New rider needs help

I just learned how to get up on my board this year. I have got that part down good but was wondering about something I ride a CWB Sol finless but when I try and start to edge out the board fills like it wants to slide out from under me is this because of the fins not being on or do I need to lean in to it harder I ride at 65ft about 28 30 mph is my speed and rope distance ok or do I need to shorten the rope and speed up. I meant to say the board has 2 molded fins on each side also. Thanks for any help in advance also if anyone in the Memphis, tn. area wants to go out during the week in the afternoon let me know I am looking for a 2nd and a 3rd to get some more riding in.

well at 65 feet u could probably slow down...just a little bit or you could put the rope to about 90 feet

Well there are very very few people that actually ride at 30 mph some of them are kieth lyman, and randall harris, and they ride with a rope that is about 30 feet longer than yours. So unless you are the absolute best rookie ever, I would start by slowing the boat down to about 23 or so. The length sounds fine! Part of the problem might also be riding finless, but instead of putting them back on, try just leaning back a little more. Riding with out fins will teach you to edge better. I have been riding for a few seasons now and just took my fins off this season, and I might never go back!

Good luck and have fun!

28-30 mph?! Holy crap. Is there a reason you're going so fast? If you're just learning board control, you can easily go 10 mph slower. Those edge diggers will hurt a lot less. Should probably put those fins back on, too. Fins are like training wheels. Not a bad idea at all. Then again, everyone is different, I guess..

Don't know where I came up with that speed but that is what I started riding at I will try this stuff out and see if it helps I don't want to put the fins back on if I need to take them off later I have a hard time getting away from training wheels when I start off with them. Thanks for all the help I will try a few things out and see what I like best.

your speedo could be off 3-4mph as well. You might really be ridin at 24-25 which is still little too fast for you IMO.

I wondered how close it really is to showing the right speed only one of my gauges work.

does it feel like the board is sliding out on toeside cuts or heelside cuts OR both?

one immage that helps people on toeside cuts (everyone i have met so far anyway) is to imagine playing tug-of-war with the boat. almost nobody has a problem with heelside (it is the natural "tug-of-war" possition, but sometimes toeside comes as a little "awkward" to some. shift your weight in such a way that you would want to pull the boat using your weight over your toes and strength of toes...... this is so much easier to explain in person (note to self: i should make a vid of this). If toeside is not your problem, well, then, i guess i gave a little extra free info for you and anyone else.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
ohh and as for speed. sometimes the wake is a good reference for a good speed. don't go so slow that the wake is beginning to wash out/roll over/ bubble over/ etc. but not so fast that the wake is beginning to loose its height.

slow down ur boat 20-21 should be good and put ur fins back on

Thanks for all the help heelside does not give me as much of a problem as toeside does. When we go back out I am going to slow the boat down and see how that works, if I shorten the rope up would that help any instead of putting the fins back on. Also the fins that came on the board are pretty tall should I maybe look at a shorter fin. I hope I am not making more out of this fin thing than what I am thinking I guess you need to learn to crawl before you can walk so again thanks for all the help.

fins or no fins is just a preference. but i would suggest that you at least try to ride with them. what if you really like it?

at 65' you could ride as slow as 19-20mph.

ha ha yeah go slower... i ride 21 at 70 feet but thats kind of boat specific. You will know why its a good idea to not ride that fast if you ever face plant ;) NOW... just one thought... your riding damn fast and when I start getting anywhere near that speed i find myself getting very scared. I am wondering if you are actually going that fast. Before you tone it down too slow and try sticking with that new speed, make sure your speedometer is accurate. It may be fine and your just a speed demon.

I raced cars before I got my boat so I kind of always had a thing for speed,No face plants yet but I would rather not find out the hard way that I was going to fast. I know I fell like I am just trying to hang on most of the time.

Have somebody drive your boat for you while you watch your wake. Have them get it up to plane and cruise at 15 mph and then increase to 20 and then to 25. Compare the wake at the three different speeds and decide what looks best. Depending on the boat it should look pretty good in the 18 to 25 mph range. Finless is fine as long as your working on learning to edge properly. You might take a look at investing in The Book instructional dvd set..