Wakesurf Boards and advice

[kauf391]

Hi,

I work as a watersports program director at a summer camp in upstate New York. This summer we are adding wakesurfing to our program. We have a 211 already and just purchased a sport 200 (in addition to a 196, 206 and a 2003 sport). As wakesurfing is new to us, I am looking for advice on what to look for in terms of boards. We have kids ranging from ages 8-16 and 80-180lbs. What should I look for in terms of Length? Which brands are better, specific models, etc? We would not want to have to purchase more than 2 boards I dont think.

Also, if anyone has any good teaching methods for teaching surfing (to children especially), I would be happy to hear those as well.

Thanks

[ES]

It's great to see you will introduce kids to this fun sport. If you search this forum you will find a lot of good advice. When we started picking up wakesurfing, the site wake9.com was very useful. Lots of videos, board reviews and advice on how to teach kids.
Regarding the board, our family started off with the CWB Ride. It is very buoyant, economical and forgiving to start with. May be a bit too big for the very young kids though.
Since you will probably see a lot of wear and tear, I suggest getting a board that has a nose protector, since they get dinged very easily. Hope this helps get you started. Good luck!

[nyryan2001]

kauf-

Inland Surfer Ooze is a terrific board for kids from 70lbs... and the way up to 200lbs. I am 200lbs and I can 360 spin and air on it. its my boys' favorite board... my youngest, 9, is already catching small airs on it... we plan to get him to 360 by July 4th this year. Its the same one my wife uses. You have an awesome job there.... what a stoke it is to see someone go ropeless for their first good ride.... they'll be hooked for life.

[nyryan2001]

Also, if anyone has any good teaching methods for teaching surfing (to children especially), I would be happy to hear those as well.

Thanks

Adults need to do a regular start like you see on youtube. lots of videos how to teach and get folks started.

very small wave for beginners. smaller kids...under 12..... I have always start them on their tummy like a knee board....pull them on their tummy for 3-5 mins.... learn the stability, weave left and right get comfy..... then ride for a few mins up on both knees together knealing.... then one foot up stance..... then using one hand on the handle, one handle down flat to stabilize the board. stand up. Keep someone back on the transome to coach. Help to have someone close to encourage and coach. No stereo on till they are up and riding. 10 words of encouragement for every word of criticism. when they get tired, give them a few mins rest. try to keep them from flapping arms and feet in the water... just relax and quit wasting energy and smoking themseleves... make them promise 2-3 more hard tries before the give up... even then more praise and encouragement..."promise to try again before we head in?" etc etc.

Tricky part sometimes is determining if they are goofy or regular. There are all these methods to determine which foot is dominant, check youtube... usually dominant foot is forward... how they ride a skate board...have them stand flat footed heel together....give them a slight push and see which foot they recover with etc etc. Not sure I buy into any of those. if they are terrible and not comfortable once you get them up you might have them on the wrong side.

[nyryan2001]

4yrs? old in this photo, one of the first we got him up on his own.....and as you can see from his feet, and from the photo above, he is standing wrong stance and thus riding heelside. He is regular... here is is riding goofy heelside. Bad. Your coach on the transom needs to catch this stuff... will speed up their learning curve and fun factor 10x faster... much more enjoyable.

[nyryan2001]

And for the really small critters, this is how you get them to participate. He is 3yrs old in this photo.

You need a bigger board to do this..... like a Hyperlight Broadcast.... start on your tummys.....he is in front of you under your chest....you holding rope and manage everything... make your way up and drag him up by his vest with you lol. They love this, as they get lots of ride time and get to participate. Rock the kiddie jams on the stereo when you get them up. They get such a kick out of it.

[s_kelley2000]

Ryan, you don't think an Inland Surfer would be too fragile for the abuse it would end up taking with all of the different campers riding and handling it? I know a lot of those high end boards that are constructed like surfboards are a lot more fragile than the compression molded boards.

[HS]

How to get started:
http://www.inlandsurfer.com/howto.htm

Compression molded boards will be more durable -- here is one they offer:
http://www.inlandsurfer.com/boards/2014/tako.htm

In my opinion, having once owned an SV 211 myself (and granted you are surfing with younger and older kids) the stock ballast is not enough. . .the set up I used was stock rear port and belly full, then we had a 350 lb. sac on the port walk thru, a 370 lb sac under the passenger side bench, and a 350 lb. sac on the floor of the bow. This much weight requires an experienced driver and is not great for rough water in the 211. If you have campers that can replicate this somewhat, human ballast can suffice -- but as you know, passengers are not allowed to legally sit outside of the seating areas, so you might want to find something that fits in the port locker space so the walk - thru area is clear for campers access in and out of the boat.

Yes, weight aft is the way to get the wave big, but equally so, weight forward gives length to the pocket so the rider isn't forced so close to the swim platform.

Be careful!

[nyryan2001]

Ryan, you don't think an Inland Surfer would be too fragile for the abuse it would end up taking with all of the different campers riding and handling it? I know a lot of those high end boards that are constructed like surfboards are a lot more fragile than the compression molded boards.

Shawn, no, the Ooze is a compression mold, just like a cheapie Hyperlight, or one of the others.

Its not the fragile surfboard style ones. I just toss the Ooze in one of the compartments with all the others... no special protection. Throw it in the racks. Seriously... anyone who runs a mixed crew should consider the ooze...beginner up to intermediate. As you can see, my 70lbs son's favorite.... and below is a video of me on it at 200lbs.

My Triple X on the other hand.... I gotta protect that in a cover etc etc.

[HS]

here is another "how to" video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VMrj-pTet4

The beginners will need a board with fins so the board is more stable and forgiving for the newbies. . .the avatar above shows a rider on an IS Black Pearl that we had made up with 3 fins -- once they were sure footed we removed the two outer fins for spins, etc.

[s_kelley2000]

Thanks for clarifying Ryan, I didn't realize IS made compression molded boards too.