Are you trying to learn how to get up on a wakeboard?  It can be very frustrating.  However, once you get up on a wakeboard, you’ll be slapping your forehead going, duh…  Wakeboards are fun and hopefully this short post will help you get up fast without plowing through the water!

One thing you need to know before getting into the water is which leg is your strongest?  Why?  It’s the leg that goes on the back of the board.  Step up on the seat, which leg did you use?  That’s your strong one.  Then you need to look at the bindings on the wakeboard to see how it’s set up.  One binding should be fairly straight and the other should be angled towards the end of the board.  The fairly straight binding on the wakeboard is the strong leg binding, if that’s not how your bindings are then maybe you should adjust them.

Ok, get into the wakeboard bindings and don your vest, grab the towrope and slide into the water.  Keep the wakeboard in front of you, if it gets behind you just lay out on your stomach in the water, roll over from one side of your body to the other and you can ‘flip’ the wakeboard over and then be ‘right side up’.

Ok, you’re in the water and the slack is out of the towrope.  Your wakeboard is in front of you with the towrope over the top of the wakeboard.  It is important to keep the top of the wakeboard above the surface of the water, if you don’t you’ll just plow through the water.  As you move through the process of coming out of the water and up onto the wakeboard, the ‘top’ of the wakeboard is going to change positions.  When you’re in the water floating the ‘top’ will become the side once you’re up on the board.  So on my wakeboard when I’m coming out of the water the left end of my board becomes the top or tip if you will as I come out of the deep water start.

So here are the important things to know about how to get up on a wakeboard:

•  Keep the board in front of you

• Bend your knees as much as possible

• Let the boat pull your upper body forward (but not completely over the board)

• Let the boat do the work

• Stay low

• As the boat accelerates shove your back foot, strong leg under your butt (see photo just above this is the point to swing your foot under) and stand up with most of your weight on your back foot.

Once you’re up on the wakeboard, point your forward hip/side towards the boat.  So, when I’m riding my board my right leg is on the back of the wakeboard and my left hip is pointing towards the back of the boat.  Then leaning back on the heel side of the wakeboard or leaning onto the toe side of the wakeboard will make you turn either left or right.

 

If you’re falling forward, then you’re not staying low and you’re letting too much upper body over the board.  If you’re falling backwards then either you’re not letting the boat pull your upper body forward or you’re not tucking your foot under your butt.  If you’re just plowing through the water then most likely you’re not keeping the top of the board out of the water.

It took us an entire day of drinking the lake to figure out how to get up on a wakeboard.  It’s lots of fun and worth the effort, so don’t give up!