Rope length

[HondaGPRacer]

I have a question for you experienced guys. I've been skiing and kneeboarding for some time, and have recently (end of last summer) gotten into wakeboarding (which I love). I'm lucky enough to have an 01 X-Star, and the wake rocks. Is there a certain rope length that most people use, or does it just mainly depend on where the wake is breaking the best? I have no one around to learn from, and have been trying to figure everything out by trial and error, such as the stance on the board, etc. I can jump fine, but that's about it for now. I need to know how to get the big air. Approach the wake and then "jump up" as much as I can? Some people make that seem so effortless. Any help would be appreciated. I am using a Hyperlite Juvi (which I do not know if it sucks or not....have heard it is an OK beginnner board...the bindings kill my feet though and cut the circulation off constantly). Is there a better board for making a faster run at the wake for better air? What bindings would you reccomend? Thanks again. This board is a package type board I got at a sporting goods store with the bindings that have velcro on the top and bottom.

Steve
Columbia SC

[HondaGPRacer]

I saw this post by waykboard:

QUOTE
hey jasper ,,
i do kinda agree with ben that the approach is going to depend on what trick you are setting up for ,, and you should use your own styl thats comfortable to you ,, but i will tell you the best thing to do is to ride your edge all the way up the wake,, if you flaten out you will loose pop ,, watch your video again ,, murry being the pro that he is ,, i feel save saying and betting he dont flaten out ,, he rides his edge all the way up wake ,,,
END QUOTE


That may be my problem. I *always* flatten out when hitting. I'll try ridin' the rail all the way up if that makes the difference in the big pop off the wake. I like this place already.

Steve

[waykboard]

hey hey honda,,
yes try riding edge all the way up the wake ,, alot of people flaten out early,, but by flatening out and pushing off the wake you loose pop ,, and yes the juvi is an exellent board ,, and yes they do make adjustable bindings that fit slightly looser than regular bindings,,and require no soaping to get into,,you can try them if you want but i hate them ,, your bindings will eventually stretch enough not to cut into your feet ,, but they will always numb your feet after a period of wearing them ,, but the adjustables being not as tight
will allow some feet movement and that is what i dont like ,, your feet should be tight to the board ,, now rope lenght is going to depend on your wake ,, alot of pro's use 75 feet or so ,, but they also got 2000 pounds of wieght in the boat ,, the further your rope the better ,, that lets you go out wider and more time to approach the wake,, what you do is set up your boat with your desired amount of wieght,,get up to 20-22 mph,,and let your rope out to the point of the largest wake with the least amount of white wash,,white wash being that foamy looking stuff at the top of your wake ,, there may even be a spot in your wake with no white wash at all ,, if so thats great ,, but find the largest part of your wake with the least amount of white wash and let your rope out to there ,,your wake may be kinda wide at this point ,, let me know if you have trouble making wake to wake jumps,,and we will see what we can do to fix that ( if you have any trouble ) good luck and welcome to wake-chat ,,,

[HondaGPRacer]

Hey wayk, thanks a ton for the advice. I'm going to try to get out there tomorrow and give it a rip. I've got a little bit of a lop-sided wake right now, but it's still pretty good. The ballast pumps both run (both the in and the out) on my right rear tank, but nothing is coming in or out (obviously from nothing coming in in the first place). I'm gonna have to try to diagnose it myself, maybe something is clogged, cause the boat place is wanting me to drop it off and give them 7-10 days....whatever! Thanks again for the tips, and I'll definitely let ya know how it goes. Are you bending your knees and hopping some when you hit the wake to get extra air, or just letting the speed and riding the rail all the way up the wake do it for you?

Steve

[waykboard]

hey honda,,
yes you want to bend your knees to a dgree that is comfortable to you ,,as for the hop it's not really a hop or push off the wake ,, it's just standing up tall,, and it is done at the very top of the wake and as you are leaving the wake,,but all that is technical and mechanical kinda stuff ,, the main part of getting big air is to ride your edge all the way up the wake,, i believe the how much to bend your knees and the standing up tall thing is a personal prefrence and you will develope your own personal style that is comfortable to you,,just keep at it and one day soon everything will suddenly and mysteriously come togather and you will be getting big air effortlessly,,but keep in mind,,, popping the wake and getting big air is also some what of a timing thing ,, people that have been riding for years will sometimes miss there timing a little and not get the pop and air ,, i call it a fizzle ,, when i miss time my approach a little and only get 2 feet of air ,, i say well i fizzled that one ,,,

[HondaGPRacer]

I gave it a try today and things seemed to work a whole lot better. I have a question about riding the rail all the way up the wake. I am assuming that you should be pulling hard and still "cutting" all the way up the wake? I did get sortof a "big" air (big for me) today...I thought I had twisted my knee when I came down...I'm not used to being up high . I am sure it was totally by accident though. I am getting wake to wake jumps now (pretty close anyway) , but it seems by virtue of speed, not by altitude. But, on the riding the rail thing....pulling hard and cutting all the way up the wake? That definitely takes a different setup and balance style than flattening out. I tried that a couple of times today and did seemed to get better air, but I paid the price for both of them since I was a little off balace since I was hitting them leaned back a little and cutting quickly across the wake. Is this the way it should be done? Oh, and you were right about the bindings...they feel *much* better now. Not even really cutting my circulation off any more.

Thanks again

Steve