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View Full Version : So I bought a wakeskate...



Mandelon
01-21-2005, 07:40 PM
From a friend of a famous HB postwhore.
Its like a wakeboard but with no bindings.....I am looking forward to trying it out when the water warms up, but..........anyone have some tips on how to get up on it?

Flying Tiger
01-22-2005, 08:26 AM
For getting the hang of it, if all else is frustrating:
Keep the rope kinda short, with someone feeding it to you ,, then work your way back slowly after takeoff.. It's a low speed manuver though it looks fast, it's a bit slower than wakeboarding at first.
Usually in our group, it's one of the stronger boys is handling/feeding it back.
Not sure why this method is better, but it's the one the kids figured out and use.
I'm just a big dog that talks & pays for everything.
Now: I have a direct drive with the prop safely under the hull.
Can't imagine this method with an outdrive.
The idea is that at slow takeoff speed, the wake/swell is massive just behind the swimstep giving you a good, deep low speed shove,, kinda like standing up for a wave surfing at the correct time on the swell.
DAMFINO if this is the correct way to learn it, but my daughter insists it is for learning, and it works.
I have seem people get up just like a regular wakeboard, but you need the non slip surface for your feet to grip to in that case..
Have fun. It's always fun to master something new.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/3812Pix_of_Ross_012-med.jpg
Parker Strip summer '04:

Flip
01-23-2005, 08:26 AM
From what I've heard, the "get up" is about the same as a wakeboard. Imagine you're in the same position as with a wakeboard waiting to get up. The only difference is that you've got the skate there with your heels on it. When the boat starts to pull you up, the board will kinda slap up against the bottom of your feet and the rest is like wakeboarding but a lower speed. Keep in mind, I've never actually done it, but thats how I've heard it's done. :idea:

DeltaSigBoater
01-23-2005, 11:44 AM
From what I've heard, the "get up" is about the same as a wakeboard. Imagine you're in the same position as with a wakeboard waiting to get up. The only difference is that you've got the skate there with your heels on it. When the boat starts to pull you up, the board will kinda slap up against the bottom of your feet and the rest is like wakeboarding but a lower speed. Keep in mind, I've never actually done it, but thats how I've heard it's done. :idea:
Thats how its done, but it does take some use to riding, prepare to fall... alot.

Goodtime$
01-23-2005, 12:56 PM
Anyone looking for some FREE WAKEBOARD GOODs, including tons of wakeskates, ropes, vests and a custom Infinity surfboard. Come by the ORION CUSTOM BOATS booth at the LA boat show...free stuff to give away and ill make sure ***boat members get first dibs...
wakeskate, just idle forward with your feet equal on the board, and tell the driver to hit it like you would on a wakeboard, after your first time it will be easy. if you have a wakeskate with griptape deck, make sure you have shoes on.
have fun

mbrown2
01-24-2005, 07:58 PM
Sounds like Flying Tiger is describing wake surfing...where a short rope is used and you are surfing the wake...
Wake skating is different....it is wakeboarding without bindings....to get up you can do the board under water or the board on top of water....The board on top of the water is easier...
Lay back with heels on the board, with board on top of the water perpendicular to the boat......with your knees bent and in a squatting position. As the boat starts to pull, push down with your heels on the board, still staying bent, the board will now start to feel like a wakeboard, keep pushing with your heels as start to stand, legs still bent.....release your back hand on the rope, so your alignment will start to correct as the boat pulls your front hand around and the board starts point more direct....From there, start carving...good luck.
BTW, I would this same method for Wake Surfing, just with a much, much shorter rope and load the boat to one side to increase the wake.

mbrown2
01-24-2005, 07:58 PM
Anyone looking for some FREE WAKEBOARD GOODs, including tons of wakeskates, ropes, vests and a custom Infinity surfboard. Come by the ORION CUSTOM BOATS booth at the LA boat show...free stuff to give away and ill make sure ***boat members get first dibs...
wakeskate, just idle forward with your feet equal on the board, and tell the driver to hit it like you would on a wakeboard, after your first time it will be easy. if you have a wakeskate with griptape deck, make sure you have shoes on.
have fun
I am always looking for free stuff....I will be by.

Mandelon
01-25-2005, 09:36 PM
The whole family wakeboards, so it sounds similar, just the no bindings part seems freaky....practice practice I guess.

rrrr
02-01-2005, 01:58 PM
The whole family wakeboards, so it sounds similar, just the no bindings part seems freaky....practice practice I guess.
Don't forget to put 1500 lbs. of water into your boat before you start, Mandy. Gotta have a good wake to ride the skate.
Those big bladders are a nuisance. Just put all your stuff above the waterline and pull the plug for a while. It'll be just about right when your starter is almost under water. :jawdrop: :p

HM
02-01-2005, 03:44 PM
Wake skating (or wake decking as some morons are trying to convince it should be called since the board is absent of skates) is my favorite. It is very easy to get up - don't over think it or over muscle it. Just lay your feet on it, and when the boat is idling out, it will flip up against your feet. Don't be old school and try to get up like you are on a skurfer.....keep the board completely perpendicular to the rope and just glide up.
I got halfway decent on my skate(actually skates - I broke nearly 20 of them in a 2 year period). I almost started a wakeboarding company a couple years back, with my first product being wake skates after realizing what pieces of shits they were selling me for $200. I spent about $10K in developing a few decks with some advanced engineering (I laminated carbon fiber and kevlar in the middle of a couple and even changed center of gravity and center of rotation after getting a bright idea after reading how golf putters were engineered, worked on a polyaspartic ester coating that was extremely durable with teflon added for slides - and even had a sacrficial coating so the deck would "look" beaten up and used white oak as the laminating wood not that baltic birch crap all the decks are made with - white oak is naturally water proof, but is $$). These fockers could go to the moon and bakc, but the problem was, no wanted to buy a $800 deck, even if it did not break and would protect you in a nuclear blast. ;)
Let me know if you get out to smellslikehellsenion any time soon, I am always up for a wake session.....and I have few ballast bags as well. ;)

Raskal
03-13-2005, 09:54 PM
i love mine it is so much fun .i like it better then wake boarding.except the part about when it gets to far from you when u crash

Speedin' Ian
03-15-2005, 04:50 PM
Like somebody mentioned above "MAKE SURE YOU WEAR SHOES IF IT HAS GRIP TAPE ON THE TOP!" I made the mistake of not wearing shoes one time because I left them on shore, went to pop a variable and caught the board wrong, man did it tear up my feet

Rompn
04-01-2005, 05:32 PM
If you have ever been wakeboarding, wakeskating is pretty much the same concept. Getting up is a little tricky with one hand and all but once you get it, you have it. When your actually riding, the board is much more sensitive to movement than a wakeboard. I always wear a pair of old skater shoes which work perfect. Only been riding behind my Southwind jet but am itchn to get behind something with a prop. Ive actually been trying to get ahold of Flying Tiger to see if he wants to head out this weekend.

celeb1
04-29-2005, 02:20 PM
I was all freaked out about getting up on the skate the first time I tried it but everyone in my crew got it within 3 tries and we were all 30+ years old. Just float the board in front of you and try and keep your feet on it, keep the slack out of the rope and time the take off with the driver and you will be up in 2 or 3 tries. Wear some old shoes and watch your crashes if you plan on riding like a 13 year old on a skateboard, these things are head seaking missles!

alfonzo
05-09-2005, 11:48 AM
I had a soft wakeskate(plastic bottom, hard foam top) easy on the shins. the best part about the wakeskate is hit the lip as fast as you can pop the board and see how many flips you can bust out.Without a board straped to your feet you can fly. :D