Teaching a kid to waterski

Looking for any tips you have to share. Also, looking at ropes and I'm not sure why some are listed specifically for wakeboard or kneeboarding. Is it the length of the rope? I'm using a Yamaha Jetboat, so I think I need to use a 75' rope because the jet wash is pretty bad and doesn't smooth out until you get quite aways back. Does the length of the rope make a difference when we are just worried about getting my daughter up on the skis? Thanks for any and all help!

 

Yes to long rope, and make sure you aren't squirting water in the kid's face
Be patient hold your breath until your head is out of the water and let the boat do the work, the skis need to plane just like the boat
Feel of the water pressure with your knees bent as the speed increases and raise up on plane
And stay inside the wake for a while
And what to do when they fall, hands up etc.
Dropping a ski to slalom sucks and takes too much time! Once they are ready to try a single ski, start with a single ski!
To get up on a slalom ski you bend the front knee while the boat more quickly accelerates up to plane while dragging the back leg/toe to maintain balance while making sure you don't get a mouthful of water. Then you put the back foot in the binding, yes it takes time and balance and patience but do it.
and once you got it down you can stand in shallow water, tell the driver to hit it and jump to plane without getting too wet.

 

Two questions:

1. How old is the kid?

2. How comfortable are they in the water?

 

First time I tried water skiing I was in Jr HS at a B-day party off Barnegat bay, NJ. The boat was some outrageous thing with 2 big black outboards on it. The bay is very shallow and the bottom is pure mud. They never told me to let go of the rope if you fall......I about drown trying to get unstuck. My trunks ended up down around my feet and I was bare assed getting back in the boat. The humiliation was complete.

 

Waterski ropes are different than wakeboarding ropes. By design, Wakeboarding do not stretch like a waterski rope.

someone above talked about staying calm with head under water. If someone is learning and on 2 skis there head should never be underwater until they fall.

butt down like sitting in a chair, arms straight, back straight, head up, and once the boat starts to pull you forward gentlypush down through your heels.

depending upon how big the kids are you probably won’t need to “hit it”.

for my nephew what was 6 when we started him, we used skis with a bar on the front so he could get up and not get frustrated. Once he got the hang we pulled the bar.

 

12, pretty tall for her age(5'5")

 

I was lucky growing up and was sent to a summer camp that had some resources dedicated to teaching us how to water ski. We started on the rig called the "Ski Bug" that was effectively skiing in a circular ditch while holding onto a rope attached to a rotating arm driven by a car engine. All i remember is "keep your knees bent"

 

Hi Jack, +1 on letting go of the rope when she falls, or as she is falling. It seems dumb to have to tell someone that but I've seen plenty of people dragging through the water well past the point of "saving" it.
Also she should pop out of the water pretty fast so if she's dragging through the water for more than a few seconds it's not likely she is going to get up and just wearing herself out.

 

Length of the rope and Height of the rope… Yamaha boat not the best to learn behind for sure… If you know someone with a Boom it will make it easy.. Learning is gonna be 50% of the driver… Skiing, Wakeboarding, Surfing, Kneeboarding all have different ways of the methodology to perfect…take your time and have fun…

 

I’d second the boom if possible and skiis that are tied together. Also, is it your first time pulling a skier?

 

I’m sure others are way more experienced but I was taught tips up with skis shoulder width apart. Knees bent and arms mostly out but not all the way so you still have some give when the boat tugs. As soon as the boat moves. Row hands to chin and straighten legs. Once you pop up on the skis you can slowly bring your hands back down in front of you. I’ve probably skied 5 times in my life and separated by years and that method has always worked easily for me like I’m a pro

Once I’m up the pro things goes right out the door though. Letting go of the rope when you fall seems obvious but definitely make sure they know to do that so you can make a bee line back to them

 

Don't hit the throttle too hard, ease into it, gives a newbie time to think, react and learn.

I learned behind a 33 HP Scott-Atwater on a 16 Ft. wooden boat, that may have been a little slower than necessary.

 

I've taught a lot of kids to wakeboard and wakesurf. I think the most important part is to keep the stress low. Don't try it with a boat full of people. Don't let lots of people shout advice. Be encouraging and let them take a break after a few tries. Bring snacks too. I've learned a lot of little driving techniques that help too(I'm not sure about skiing).

 

She is pretty comfortable on the water as we tube pretty frequently. I have a little experience pulling a skier, but not with a jet boat. The new boat has 2 motors, so with the jet drive it starts quickly. I'm kind of wondering if I am getting after the throttle a little hard(we tried once with her, but the rope gave up before she did). I had my wife drive the same way and it wasn't a problem for me skiing, but I weigh twice as much.

 

All good responses btw, and I appreciate the information for sure.

 

If this kid takes after you, just tell her to hang on and go full send

 

I skied a lot in my teens and twenties. Started out on boats without much power, so at my size you had to be ready for it to take a long while to get you out of the water on one ski.

The last time I skied several years ago, the friend towing me had a tournament ski boat with a V-8 and direct drive. Full throttle starts provided almost too much yank, so if your boat has a lot of oomph, I'd agree that a little less gas might make it easier for her to pop up.

 

This reminds me of when I learned to ski, I was probably 8 years old. My mom stayed in the water behind me and held the bottoms of my skis so I didn't cross them before my dad punched it. Nice wood Cypress Gardens skis we inherited from my cousins. Great memories. Glad you're getting your kids into something outdoors and fun.

 

Like Gino said, I'm a Florida boy and my best childhood memories were behind a boat water sking, knee boards, then wakeboarding came, now foilboards

 

Take the slack out at a very slow idle,so she doesnt lose her body positioning.
Have her yell when she's ready,or let go of the rope and reset if its bad position.
Make sure you have the boat,and rope straight before pulling her out.
Start knees bent as others have said,and straighten out as you come out of water.
Always! let go of rope,I popped my ears really bad trying to hang on for fun,never did that again!
Have her motion up or down for slower or faster speeds she feels comfortable with once up.
My dad taught me,and I loved it!