Tips on teaching wife to drive the boat so I can wakeboard

[CraigAR]

As the title says. I really want to try wakeboarding since I know how to snowboard and need my wife to learn how to operate the boat. My problem is I know I can teach her but its going to take time showing her throttle response, take off, slow down, how to pick me up when I fall and not run me over with the boat and not sucking up a rope. There are so many things and I feel like at this point I may never get to wakeboard. What do all you captains do when its your turn to have fun and how long did it take for you to be comfortable with someone else driving your boat and pulling you behind it?

 

[swatski]

As the title says. I really want to try wakeboarding since I know how to snowboard and need my wife to learn how to operate the boat. My problem is I know I can teach her but its going to take time showing her throttle response, take off, slow down, how to pick me up when I fall and not run me over with the boat and not sucking up a rope. There are so many things and I feel like at this point I may never get to wakeboard. What do all you captains do when its your turn to have fun and how long did it take for you to be comfortable with someone else driving your boat and pulling you behind it?

Start with cruise control - Ridesteady/Hydrophase is the best option IMO. Your wife will likely love pulling you if you can make it easy for her.

If you can, start with something where you are comfortable (skiing?) - and she will enjoy being in control. If you are learning to wakeboard and she is learning to drive... well, it will take some practice.
Be patient when she is retrieving you, that's just practice.

Perhaps the most important and often overlooked factor - smooth water (like glass) is your friend! When it's crowded or windy and the water is all junk you are not likely to have a great learning experience.

--

 

[Blenderhead]

Ditto @swatski

Take it slow, be patient, and plan on sucking some lake water the first couple times.... just act like you love it.

It took about 3 outings with her pulling me and she has become very proficient at launching and retrieving me after a fall. The biggest factor in the success equation is the aftermarket cruise control - the Ridesteady was worth every penny. Enjoy

 

[96Pirate]

As the title says. I really want to try wakeboarding since I know how to snowboard and need my wife to learn how to operate the boat. My problem is I know I can teach her but its going to take time showing her throttle response, take off, slow down, how to pick me up when I fall and not run me over with the boat and not sucking up a rope. There are so many things and I feel like at this point I may never get to wakeboard. What do all you captains do when its your turn to have fun and how long did it take for you to be comfortable with someone else driving your boat and pulling you behind it?

I don't get to have fun...well except for seeing the enjoyment on others faces, especially my kids.

But my wife doesn't really have an interest in driving. She is afraid she will mess something up. I only get to go if a couple of buddies of mine go out and I let them drive.

Hopefully you can coax your wife into doing it. My suggestion is to let her practice with you by her side to guide her. Maybe throw a buoy out in a quiet area and have her practice approaching and circling it. The practice will help but will take time. Good luck!

 

[CraigAR]

Thanks gentlemen, we will be going out this weekend and I plan on spending a lot of time with her at the helm. @Blenderhead only ride in salt water so I will try very hard to act like I'm loving it when I fall lol. I've watched a lot of videos about staying in the crouching positition until your out of water and keeping the rope close to you. I may be a little bit over confident in attempting to wakeboard seeing how I had mad skills on the snowboard. This should be interesting. Once My wife gets use to driving I will upload my first attempt at it.

 

[Scottintexas]

ditto... patience and practice,
after 5 years I'm finally getting to enjoy it also, my 15 yr old daughter started driving while I surfed last year,
I still get nervous and only on light traffic days (cause she's still 15),

 

[lifeonthewater]

Time behind the wheel is the only fix. Enjoy it and don't give her too much crap or she will never want to drive. Have fun and be safe.

 

[Julian]

A cruise control system like Perfect Pass or Ridesteady really helps a ton! This means they don't have to try and steer and get the speed correct.

The E-Series boat not only have speed control, but also launch control (so you get the same acceleration curve every time). Doesn't help you....but others reading or considering a new boat might want to look at this as it is a nice option! Just flip the throttles forward and the boat takes over!

Regarding the pick up....start out just having her stop when she comes around to get you....let her work up to more and more over time.

 

[Eric Popper]

I have my wife start with a certain RPM, 8,000 I think and then pull it back to 7,000 when I'm up. From there, it's hand signals. She isn't that mechanically oriented and really doesn't enjoy driving the boat but she will. Giving her an RPM target to start out really helped.

The second challenge was the pick up after the person is down. I have her keep the skier/tuber/whomever off of the starboard side and let them swim the last 5-10 yards to the boat. Her big issue was when you pull back to idle, the boat veers so I taught her to pull the throttles back slowly...

I have a Perfect Pass but she hasn't used that yet..

Eric

 

[Ronnie]

i would pay someone to teach my wife how to drive the boat, more if they could teach her how to back the trailer into the ramp. It's No Going to happen for me but hope it works out for you sooner rather than later. If you dont already have them and want more responsive steering, consider installing some fins along
With a throttle sync if your boat didn't come with a single throttle function.

 

[itsdgm]

Make sure that she understand that the pump is always sucking. Even in neutral and reverse. So show her how to shut the engines off immediately if she thinks that she's running over the ski rope. Also, buy a cheap rope that is the most visible color in the water and one that you don't mind cutting off the pump shaft (or shafts) when it gets sucked up. Finally, remember that no matter what mistake she makes it's always your fault. Now go and enjoy

 

[druppert]

Personally my gf gives up if she feels like she's being talked down upon so I just started letting her drive and say "you're the captain now" before going to sit in the bow. If you have low traffic & calm waters it's a lot less intimidating for new boaters & the comfort will only come with time at the helm. I would personally wait until SHE TELLS YOU she's ready to try piloting watersports. If you press her before she's ready with the basics of operation she may regress & not want to drive at all. Good luck! I can't wait for the video!

 

[ripler]

I have given up on my wife or my daughter driving our boat, my wife tried pulling me one time and it didn't go over too well. So every outing I am the chauffeur and don't do any water sports. I am strongly considering getting a new V Drive and almost have my wife talked into it, all I need to do is convince her that she doesn't need a swim deck like our Yamaha has. Good luck.

 

[robert cabrerea]

Ok baby ....just gun it!!!

 

[smack]

I've been practicing wakeboarding at the local park (tow cable ) so that I can have that down before trying to get my wife to pull me up. Next step , getting her to take over at the helm.

 

[bronze_10]

Get a friend to do it!!

 

[Mainah]

Its been said already but can't stress enough how much ridesteady or perfect pass helps.

A good speed for beginners is about 18 mph once out of the hole. Stand up staight with more weight on the back foot and relax into it letting the boat pull you with arms fully extended.

Having someone experienced driving and talking through their line of thought for the new driver to observe and listen to helps. If it is an option have someone experienced at wakeboarding and pulling someone help you both out. An experienced person can teach almost anybody their first time out.

Good luck and enjoy.

 

[Beachbummer]

Practice Practice Practice. Do not underestimate the ability of your significant other. be supportive. a competent spouse is a great partner. Have them try to simulate pulling you while you show them how. Point them to Target RPM until target speed is reached, if no automagic speed system is available. Practice some more.

 

[Seadeals]

My wife is able to drive the boat off the trailer and pick me up at the dock after I park. Parking the truck and driving the boat still makes her nervous, especially if it is busy. Asking her to pull me is more stressful and I want to keep things fun for her, so I get to play behind the boat when friends join or we visit the parents and dad drives. I have one of those kid kickboards onboard. I always do a training mission with them before I jump in. We cruise around and then I randomly pitch the kick board out the back of the boat and call "man down". Once they safely navigate back to it close enough for me to easily retrieve three times in a row, I get to have some fun from a different angle and feel very sore the next day.

On our last trip when I was parking the trailer, it was very busy so my wife let my friend try driving towards the dock to get me. He was all over the place so she took over and picked me up like a total boss. I was so proud.

 

[Bennie]

Man..... reading through all those suggestions.... really seems like a lot of work. I know my wife won't drive. So go with the easy solution....

Just go get a new wife/ girlfriend!