I finally did it!!!

Today after months of trying I finally free rode and did it for at least five continuous minutes!!

Good lord what a rush.

I'm a goofy footer. My set-up:

2003 Moomba Outback, 1200 lbs of ballast on the starboard corner, 135 lb wife driving and 225 lb brother in law sitting on the rear starboard corner.

I hate to admit it, but my Inland Surfer Blue Lake board was out-preformed by my CWB Ride.

For some unknown reason, The CWB Ride gave me a much better, longer and controlled "ride".

Nice Ed. I tried all summer one tiem to ride without the rope and just want happening. For me it was all the weight set up last time we went out and surfed I could have ridden as long as I wanted cause the wave was so good. It is a cool rush doing it for that long isnt it?

Ed G., The Ride has three fins, right? I've found that beginners do better with stable boards. Boards with bigger fins and/or more fins are more stable and therefore easier for beginners. Bigger boards are also better for beginners.

However, I think that loose boards - boards with fewer and smaller fins will break free for surface spins more readily. So once you really get the feel for the Ride you might want to play with removing fins or try the Blue again.

I don't ride my Broadcast 5.6 much anymore but one of my regular crew does. Today he took the side fins off of the Broadcast, removing the fins really loosened up the feel of the board, the board was much more maneuverable, and he really liked the change.

Today he also rode an old Broadcast 4.8 and also like the high maneuverability of the smaller board. The thing is that a year ago he didn't have much experience and probably couldn't keep in the pocket on the smaller board. Now it sounds like he’s interested in buying a 4.9 Broadcast.

I weigh about 210 lbs and have ridden the Blue, as fast as 13.5 mph, today I rode the Yellow at 14.5 mph! I think you’ve’ got some great boards I’d keep them and switch between riding them and see how you progress. Oh and congratulations!

setup is really crucial and even more so when first starting out..

-foot placement
-boat setup
-speed
-wake (pocket, drive, backdoor are adjustable paramters..)

experiment,experiment,experiment,experiment,experi ment,experiment,

you might want to find some pro riders and get them on your boat and ask for their help..

For me it was adding a 750# fat sac in the corner of my Vride that made the difference.I also ride the CWB ride and weigh 220#.

Ed- have your crew member try taking out the middle fin instead. It will be just as loose (probably more)as a single fin and faster down the line. I rode a single fin for 2 years and was a firm believer in them until I really tried experimenting with twin fins. I'll never go back to the "rudder" system again.