Should I be using centre fins?

I have only just started wakeboarding and haven't yet used the centre fins provided with my board. I have the LF Trip 2011. This is the level I am at


Do they help while learning or is it better to learn without them?

It looks like you don't have a problem controlling the direction of your board and cutting back and forth, so there's really no need for a center fin. Furthermore, I think riding with a center fin would hold you back by doing the work of setting a solid edge for you and discouraging you from learning surface tricks and fluid edge control. Ride finless and learn to shred and slaysh! Do some butterslides and surface 180s. These things make riding much more fun and will really pay off in the long run when you need to pull out of a sketchy landing on a big jump.

Put them in if you want them, leave them out if you dont. Depends on how you like your board to ride. Try both and see what you prefer.

I would say no.
But try both ways. what speed are you riding at?

Try both. Ride what you like. Riding without is the "right" way, but do what you like.

Ya, I don't mean to give the impression that I think I know the "right" way to ride. I think finless is best, but by all means, don't hesitate to decide otherwise! It's important to stay true to your own individual style, especially when you're just starting out.

Finless is pretty dependent on the board and where you're riding. I doubt you'd enjoy any Slingshot board completely finless behind the boat. I know I didnt. All depends on the board and preference.

Thanks. I'll maybe give them a try this week and see how it feels.

Jon, we're all new to this so my friend who is driving the boat is still trying to find the best speed to go. I think he is doing around 20mph

Any other advice/constructive criticism is welcome. Don't holdback

THH. Explain butterslides and surface 180's if you don't mind. I'm looking for new things to try and progress. I think I should maybe work on riding with my right foot forward as well as my left

http://youtu.be/jW4-gQHbdlI

Check out this video. It's not instructional, but will show you what surface tricks are.

Surface 180s - front and back
Surface 360s - the guy does this in the video, you can do front and back to practice the handle pass
Front board butterslide - turning your board away from the boat to become perpendicular with the boat using your toe edge (toes facing away from the boat), 0:18-0:20 in the video
Boardslide (butter) - turning your board toward the boat to become perpendicular with the boat using your heel edge (toes facing the boat)

(Someone correct me if I'm wrong with the terminology of the names of these... I am calling them based off of snowboarding)

You can do these inside the wake, outside the wake, on the wake. Lots of options. Really helps progress with learning how to use all of the edges of your board.

I'd put them on for stability while learning! They'll help you carve! You don't have much of a wake yet, so get out there and start carving it up!

Originally Posted by Frozenwhite

THH. Explain butterslides and surface 180's if you don't mind. I'm looking for new things to try and progress. I think I should maybe work on riding with my right foot forward as well as my left

Here are some of my surface tricks that I think are fun to do:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_ANSNNydt4

Sorry for the terrible quality! You should definitely start riding switch as soon as possible. Slow down your boat speed if you need to, as this will make it a lot easier. It's tough and frustrating at first, but it's totally worth the effort. Learning to ride switch can double your bag of tricks and it's just awesome fun. It's a really liberating feeling you get when you aren't constrained to two edges and you can go in direction you want at any time!

I'm still working on getting consistent pop off the wake from the switch position, but I'm sure it will be even more awesome when I get to such a high level that I don't have a discernable weak side.

Thanks guys. Really appreciate the advice