Stay Signed In
Do you want to access your site more quickly on this computer? Check this box, and your username and password will be remembered for two weeks. Click logout to turn this off.
Stay Safe
Do not check this box if you are using a public computer. You don't want anyone seeing your personal info or messing with your site.
Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding the wake of a speed boat on a single board. It was developed from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques. Some people believe that wakeboarding is a copy of skurfing but actually they have different characteristics.
As in water skiing, the rider is towed behind a boat, or a cable (that is made out of rope and does not use rubber bungee cords or anything rubber) skiing setup, but typically at slower speeds (26-37 km/hr or 16-23 mph). The lines that tow the rider typically are made of simple rope, but more advanced riders use a line with a wire core to prevent stretching of the line as a rider approaches the wake. Beginners start at slower speeds such as 29 km/hr (18 mph) with shorter ropes (14-15 m or 45-50 ft). More experienced wakeboarders use faster speeds such as 36-39 km/hr (22.5-24 mph) (speed changes can affect wake shapes drastically), but use 18-m (60-ft) or longer ropes. Instead of using skis, the rider rides a single board, known as a wakeboard, with stationary non-release bindings for each foot, standing sideways as on a snowboard or skateboard. The wakeboard also has fins on the bottom to help it and you catch the water and make more precise, awesome jumps and tricks.
The boards, which can float, are typically 118-147 cm long, depending on the weight of the rider, and up to 45 cm wide (shorter and wider than snowboards). Unlike snowboards, whose edges taper in towards the center, the edges of a wakeboard are widest in the middle of the board, with a 15-25 cm taper. When viewed from the side, a wakeboard has a concave shape; this is known as its "rocker." A board with a continuous rocker has a constant curve to it, and a board with a staged rocker (e.g. "three stage rocker") is made up of two or more straight sections at different angles that approximate a curve. More rocker gives a board greater pop off the wake, as well as softer landings and better trick manuvers
