Interested in Wake Sports...New to Boating

[blackbeardtampa]

I am a new resident of Tampa Fl and I recently joined a boat club. We would have purchased our own boat but being a business owner doesn't allow me much time to get out enough to justify buying a boat. I am want to start wakeboarding,wakeskating, or wakesurfing..I have been skateboarding and snowboarding my whole life so i think i will enjoy any of the 3. The boats the club offers are nice boats but they are not generous with HP. The boats I take out consist of a 2015 Bayliner Deckboat 115HP OB with a ski pole, 21 or 23' Hurricane CC/DB 150HP O/B, or Sea Fox 23' 150 HP O/B. I am bigger guy 6' 4" and 230lbs. Will any of these boats work for wakeboarding, wakeskating, or wakesurfing? I have researched this and have found mixed answers. If they do not have ski poles what are some solutions? Any knowledge I can get on this is very much appreciated.

 

[brian4321]

Any of those boats should get you up on a wakeboard and should be sufficient for you to learn the basics of getting up and riding, but as you get better you'll want a bigger wake and tower to help with getting more air. They will not work for wake surfing because for wake surfing you need a huge wake and a direct drive engine and none of those boats are direct drive or capable of throwing a wake big enough to surf on.

 

[rallyart]

Hi blackbeard, and welcome to iBoats. You can wakeskate behind almost anything. Lots of skaters use a jetski to tow them. Wakeboarding is easy behind any of those when you are learning. Start at a slow speed and learn your edging and sliding inside the wide wake that is there when you are going under 15mph.
If there is no single tow point, get a Y rope that clips to both the transom tie downs and lets you connect the tow rope to it.
Surfing would be a mistake. Riding a surfboard like a wakeskate at the end of a long rope is not an issue, but it's not surfing.
The hardest part will be having the driver maintain a constant speed. There is some skill in that as the best speed is just before that boat is planing.