wake-to-wake

got a question about riding...i'm fairly new to this scene - when i watch people ride, they make jumping wake to wake look incredibly easy - whether it's on a DVD or at the lake, people look as though they cruise up to the wake, barely bend their knees and land out on the flats on the other side. i have a '97 v-drive - but i don't have any weight in it...yet. it has a 270 horse that does alright. my question is this - yesterday it was myself, my wife and two other girls. between the three of them, they weigh around 375 or so (125 a piece). i also have about a 100 pounds in old tractor weights in the bow. i'm around 6'0" and about 220 (bodybuilding was my first love...) -- my problem is when i'm riding, i'm sitting down and cutting into the wake hard - and i think really hard - and i can barely land on top of the other wake. i'm not a pro by any means, but in my opinion i'm working entirely too hard just to get to the other wake - let alone beyond out to the flats. is that a weighting issue? if i threw another three or four hundred pounds throughout the boat, would that make a difference in size of wake and help me clear it?? would that at least help solve the working too hard to barely get air problem?? any insight would be appreciated...just seems like i'm busting my a$$ to not even make it across.

why don't you just try to make the rope shorter first then you shold clear it..also what size board are you riding?

weight placement is more important than weight ammount imo. more weight in the boat means a mellow wake, more weight in the back means a steeper wake. For going w2w, it is all practice, like olling on a skate board, as soon as yo do it, you get that great, ohhh its so easy now. Things what might help, shortening the rope will make it easier to get that first w2w. when you hit the wake, make sure you are still on edge. Also when you hit the wake, you want to be standing tall, not obsorbing the wake with your knees.

isn't that cheating??!! it's a 141. seems fine, but what do i know.

Read this post [ if I did it right ]http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/1/332552.html?1149741753

hmmm...makes sense. maybe i'm trying too hard to jump off the wake and not standing tall. might be it. i'll shorten up the rope for a bit too and see if that helps.

i weigh 145 and i ride a 140...remember to load the line and cut in at a 45degree angle and then pop off the wake with the handle in close to your hip and you should land on the other side of the wake no problem..start out wide and take a progressive cut into the wake building up speed and hold your edge all the way through the wake..

1. Practice your ollies out in the flats. At first you will barely be able to get the board off of the water and will do so by lifting with your toes but you will start to get the feel of the board releasing and will get higher and higher.
2. Stand tall when you hit the wake. It is hard to feel when you are absorbing the wake with your knees because it doesn't feel like you are doing it but you really want to think about how you would jump of flat ground. Think about standing with both feet shoulder width apart and trying to jump straight up. You really come off the ground most when you fully extend your body.

The other thing on my boat with my friends who are learning to jump is the hardest place to land is right on top of the second wake. You just need that much more to land right on the downslope so increase the quality, not necessarily the speed of your cut a little bit.
BTW, landing in the flats just hurts, try to go more straight up and land on the downside of the second wake.

This isn't the right place to discuss riding tips, but what the heck.

It sounds to me like you are making the same mistake I made, you are trying to clear the wake based on speed alone. Cut pull way out, cut back in as hard as you can and just attack the wake.

If you don't have the basics down, coming in faster won't help and can actually make matters worse.

Here is what I bet is happening (examin a video of yourself to verify). You probably start your cut really hard and then back off as you approach the wake. This eases the tension in the line and you lose any benefit of the tower.

Next, you hit the wake so hard that your legs can't hold and they bend at the knees, absorbing the wake instead of having it give you pop. Now your board is a couple of feet high but your body isn't much higher.

Try this instead:

Go out just half of what you normally do. Cut back and keep cutting hard all the way up the wake. Don't try to "jump" off the top of the wake but do try to keep your legs stiff so they don't absorb all your pop.

Going shorter on the rope might help, as the wake is narrower. I found that the wake is steeper in closer, which I had great difficulty riding up without my legs buckling.

When you get the "pop" you will know it: You will be looking down at the boat and you will know you have been in the air for a while. When you get the hang time and still land inside the wake then worry about more speed (but I bet your won't need it).

i agree, videos always help me. You can see what you are doing, and figure out how to fix it, and things you can change. Other wise you just have to try to understand from other poeple, and it is always easier first hand.

Learn how to finesse the wakeboard into the air. My ex-pro wakeboarding friend can ollie higher than most people jump off the wake, it's inspiring to watch. Get some videos like the book and learn the skills. Once you do you will understand that you can go wake to wake with almost no wake.

Ryan I have almost the same boat as yours. I have the bigger maxum 210ss. The wake on these is very nice with no ballast and is huge when its loaded up but its a little wide so you'll need to shorten your line to say 60 ft or so.

I'm a big guy 250lbs and I ride at 75ft or I land way out in the flats and it hurts my knees but most other people who ride with me use 65ft.

LEarn to use your edges and create pop off the wake. with good edging you can create a ton of pop without any wake. it has nothing to do with weight in the boat. Get "the book" and use it.