small wake...need hints to progress

jw if anyone has any tips for how i can make the most out of riding behind a small wake. i ride behind a 17' plastic fishing boat. speed isn't a problem, it's the weight. we have a big air pylon on it. ballast and fat sacks won't fit. i'm looking for on the water riding tips. thanks!

sKAte

line tension will get you air

Big wakes help, but they shouldn't be necessary until you are trying some crazy tricks. Just work on getting consistent edging and good pop with your board off of the wake and you should be fine for now.

the thing is i've been riding for almost 3 seasons and the best i can do is barely clear the wake and some 180's TS/HS. i've got the edging down pat. jw if there's anything else i can do to help.

I've done backrolls/tantrums/scarecrows/3's/5's behind show ski team pickup boats.... they are like ~15ft long Aluminum boats with 35 hp. outboard motor.

It was work and looked awful, but it got done. Just ride ride ride ride

though you may have edging down...you may not have 'pop' down. Charging the wake on edge at lightning speed is not the only way to clear it. Proper riders can clear the wake from less than 5 ft away. Try focusing on getting a good push down on the wake. You don't even necessarily have to be on edge while pushing (though you do need line tension). Once you've got the 'pop' and edging down, clearing the wake should be easy behind any boat. Hope this helps

Hey Adam,
With your boat........generating a larger wake sounds like it may not be an option as alot of fishing boats are designed to have very little draft and do not make much of a wake especially given that you can't push the hull down lower in the water or change the trim / attitude of the hull when on plane. Also as it is made of "plastic?" adding weight / load may be a problem also due to limitations of how the boat was built. That said, without a "ramp" for you to generate lift, your focus will be, as the others have said, to learn to edge effectively and load the line so that you can generate the most pop / lift given the wake you DO have. There are some great instructional DVD's and probably online articles you can find to help learn tips / techniques on edging. That will help... However without alot of wake size, learning really advanced tricks may be a challenge. Wakeskating is a very legit option...and maybe exploring the trim / attitude of the boat to create a larger wake if you can do this with your current boat. Ultimately you just need to maek the most of what you have....have fun with what you have.
Sorry this is not alot of help...but hopefully this will give you a bit more direction.

Best Regards,

Bill Porter
Performance Ski and Surf.
www.perfski.com

I'll second the above. Buy a skate!!!!!!

Build and hit rails.