a big fan.

I don't think that pulling the rider through the water is as good as moving water past the rider because 1)distance is probably limited 2) you still have to make a wake - probably by pulling something through the water.

If you could feasibly flow water at 18-23 mph in enough volume to support a rider, then I think you could also have a stationary "hull" that would displace the water as it flows by.

However, to Jason's point -- "A wake is created by two forces, the boats moving and displacing the water, and the pressure of the stationary water around it forcing the water back to where it came." -- I'd anticipate that a wake could still be made without the force from stationary water, but I see the argument against it. Maybe this could be compensated for by directing some flow of water back in on the area displaced by the "hull".

Any way, it would be tight for sure.

I've always thought about riding an "ENDLESS" pool. For those who don't know what they are, they are pools that push water for swimmers, obviously slow but itd be fun to try and replicate to a faster speed for wakeboarding.

How about this. A huge water tank is elevated some what and there is another pool at the bottom were the rider would be. The tank on top has tons of water pumped from the bottom tank to the top tank. There is a some what of a water fall that goes from the top tank to the bottom tank but is only like 45 degrees steep and flatens out right before the bottom pool were the rider would be. The water would be going perfect wake boarding speed at the bottom of the pool but might create some kind of under tow currents under the surface, could be dangerous. The problem with those pumps at one end of the pool and pumping water to the other side would be really unpredictable water. A lot of swirling and eddies. The water coming off of the incline would be like glass. Did I make any sense or did I totally lose everyone.

yeah, but that system is already invented. www.flowrider.com

The problem isnt getting the water to a rideable speed, nor is it circulating it. The problem is getting a "thick enough" sheet of water so that tricks arent dangerous, and creating a mock wake.

You cant redirect water to make the wake because once you carve over into the redirected water you lose all your load and edging power, since that is created by water travelling past you, not sideways.

So you have to make it thick enough, then you have to have some sort of artifical wake to hit. However, due to the limits of using a false flow of water, a hull is out of the question. I say forget the wake and just use and indian line and load the hell out of it.