| Wakeboarding is a sport where one rides on the | | | | curves and staged rocker (e.g. threee stage rocker) |
| surface of the water in the wake generated from a | | | | are made up of two or more straight sections at |
| boat with a single outboard motor. It originated from | | | | varying angles that roughly make a curve. The more |
| a mixture of surfing, water skiing and snow boarding. | | | | rocker a board has the greater the pop off the |
| Its common thought that wakeboarding is copied | | | | wake the rider will achieve, also softer landings and |
| from surfing but the two actually have different | | | | better trick manuvers can be performed. |
| characteristics. | | | | Boats used for wakeboarding are similar to water ski |
| Similar to water skiing, the wakeboarder is towed | | | | boards except that the tope is usually mounter on a |
| behind a boat, usually at slower speeds (around 16 - | | | | pole or wake tower about 2 metres above the |
| 23mph). Beginner wakeboarders start at slow speeds | | | | surface of the water, and the boat is also trimmed |
| around 17mph and with shorter ropes (40 - 45ft | | | | and weighted with strategically places ballast tanks |
| lonfon). As the rider becomes more experienced, | | | | (fat sacks), to give a greater wake, or fat sacks |
| they are towed at greater speeds (up to 22.5 - 24 | | | | filled with sand are places at the rear. Wakeboarding |
| mph). Changes in speed drastically affects the shape | | | | boats also tend to have the engine places at the rear |
| of the wake in which you ride, typically the faster | | | | of the boar as opposed to the middle. because of |
| the speed the longer the rope that is used (60ft or | | | | the "V" that must be created in the shaft for the |
| longer). As opposed to two skis, riders use a single | | | | propeller to spin correctly they are commonly called |
| board, known as a wakeboard, which has stationary | | | | v-drives. Boats that have their engines located at the |
| non-release bindings to fix each foot to the board, | | | | middle of the boat are called direct drives as the |
| standing sideways as on a skateboard or snowboard | | | | shaft is straight. V-drive coards create a larger wake |
| or. Fins are fixed onto the bottom of the wakeboard | | | | and are therefore more suitable, the wake created is |
| to help the board and you catch the water and | | | | used as a ramp. |
| make precise, spectacular tricks and jumps. | | | | Directing the wakeboard by a combination of edges |
| The boards are buoyant and usually 118-147cm long, | | | | into the water, the rider can move to the outside of |
| depending on the height and weight of the rider, and | | | | the wake, and then cut rapidly towards the wake, |
| up to 46cm wide (wider and shorter than | | | | hitting it and launching themself into the air. As the |
| snowboards). Snowboard edges taper in towards the | | | | rider improves in the sport they come to do spins, |
| center, whereas the edges of a wakeboard are | | | | grabs and a alot of other tricks high in the air. The |
| widest in the middle of the board, with between | | | | tighter the rope the faster the rider rides towards |
| 15-25cm of taper. Viewed at a side view, | | | | the wake and the greater air they achieve. Riding up |
| wakeboards have a concave shape; this is known as | | | | and off the wake and into the air the tightened rope |
| its "rocker". Continuous rocker coards have constant | | | | launches the rider even higher. |