Kneeboarding- any tips

[whitingiom]

My kids have acquired an 'O'Brien' kneeboard and a tow rope.

Never having done any of this before, does any Ribnetter have any tips or advice they could give me.

two people, one looking forward, one back etc. but how do they

get up
attach themselves to the board
should I start fast/slow etc.
deep/shallow

They have wetsuits and buoyancy aids

Cheers

[Matt]

Start off lying on the board, arms in front holding the rope, with the board centre at roughly chest height.
As the board comes up on the plane (not after) get up onto yer knees.
If you leave getting up to long yer going too quick and it's a lto more difficult as the board starts bouncing in the wake.
Obviously getting up to early just sinks the board.
I'm sure there's other ways too, but this works for me.

[Matt]

Also, you don't need to go too fast either, if you've towed skiers b4 that's much too fast.

[Matt]

And the pull up doesn't need to be too sharp either, you can almost baby it up onto the plane, give the rider more time to shuffle their knees up and get in position.

Leave the strap very very loose, around the front of the board. Once you're up and stable, then hold on with 1 hand and maneover the strap into position and tighten.

Lean back quite a lot too once up.

[Matt]

Here you go:
http://www.utoronto.ca/ski/water/kneeboard/lessons.htm

[Bill S]

If you have sufficient depth of water close to a shore, or low jetty etc, you can set the rider up kneeling on the board, on dry land. The boat takes up the slack, then gooses it onto the plane. The rider simply leans way back, the board is pulled onto the water, and is up and running right away - dead easy! I have taught lots of kids and adults this method - its almost foolproof - the rider just has to make sure that the nose of the board does not dig in - else he will headbutt the water.

My youngest used this method for his first try on a kneeboard. He was about 8 yrs old then. We set him up on a jetty covered in rubber matting, about 6 ft back from the edge. A bucket of water was thrown on the matting to lubricate it. The boat pulled him off, a drop of about a foot, and he was up and running - no problems.

A sandy beach is easiest, tho I have pulled people off rocks (scratches the board though). A bed of seaweed can help to smooth/lubricate takeoff.

Remember to instruct the rider on how to release the board/strap when he comes off/dismounts.

Have lotsa fun.......

Bill

[Red Fox]

That site link was good. Here is one found for wakeboarding: http://waterski.about.com/library/weekly/aa101997.htm