Wakesurfing Tips

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How to Get Started

One of the greatest things about wakesurfing is that the wave is yours—all yours. You don’t need to battle with other surfers for territory or stake your claim to a wave by “dropping in first.” In wakesurfing, you own the wave for as long as you care to ride it.

Ah, but there is a price to be paid for the convenience of making your own waves. You will need more than a board, a wetsuit and a roof rack for your car. The list of required gear is a bit longer, and it begins with the boat itself. Let’s start with the basics.

How to Wakesurf

Find the right boat—generally a wake boat designed to throw out the biggest wakes.
Choose the right board—beginner’s boards are readily available in today’s market.
Get a wakesurf specific rope.
Understand your boat’s ballast system.
Make sure your driver keeps the speed at around 15 KPH.
Lay back in the water with your feet laying loosely on the board.
Dig your heels into the wakesurf board and pop it up vertically.
Keep your feet shoulder width apart, with your back foot anywhere from 20 to 40 cm from the tail of the board.

Find the Right Boat

Wakesurfing really took off as an offshoot from wakeboarding. People started using wakeboarding boats for surfing, and then the tow boat industry took notice and began to tailor their lines to wakesurfing by cranking up the wakes to new heights.

The difference is that the speeds are much, much lower than skiing and wakeboarding and your feet aren’t attached to a wakesurfing board in bindings.

Tow boats have long been known for having a wealth of electronics, towers, ballast tanks and wake-tuning systems onboard. The electronics are now primarily touch-screens that control the wake-tuning systems, and the modern technology is really remarkable. You can store rider preferences and settings, such as ballast levels and tab angles, and make subtle changes based on conditions the day you’re riding.

Sterndrive engine manufacturers now offer wakesurfing models. The secret is the Forward Drive, which features dual, counterrotating propellers in front of the gearcase rather than in the rear, like traditional sterndrives. That keeps the propellers away from the rider, who is much closer to the boat in wakesurfing than skiing or ‘boarding.

Get the Right Gear

The Board: If you’re just starting in wakesurfing, seek out the “beginner boards.” There is a difference in wakesurfing boards and models geared toward more accomplished riders can be difficult for newbies to learn to ride. The differences are subtle in physical terms, but they are apparent in how they handle with a rider.

The Rope: Rope choice is important, believe it or not, and of course a wakesurfing rope is different from a wakeboarding rope, which is different from a ski rope. Wakesurfing ropes are thicker and shorter, with a heavily padded handle. Some even have knots to help new riders pull themselves into the wave’s “sweet spot” .

Life Jacket or PFD: You’ll need a personal flotation device, too. Modern Lifejackets look and feel more like vests than the blocky foam pieces you might remember. Bright colors are helpful for spotting downed riders.

Let’s Surf

Wakesurfing is more forgiving physically than skiing or wakeboarding, and it’s also not too difficult to learn, even a deep-water start. That makes it better suited to older riders such as baby boomers, who can still enjoy being behind a boat.

If you have some experience skiing or wakeboarding, obviously that helps, but getting up on a wakesurfing board is pretty straightforward. The flotation provided by the Lifejacket is helpful. Begin by putting your heels on top of the board, with your back foot over the tail and your front foot at the middle of the board. They end up being about 40 cm apart. Point the forward end of the board toward the side of the boat you’re going to be surfing on.

Regular or Goofy

Left-foot forward riders will be comfortable on the port side. Right-foot forward riders go to starboard.

Getting Up

Now you’re ready for the driver to add throttle. As the boat begins to pull you, dig your heels into the board. There’s no rush to pull yourself up. Let the boat do the work to pull you up. Stand up slowly as the tail of the board digs in and starts to get on plane.

If you’ve never gone wakesurfing before, you’ll be surprised at how much push there is from the wave. Even with that push, it will take you some time for you to be able to drop the handle, and it all rests on your ability to find the sweet spot on the wave, usually just ahead of the “break.”

If your rider finds the wake too steep, add more ballast to the front. If the wake doesn’t have enough push, add ballast weight in the stern. Boat speeds will typically range from 15 to 20 KPH.

To turn, apply pressure to heel or toes, specifically your big toe. Be smooth about it. The board responds readily. To speed up, put more weight on your front foot. To slow down, add more weight to the rear foot. That’s enough to get you going. The rest is just practice.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The best part about wakesurfing is that practicing is fun, and taking a spill is far less punishing than any other watersport. Go riding with people who are better than you. In wakesurfing, you ride so close to the boat that you will be able to hear them give you pointers while you’re riding, and you can put them to use immediately. And there’s no rush whatsoever. That wave is yours for as long as you want to ride it.