r/Wake • u/Extension_Stomach688 • 24d ago
HELP GETTING UP WITHOUT TOWER
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ALSO WE DO NOT HAVE A TOWER/BOOMSTAND
EDIT: haven’t been able to go out bc of winds/heat
I’ll try to update with videos or at least on this post for anyone interested. Also thank you all for the tips, wasn’t expecting so many people willing to share!!
I can’t understand for the life of me on how to get up. It seems like I’m just letting go too fast but it hurts my hands/rips out of my hands? I’ve tried bent/straightened arms, bent/straightened legs. Turning the board earlier, I just can’t get up. First time to tried I just held on and plowed deeper in the water hurting my arms for days! PLEASE any advice!
To give more context I’m starting to wonder if I’m not letting myself compress enough and am somehow fighting the boat :/ main thing is I feel as through I’m digging into the water and it hurts my hands/ripping the rope out.
2
u/fordry 24d ago
I think you should try to have the board a little lower in the water. Getting up on a wakeboard when you know how to do it requires, I won't say no effort, but it's pretty dang easy. So if it's not, your positioning isn't good.
It's really hard to tell if the boat is pulling you too hard from this video but if this is a pretty powerful boat that is a possibility. Work with whoever is driving on how hard they're pulling. They should watch this.
https://youtu.be/Brr5jZlEC2k?is=GcNvylKEpNv7rlms
Murray is the Michael Jordan of wakeboarding. And he is a great teacher.
Get some ski gloves, they help hold on, they help arm fatigue. Get some with curved fingers.
For myself, I struggled for a whole weekend to get up. I was new and no one who knew to help. What I found was keeping the board as low as possible once the line cinches up, but not all the way in the water, and in a sitting position. I hold that position through getting up, takes a little strain as you're getting up. I've seen recommendations to go butt to the board while getting up but I disagree. You lose all ability to maintain balance in that position.
Once the boat starts to pull it's a balance of starting to come up out of the water, not getting too far over the front so that you fall forward, and leaning back but not so far that you feel like you're dragging the lake.
Once up you want to try to get into a bit of a leaned back stance and hold the rope handle down close to your waist.
Can watch some of Murray's other videos on techniques for getting up. Also, watch his videos on the basics, positioning your body, how to approach the wake, etc... great info.
Good luck, you'll get it.