Your tips on towing skiers and boarders...

[hoopykat]

OK, I thought I would throw this thread out there for tips, tricks and general advice on how you pull your boarders and skiers. Getting them out and up...tow speeds and the like.

Any and all help appreciated!

-Mike

[chpthril]

I like to break it down into 2 parts: pulling up and controlling the board/skies.

First I'll go through what they need to know to get up. Within 3 or 4 tries, they are up, but go right down in 3-4 secs. Now they are ready for the next set of instructions on what to do to control the board and keep thier balance.

I try to pull newbies a a fairly slow speed. The board seems to be alot more stable when it is sitting deeper in the water V's planed out.

[spooner]

The biggest problem I have with new drivers is them wanting to travel in a long arc.

Straight lines please.

[whitlock87]

This is how we pull our boarders.
1) After they give us the thumbs up, I will ideal until all the slack is out of the rope. At this point, I will give it about 30% of the throttle. (If it is a big person, I will give it more.) After they get up, I will wait until about 15mph and start backing the throttle down until we come into there boarding speed. (I do not have any type of speed control on by boat)
2) As far as pulling speeds go, My son who is 5’10” and 150lbs Rides a 142 and boards at 22mph. My daughter who is 5’6” and around 120 rides a 137 and boards at 20mph. And I ride a 147 and like to board around 23mph.

You will need to keep you hand on the throttle, as the speed of the boat will keep changing based on water condition and how they are cutting.

Hope this helps
David

[TeamAllen]

For beginners, use a shorter rope off the tower to give them a better, pull out of the water, angle.

[G-MONEY]

When your boarder falls stop the boat let the wakes pass turn in side and come back and pick up your boarder. This keeps the water smooth and saves gas.

[CP3]

The biggest problem I have with new drivers is them wanting to travel in a long arc.

Straight lines please.

my biggest pet pieve right there that and when the driver turns right as you are about to come into the wake

[dogbert]

All great advice. As for getting them up for the first time, here's my tip from Nick Weinnacker: have them tuck themselves up into a cannonball position with the board horizontally in front of them. Make sure their arms are wrapped around their knees with the rope in front of their knees. Tell them relax and not push against the board. When the boat goes, it will naturally pull them up onto the board. Once the board is floating, tell them to gradually try and stand up while maintaining their balance. Don't worry about turning the board because they can ride it sideways for quite a while. As a driver, this is what I tell all my 1st time riders. We have a 100% chance success rate. Make sure you tell them that, too. It's all about confidence.

As the driver, gradual acceleration is the best and never more than 30%. I usually tell them an RPM range to start and another RPM range to move up to. Having PerfectPass or Tige Speedset helps.

[Big Wave]

This article on Wakeworld.com http://www.wakeworld.com/articles/2003/perfectpull.asp Should be read by everyone that drives a boat and tows people.
I made copies and left them around our lake house for everyone to read, especialy my wife and son (who tow me). The result was outstanding, I know longer have to yell at my wife about power turns and I get towed in a streight line.

The part about a quick turn to the left as you get off the power after the rider goes down before turning back to the right works perfectly every time.

[da.bell]

This article on Wakeworld.com http://www.wakeworld.com/articles/2003/perfectpull.asp Should be read by everyone that drives a boat and tows people.
I made copies and left them around our lake house for everyone to read, especialy my wife and son (who tow me). The result was outstanding, I know longer have to yell at my wife about power turns and I get towed in a streight line.

The part about a quick turn to the left as you get off the power after the rider goes down before turning back to the right works perfectly every time.

I'm still trying to figure out why the quick turn to the left thing works. I do it and it works perfectly. But I don't understand why....

[Big Wave]

I have been trying to figure out why it works for a couple years and I think it is a combination of 2 things. One as you turn to the left it decreases the wake size on the right side and secondly it takes a little longer to make the turn back to the right giving the wakes time to pass before you complete your turn back to the rider.
One thing is for sure, you don't take any water over the bow (from your own wake anyway) when you do it.

[Jeff T]

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. I communicate constantly with my riders, via hand signals, etc. Sometimes it isn't instantly received because they are cutting, but when i need them to know something, they know it.

[wakeboarder247]

Communication is huge and hand signals are awesome! I make all of the people I tow while boarding/skiing tap the top of thier head after they fall so I know they are okay. If they take a big fall and I don't see them tapping their head then I'm powerturning and flying back ASAP.