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I've posted on this forum a lot lately because I've gotten a lot of good help. Now I need more help. I am 6'3 300 lbs. I co sider myself fairly strong. For the life of me I cannot get up. I bought a 19 SAN G23 for my kids and wife who all love wake sports. I want to surf. I've tried laying on my Back with heels on the board. I just drag then the handle pulls out of my hands. I have a big buoyant wetsuit on and a life jacket. I dont struggle in the water to get straight. I just cant pop out of the water. I feel like it's because I'm too weak but everyone tells me they've gotten bigger heavier weaker guys up on the board. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
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If the people in the boat cant see your face and you cant see them, you are not positioning yourself correctly. Now remember, you don't need to stand up. you can actually come out the water squatting on the board. Think about seating on your butt on the floor and someone giving you a hand to stand up, same concept. it doesn't matter how weak or strong you are the boat does 80 percent of the work to pull you out. Tell the driver to engage the gear but don't hit it until he can see that you are almost coming up. you only need 2 to 3 miles to come out of the water. go really slow so you can get some resistance from the water so you can control the board. then increase the speed rapidly. I hope this helps. Let us know. -
That was a really nice explanation!Originally posted by Ecapps View Post
I can only add; take a board with enough buoyancy, otherwise you will buckle forward before you stand upright. For at least the first 20 seconds, do not try to get up or drive in the wave. Stay away from it. Let you get pulled something out, there it is not so slippery. Good luck
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you will get this.. keep us informed. For me it did never work trying to see what i have seeing in television and i tried it for months. One day my friend forgot to disengage the gear so the boat kept on moving and i got out. NO need for high speed. Send some videosComment
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I am about the same size as you and getting up has become the easy part. Make sure you have the right board as someone else suggested. I cannot ride the wave with just any board. I have an Inland surfer red rocket and so far it is the best I have tried. Some say the Doomswell for larger guys is also a good choice.Comment
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I’m 6’ 5 and 240 and just learned to surf last summer. It starts with the right board for sure. (I will post the board I have later). When we first got our boat I was trying to use the same board as my family and could not get out of the water. (I’ve been a recreational slalom skier for 30 yrs and have single ski started behind underpowered boats so I knew it couldn’t just be that I’m getting old)
After you get the right board it’s all about feet position both getting up and then surfing. Even one inch on the board makes a difference. Will post more data later. You need to surf with your family !!!
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Right now the board I'm trying to get up on is the phase five Kong. Havent tried anything elseComment
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Where are you looking when the boat goes? You should be looking at the back of the boat. I see a lot of people "looking at the sky" when they're trying to get up. If you look there, you'll stretch out and try to haul yourself up. If you keep your eyes on the back of the boat, you're more likely to stay tucked and let the boat do the work.
-CharlesComment
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I’ve taught a lot of people to get up on a wakeboard and surf board. If the handle is pulling out of your hand you’re fighting the boat, even if it doesn’t feel like it. When you start, the boat is going to pull you into a ball. Let it. Your bottom will be at or almost at your heels. If you’re keeping the board between you and the boat then the board isn’t going to like this. It’ll respond by popping up out of the water. Your body fill follow. Again, your body follows the board out of the water. Don’t even worry about standing up until you’re completely out of the water. I see a lot of people try to get up before the board is ready. It won’t work and that is a possible cause of the boat yanking the rope out of your hand. As mentioned above, it also helps for the driver to start off slow until you get the hang of it. When I drive an inexperienced boarder, I personally move very slow until I see them form a ball and the board just start to pop out of the water and then I don’t gun it but bring up speed rapidly before they can think about what they’re doing.Comment
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Being big and strong can often be a disadvantage when learning to surf. Too many think that they need to pull themselves up when in fact it is the boat that should be doing ALL of the work. Start by placing your heels near the heel-side edge of the board. Back foot on the rear tail pad, front foot in the middle of the board, but both heels near the edge of the board. This way the board will flip easily when the boat begins to pull you. Once your are up you can slowly maneuver your feet so that your toes are closer to the toe side edge of the board. This will create toe-side pressure on the board causing it to ride up the wave and the wave too push back keeping you in equilibrium on the wave.
It can help with beginners to tie the rope to the surf side tower arch instead of the center of the tower. This will help you stay on the surf side of the boat as you are learning.
To start keep your heels as described above. Then have the boat driver put the boat in gear with no gas. Practice letting the boat pull you WITHOUT you pulling back on the rope. You must get comfortable letting the boat pull you without the urge to pull back on the rope. This is best accomplished if you let your upper body relax and think about stretching your arms to almost reach over the toe-side edge of the board. This will put you in a relaxed, cannon ball position.
Once you feel stable in the water with the boat in gear, and NOT pulling on the rope you are ready to get up. Do this by having the boat driver SLOWLY accelerate the throttle in a continuous movement. Stopping the throttle movement even for a fraction of a second will make it much more difficult for a beginner to get up. Throttling up in a slow continuous movement taking about a 5 1-thousands count to reach full surf speed will ensure the boat driver is doing their part to help you.
When the boat starts pulling KEEP your body relaxed in the cannon ball position for MUCH LONGER THAN YOU THINK. DO NOT STAND UP right away. Focus on keeping our weight over your feet. Here is where it can be difficult for anyone strong to relax. Resist the urge to stand up right away or pull yourself up. As you start to plane off you will still be in the cannon ball position but the board will break free of the water and you should aim to get yourself to the outside of the wave. Do this sooner than later because coming down the fully formed wave can be a challenge by itself. Think of staying in the cannon ball position but leaning your shoulders so that you move to the flat water outside the wave.
Once you are clear of the wave and at surf speed then begin to stand up slowly. VERY SLOWLY. Again here strong people will pull themselves up with the rope. That is the kiss of death. Do not use your arms, rather think of standing up slowly from your waist down. Once you are up you will need to keep your eyes in the boat. Look down, go down.
Slowly maneuver your front foot so that your ankle bone is close to the center of the board putting more weight on your toes. Then slide your rear foot closer to the toe side of the board also putting weight on the balls of your feet. Keeping weight on the toe-side edge of the board is needed to stay on the wave. Improper foot placement and weight distribution is why most beginners have difficulty staying on the wave. Think of distributing your weight evenly on the balls of your feet like you are taking a basketball jump shot. If you accomplish this you should feel the rope go slack as the wave pushes you.
At your size you should think about surfing at a speed of about 11.3 to 11.5. NSS 0, NCRS 4 or 5.
Your board should be at least 4' 8" or larger.
Remember, SURF THE BOARD not THE ROPE!
Here is an old but pretty good video to help you visualize this. https://youtu.be/87wW1FY-mCI
Good luck!Last edited by greggmck; 06-06-2019, 10:56 AM.Comment
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I am also a "big guy" and by default seem to have "big guy" friends. I can get 100% of them up on my Hyperlite Landlock. (have gone through two of these boards) then once they get the hang of it move them to a Doomsell "El Jeffe". Technique is key, but equipment helps!
Also instructions above are great!
Good Luck!Comment
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One thing to try. Have the driver change direction 180 degrees to the same side you ride on as they are pulling you up. This is more a technique for getting someone who is struggling to get in the pocket, but can make the difference sometimes.
Driving makes a lot of the difference. They want to ease you up, without going too slow, rather than ripping you out of the water.Comment
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In addition to other advise on board techniques, have the boat driver turn into your side when getting up. So if u are on right side of the boat, driver just needs to make quarter turn to the right when pulling u up. This take a lot of water pressure off surfer and should help get u up. Good luck.
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Hah.... read the post above. We go 180 doing this maneuver. We find it sets people in the pocket the best.Comment
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Thanks everyone. Were going out this evening again so I'll try to post some video of my attempts.
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