Wakeboarding for Beginners

Driving

Synopsis: How to drive a wakeboard boat. Covers the fundamentals: keeping a constant speed, pulling a new rider, maintaining order.

I bet you currently think about wakeboarding as an individual event like free poker. Most people do. I disagree with most people. In my opinion, wakeboarding is as much a team sport as any.

What team you ask? The rider-driver team. They must both work together or nothing is going to happen. A bad driver can ruin even the best rider's set. And even the best driver can't make up for a bad boarder's inability.

So what can you do to make yourself a better driver? Practice, practice, practice! You're not born a world-class driver (just like you're not born a world-class boarder). Given that, reading this article should give you some things to think about while you're driving.

The first important thing to remember when pulling a rider is that consistency matters. Keep a constant speed. The speed is what sets the line-tension and the wake-shape and size. Speeding up or slowing down while your rider is heading for the wake is like pulling the vault out from in front of a gymnast during her approach. Not a good thing.

There are a couple of techniques that you can use to keep the speed constant. The first (and best) is to use a speed control system. Perfect Pass is the industry standard. But most modern wakeboarding boats come with their own system built in standard.

The basis for these systems is that you dial in a speed, get the rider up and the boat to cruising speed, and then they kick in. They increase the throttle when they sense the boat slowing down and decrease the throttle when they sense the boat speeding up.

A speed-control system will make your job as a driver ten times easier. It will free you from constantly monitoring your speedos (speedometers) and let you focus on watching for boat-traffic. If you are a serious boarder, a speed control system is essential.

The second thing to remember as a boat driver follows the same theme of consistency as the first. Drive straight! Some boat drivers will drive in a constant, sweeping arch. It drives riders crazy. Not only do you chop up the whole lake, but your wake won't be crisp while you're turning, and the centrifugal force will whip your rider towards the outside (making it hard to control the board and leading to some nasty falls) or give them slack on the inside.

Plan ahead so that you can go straight for the longest distance possible. When you do need to turn, make them angular (rather than sweeping) turns and get heading straight again.

Obviously, safety is the most important concern. Don't run into shore or another obstacle because you're afraid to turn. But also be conscious of how your actions as a boat driver effect the rider. Alert them before you turn around so they have ample time to prepare.

There are many other tricks of the trade that you will have to learn through experience. Be sure to listen to your riders and obey their wishes. Before you pull someone for the first time ask them how hard they like the hit (how quickly they like to get pulled out of the water) and what cruising speed they're accustomed to.

For new riders, you want to give them a soft hit and pull them at around 18 mph. But more experienced riders may like to have a very hard hit and cruise around 23 mph. It's all personal preference.

I'll leave you with one final tip that will make the water a better place for all of us. Please don't make "power turns." A power turn is where you throttle all the way through your turn-around to pick up a downed rider. It sends your wake all the way across the lake, chopping it up for everyone. Power-turns are unnecessary. They are not any quicker than slowing down, idling around your turn, and then heading back towards your rider. And they are an obvious sign of an inexperienced (or inconsiderate) boat driver.

Remember, practice makes perfect. Be safe, drive responsibly, and have fun! You should now read on and learn about boating courtesy so that you can learn how to be a better, more likable boater.

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