In your first venture out with wakeboarding, the tow rope has a lot of importance regarding how you will perform behind the board. Are you surprised? Don’t be. It is true.
The thing is how you hold the towrope makes a big difference in how you will perform behind the boat and also on the water.
But before you learn how to grip a wakeboarding towrope, you should know something about a wakeboarding towrope itself.
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The length of a good rope length is around 45-50 feet. You must have to pick a line length that you feel you are comfortable with when jumping and clearing the wake.
If you find that you are facing some kind of troubles in clearing the wake then immediately shorten the rope.
If you have a shorter rope, this will place you at a narrower section of the wake. The closer you want to go to the boat the narrower the wake becomes.
But if you are riding in the rooster tail of the wake then you have to increase the length of the towrope.
When you slowly gather more experience and become a professional then you can try taking a longer rope length like 50-55 feet long.
You must be wondering why you need a longer rope! This is because a shorter rope allows you to catch less air, which means, you’ll be allowed to jump for a lesser distance in air but if you have a longer rope then you can perform better tricks and that too in larger areas.
But when you go for a rope length then you must think about the boat speed. If you have a faster boat then you can afford to have a longer rope, but don’t try to have a longer rope in a small and slow boat.
The last thing that you must consider regarding a rope is its stretch. When you are wakeboarding you must always go for a non-stretch rope.
The problem with a stretchable rope is that it recoils while the wake boarder is in air and therefore you cannot get the height you desperately try to reach but a stiffer rope will allow you more control.
When you begin wakeboarding, after you have done your deepwater start, you must always hold the tow handle parallel to the water.
The palms of your hands should be down and knuckles pointed up. Always keep the handle low and on close to your lead hip.
The reason for this grip is that the handle will be in position for when you let go off the handle to stretch around the buoys and then re-grip the handle as you set yourself up to round the next buoy.
Wake boarders can suffer from injuries. To avoid injury do not coil the rope in your hands. You shouldn’t toss a rope and handle back to the rider to help them stay in the wake.
This way the rider or passenger may be injured. Before you go for your wake boarding experience always ensure towrope is clear of all body parts.
Remember these points about a tow rope and its gripping techniques while going for wakeboarding so that you can enjoy wakeboarding.
