Is a tower a must have.......

[sstocker31]

Bought this boat (Bayliner Capri 21') last year, and have had it out once with the family. We went tubing for most of the day, and towards the end of the session my boy wanted to try boarding. He only tried to get up twice......got too cold.
When discussing this later he said that incredible pressure was forcing his knees into his chest and wasn't sure that he would be able to get up at all. Now maybe this was his technique (possibly holding the board too verticle.....if that makes sense) or is it because the rope is low on the boat.....attached to the ski ring.
We both are new to this wakeboarding thing, but he has lots of experience snowboarding......so there is some familiarity. We have watched lots of Youtube vids, but most seem to have the tower.
After all this my question is...... can you do this wakeboarding thing without the tower???.....and if so what tips do you have??

 

[conk3416]

Re: Is a tower a must have.......

No you do not have to have a tower. The tower helps but is not a necessity. It sounds like the problem is in the form he has for getting out of the water.

Lay in the water with toes pointing to the sky. Arms Straight like they are a continuation of the rope. They should not be bent at all. Bend your knees so they are close to your chest(looks like a crouching position if you were on land). And the most important step is to make sure your toes are pointing forward. When you first start to come up turn your left foot towards the boat. and make sure to keep your knees bent during this. and when you are up on the water you can stand up. make sure to make it a smooth fluid motion when turning your foot towards boat and standing.

Then for the driver he needs to have a smooth steady pick-up speed. And when the boarder is up a good starting speed is between 16mph and 18mph. With the style boat you have you may need to go a little faster to keep it on plane.

 

[rallyart]

Re: Is a tower a must have.......

You can easily wakeboard without a tower and do it very well. It is easier to get up with a tower and air tricks get more hang time. It is possible that you are starting too hard. It is also possible that he is trying too hard to stand up. The board should push right into his chest and he should leave his arms straight. When you are learning it is a good idea to stay squatting on the board until well after it is up. You could ride all day like that but if you stand up too early you fall on your face or have the rope pulled out of your hands. Also, with a beginner it is good to set up the board so the bindings look like a snowboard. After a short while he will feel better with the bindings at similar angles for both feet
On the other hand, if he is 11 all things are related to the tower not being on the boat. (or so I was told when my son was 11)

 

[rallyart]

Re: Is a tower a must have.......

Drat, conk3416 obviously types faster than me...

 

[tgell001]

Re: Is a tower a must have.......

A tower is not a must but it helps A LOT. I have two buddies that couldn't get up until I got my pylon. Then when I got it, UP, first try. Sometimes when at the end of the day when i've broken down all my equipment and decide i want one more run and i just connect to the eye on the back its amzing how much harder it is and how much stress it puts on you knees.

I bought an insanity pylon set up for 350 bucks, its 6ft off the floor so probably 7.5 ftt off the water and it makes a world of difference. I didn't want to drop the money on a tower and drill a crap load of holes in my boat because at the time i wasn't sure if i'd stick with the sport. Well, i did and i love it and i'm sure you will too. Good luck

 

[1fast68]

Re: Is a tower a must have.......

Not sure I can add much, but we just tried wakeboarding for the first time last weekend. After reading a lot of different sites we did everything wrong. I was pulling from a bass boat from the eye hooks on the back, had a board that was too big for my son and was pulling to slow, oh, and the bindings were too big for him. Never-the-less, he got up on his 4th attempt. He's 10 and weighs about 80 lbs. He complained the pressure was too much for him to get up the first couple times, so I told him to stand up sooner. I was pulling him pretty slow to get up, really slow. Once he started to stand up sooner he poped right up. After he got up the first time it was easy for him. I was pulling him the first couple hours at about 8 - 9 mph. Once he was comfortable and was able to control the board a little better he wanted to go about 12 mph. I tried to board as well, took me a few more attempts (8). My wife was pulling me up to slowly so when I stood up the board would go about a foot under the water and I would have to lean back hard and pull it up to plain it out. Hope something I said helps.

 

[sstocker31]

Re: Is a tower a must have.......

Well....to everyone that has replied thank you. Its really nice to hear that it can be done, and all your tips will be noted and reviewed by my son.....I'll make him.
July long weekend will be another outing, hopefully he'll get up...thanks again

 

[Marada92]

Re: Is a tower a must have.......

I was having that same problem with the pressure on the board. I spent a whole weekend have the rope snatched out of my hands. Turns out I was leaning back to much on the start. It would force all my weight to stay lower in the water than the board which made the board plow through the water instead of coming up. Like everyone has said.. Arms straight knees bent and let the rope do all the work.. Don't fight it. Once he gets up once it'll be like riding a bike from then on. And to answer the original question a tower will make getting up a little easier IMO, but its not a necessity. Happy boarding to ya!

 

[Leardriver]

Re: Is a tower a must have.......

A beginner can get up easier with a tower. I personally don't care for them. Bumping my head on them and cracking the gelcoat where they are mounted don't appeal to me. I water ski much more than wake board, though. For serious boarders, a tower is pretty handy.