Big Guy Needs Help Getting Up

I am having a hard time getting up. I know that I am big being 6'9" and weighing alot, however I know I can get up my board is huge. There were a couple of times that I was up out of the water, but then I would get sucked in. I have watched a lot of videos that say that you are supposed to let your butt be pulled into your heels and then ride like that until you are comfortable to turn.

So My question is since I am so big do I just flat out need horsepower and hold on for dear life or what?

I have a CWB Faction 144. It was either that or the LF Trip 146. I liked the Faction, because I thought it had more surface area. Anyways Anything Helps!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW1GhUpIcc0

4 of my friends have got up using this video.

and for the record. my uncle isnt huge or anything, but he plows a lot of water before he gets up. also. do you have a tower? it makes a huge difference.

a tower will definitely be helpfull if you got one.

a whole lot of horsepower and speed is not necessary and it most cases will not make it easier. a slow gradual get-up works best for most beginners. idle boat speed is all that is necessary to help pull a rider from a flat back position to the crouched, balled up position that pretty much ALL methods of teaching aim to get you at. then gradually increase the boat speed at a comfortable rate until the entire board and your entire body are out of the water and the board can get on plane.

tucking tight into a ball does several things:
1. it keeps your body more stable because your arms are holding your legs stable and vice versa
2. center of balance is more controllable, compacted into a smaller area
3. your board and body is closer to the surface of the water from the beginning so there is less distance to travel and less water pressure to get you to the top

the video posted above is one good method. it is very much how i get up, except that i place my arms on top of my knees and let my knees slide down my arms like they are on a track till they stop in my arm pits and against my chest (subtle difference really)

Another thing you might try: i'm not a big guy, but for me, the thing that made everything click inside me was when i took a suggestion from my mother to stand up on the board while floating in the water, just to get a sense of what it felt like to stand up on the board. from there i just crouched and pulled my knees up to my chest and said ready.

lastly, you might try sitting on a tube (not tied to the boat, just floating) to help get your body out of the water so you wont have to fight the water pressure getting up.



(Message edited by wakerider111 on August 30, 2009)

if you are plowing water, this diagram will help
(credit to another wake worlder)

I am a newbie and got up and stayed up on my 3rd attempt. But... i was using a really slow up and plowed a lot of water before getting on plane and just continued to do that... and it really takes a toll on the body... well eventually. like shown in the picture.. i started tipping the toe side of the board forward to lessen the angle and amount of water i was pushing. made a EXTREME difference in how fast i popped out of the water and now the transition between being in the water and turning the board is effortless... and my arms arent taking as much abuse!!

I am a big guy,was 290 when I started wakeboarding down to 260 now! When I first tried I thought I was too big also,I didn't think I was strong enough. I was wrong it is 100% about technique,when you pull your heels to your butt and wait just a little longer to stand up it makes it much easier. Now as far as riding crouched down on the board that is hard,I can barely do that on dry land,as soon as I feel that little push up on my feet I stand up and turn the board,much easier! Even as big as I am I can get up one handed if I want to!

Arms straight, knees bent. DO NOT pull the handle to you and straighten your legs! You will never get up. Stay in the arms straight knees bent position until you are up on top of the water. You can ride like this until you feel comfortable to stand up. Stay in the arms straight knees bent position and have the driver slowly start adding throttle. You will feel the board start going up on top of the water.

Notice I typed ARMS STRAIGHT KNEES BENT alot here... It's important to remember it. Good luck dude!

So My question is since I am so big do I just flat out need horsepower and hold on for dear life or what?

If you feel like you're lacking in HP then you need to help the boat get you up. If you did have more HP then it would likely rip the handle from your hands anyway. You help the boat by getting the board to flatten out like Jeremy's picture, and letting your center of gravity ride up over the board. It's common for new riders to fight and lean back too much. Once you learn to get up then you'll find it doesn't take much HP.

Alright. I will be back out on the water this weekend. We shall see what happens.

Thanks alot for everyone.

P.S. Someone in my boat had the great idea to put me on a dock with shallow gravel/sand bank. Immidiately dug into gravel and scraped the bottom of the board. It is not to bad, but I absolutely hate to have my stuff scratched.

One thing that I do with newbies is put them in the water holding the handle and with the board against the edge of the swim step. I then pull the rope and they get the feel for heels to the butt into a ball and pivoting forward and slowly standing up.

Using this approach I've been able to get a bunch of newbies up, including never-evers (sometimes on their first try), and others who had previous unsuccessful attempts and were able to get up now within the first few tries.

Viagra?

Very similar to Eagle in what we do, except we have sandbars all over the river that we usually stop to fill up sacs or drain. When we have a newbie wanting to learn I'll put them on the sandbar with the board on and grab their hand and pull them up from their seated position (just like Murray says in detention), it's worked the best for me so far when I'm teaching.