Teaching my girl friend how to drive/pull me.

Has anyone else had troubles doing this?

perfect pass.

Okay, I guess you don't have to buy it, but it could be easier.

I'm sure there are other guys out there in the same boat.

What are you trying to teach her? How to stay at a constant speed? How to pull you up? How to stay in smooth water? How to drive safely? How to drive straight? How to drive a double up? Be a little more specific.

i have had success several times. just let her drive your line at wakeboarding speed (also do some pretend starts) while you sit next to her. talk to her the whole time about what to do if you fell here, if there was a fishing boat here, if one speedo goes out, how to make small speed adjustments, the importance of driving straight, etc., etc. do this until she is comfortable driving without a rider. then, let her pull you. your best bet is to get a wetsuit and do this in the early spring when there are no other boats out there. when she finally agrees to pull you. ride for as long as possible and fall frequently. wheel time is the key.

All I can say is watch out for what you say. A comment that you could say to the fellas, may put you on the couch and no more pulls for some time. GOOD LUCK!!

very true bazel. definitely need to be delicate with your "suggestions". don't expect the perfect pull right away. if things aren't going well, fall and explaining (very delicately) how to improve. good luck.

Start by making her pull everyone on the boat when you are out there with all your friends. Then she has real practice and you can be next to her giving pointers. Do this regularly as she will get more and more comfortable pulling lots of people. Make sure you teach her ALL THE RIGHT STUFF - no power turns etc...

AND dont yell.

As a female allow me to chime in...
Pehaps the BEST way to teach her how to be a good driver is to teach her how to be a good rider. Once I understood how bad driving impacted MY riding I understood how my driving impacted my bf's riding. I used to not care about finding the seam between other boat wakes - now it is a priority! Perfect pass is a great tool, explanation of how to drive and pull helps if it is in little bits and pieces. Encourage a trusted friend to teach and it may go over better or ask a local boat dealer to give a ladies driving tips day.

my fiancee was naturally great at driving a boat. i was blessed

Be VERY careful what you say. My wife is pretty hot tempered (to put it lightly) & the easiest way to teach her to drive was to have her watch me drive as much as possible. I'm still trying to get her to stop power turning. People that don't ride very often don't understand "Butter"

Taught my wife AND my 15 year old son this year how to pull on an I/O without perfect pass. Here are the tips:

1. Show them how to practice start by hammering the throttle then easing off after about 5 seconds. My wife used to wait until it got to 18mph to ease off and by the time she did I was at 25mph+, then she'd slow down to 12, back to 25... Key is to hammer, then ease off. better to gradually pull up to 18-20 than go down from 25...

2. I also have a portable GPS that I put on the dashboard to show her the speed easier than the speedometer which is unreliable until about 15-20 mph. That makes her feel comfortable

3. No matter how sucky the pull is, say " Wow, that was good" DO NOT COMPLAIN. Then say, "hey..next time I'm gong to try a trick that will work better if you ease into the speed than over shoot it. It's ok to pull slow and get up to speed....

4. Show her how to NOT power turn, and gently point it out.

5. Describe what you are doing when you are driving someone else.

6. My son used to complian about my driving, until he drove me and realized how hard it was to keep speed.

Have fun. Don't criticize and now matter how bad it was say, "That was awesome." That's good marriage advice also....

It's not like girls are disabled in some way! I know plenty of great girl drivers, and the key is to just put some time and effort into teaching them. If it's not something they've done before, then it's going to take a little bit of time and practice, just like learning anything for the first time. (this applies regardless of whether the learner driver is male or female!)
Liz is right - i always tell people to drive how they'd like to be driven for when I'm teaching them . If you think like a wakeboarder when you're driving, then it definitely helps!

well my mom. she ran over mr brand new handle and thermal green liquid force rope and it got stuck in the prop. atleast she bought me a new one!

Honestly, most girls that I know feel embarrassed when they can't do things right. We are all like that. I wasn't a good boat driver until I asked questions and learned what to do. I'm still not perfect, but it's all about willing to look a little foolish in the beginning and I don't think girls/women like doing that.

-Daniel

Murphini, some good points...but it depends on the boat and prop
.....if you were to hammer it in my boat with the Hammerhead and especially with a 1235 prop
..........the rider would have no more shoulders and arms!
also
I have learned that distractions are the enemy

the kids have to sit and be silent and no music....when the wife pulls me

and she is a great driver

but kids fighting and just acting like kids....music playing, etc....makes for bad starts and sometimes even waiting to be noticed when I fall

be nice
let her practice driving....even backwards
driving up on the trailer.....the wife is better than I am at that....docking,
pulling the tube

the wife and kiddo can be your greatest drivers
....mine are!

lol!......wow how the story is so similar for everyone!.......yes always be encouraging and complimentary........never have a scowl on your face!!!

Have her pull a "ghost rider" while you are in the boat with her.

teaching your chick to drive will ruin your relationship. she'll rip the handle out of your hands when pulling you up. she'll constantly be going either too slow or too fast. She won't drive a straight line, she'll drive straight out into the chop and by the time you make it back into the boat, miserable, and attempt to say anything she'll get pissed and you'll now have to deal with a pissed chick the rest the day. Never mind the $150 rope she ran over......
If you like her, keep her at home
just my 2 cents

Dude if you leave her at home who is going to get you a cold beer out of the cooler? Teach your best buddy how to drive then have him teach your girlfriend with you not in the boat or getting pulled. Stay on shore and stay out of it.

Also if it starts to get real busy when your boarding drop when safe and get in the boat. Allot of people men and women get scared when lots of boats are flying around. Drop and try again later.

DUDE(boardtodeath): um...If your girlfriend is hot, which every girl I've seen on a wakeboard boat is, she'll find a willing driver/boat combination rather than sit at home waiting for you. I agree with Face Planter that education by someone else other than you is key to her success as a boat driver. I had a buddy teach my son to wakeboard and it worked great. Just like golf, get a young pro to teach your wife and she'll never complain about how you messed up her grip/swing/etc.

Clif: Agreed on the Hammerhead with 1235 prop. In fact, if that's what you are driving and worried about your arms, I'll trade you strait up for my 20' 1989 VIP with the 302.

Matt,
Dude, when you figure it out let me know. I think I told you about my story when my ex put the boat in reverse when I was just aft of the ladder. Thank god I was still strapped in the boots which kept my legs floating or might have become a better bouy then wakeboarder.

Dude - sounds like you've only ever seen one chick try to drive - and what's the bet she had a really bad teacher....

For those of you whose wife/partner isn't interested in wakeboarding, and is learning to drive purely to help you out - maybe you should keep that in mind! Someone with no interest in boats/water/wakeboarding isn't going to be interested in driving well enough to give you a good ride. Getting them interested enough in the sport to want to drive well should be the first step! Otherwise, find someone who is actually interested and stop complaining/wasting their time.

Try to find another girl to teach her. I have found that not having a "significant other" teach them to drive (even ride for that matter) is often so much better. If you know another woman who can drive send her out with her for a day.

thats usually a way to find if shes a keeper, if she can drive = + ..... if not no way

My wife is a very good driver, she keeps getting better, as do I. I always tell her she did a good job, then if i want her to do something different for me next time, I just ask her politely. If she made a mistake in boating ettequite, I simply tell her and she is cool with it.
She is familiar with my style, so I appreciate that she pays attention to the way i like being pulled.

Pointers Without perfect pass (our first boat) A great point is to have her look at the shape of the wake, both sides still washy--kick it up a notch. Have her listen to the song of the motor and try to keep that steady instead of constantly hawking the gauges.