How To Drive Your Wakeboard Boat

As a proud owner of a brand-new wakeboard boat, you’ll want to make sure that you know how to use it correctly. Wakeboard boats are perfect for towing wakeboarders, water skiers and other people who participate in marine watersports. However, in order to insure success, there are some steps you’ll need to take and it may feel differently from driving another type of boat if you’ve owned other boats before.

Germaine Marine is your local wakeboard boat dealership, with two locations in Utah and Arizona. Read on to learn more about driving your wakeboard boat so that you can have successful towing sessions with all your friends and family members who participate in watersports.

1. Have the Right Gear On Hand

Participating in watersports requires you to have some important pieces of equipment handy at all times. You’ll want to make sure everyone has a well-fitting life jacket and that you have a throwable life ring on board your vessel. You should also have a functioning fire extinguisher and a first-aid kit, along with bright-colored signal flags and an emergency radio.

Non-stretch ropes for towing participants are necessary, as any rope that has stretch will throw your rider off-balance and make it more challenging to stay on the board or skis. The ideal length to get is at least 65’ for a beginning rider and 85’ for an expert, and ropes should be in bright colors that are easy to see against the backdrop of the water, such as neon orange or hot pink. Get a wide handle with a cushioned grip for comfort to attach to the tow rope.

2. Maintain a Consistent Speed

Going too slow or too fast for your rider won’t help them, and neither will speeding up and slowing down at random. Keep your boat at a consistent speed, which might be anywhere from eight to 20 miles per hour, depending on the type of sport being done and the experience level of your rider. Ten to twelve miles per hour is generally a good speed if you’re not sure. 

3. Use Ballast Correctly

The ballast on your wakeboard boat is what helps it to generate the wakes needed for many watersports. You’ll need to use different types of ballast in different places on your boat to get the effects you want. Ballast usually comes in the form of sacks of sand or hard tanks of water, but even your passengers can be arranged to create ballast in a pinch. Ballast generally needs to be placed towards the stern of the boat to push it deeper into the water, causing waves to form off the transom. Do some experimenting to determine how much you need.

4. Avoid Making Power Turns

Your wakeboarder or other watersports participant is likely to fall into the water at some point, especially if they’re new to the sport. You’ll need to circle back to get them, but don’t do a power turn where you don’t slow down before you go into the turn! Try to slow your boat down slowly and tap reverse to bring the boat to a stop. You can then turn at a slow speed to idle back to your rider. This will prevent the water from becoming choppy and sloshing water over your transom.

5. Remain Vigilant

You should always have someone spotting your wakeboard rider and using signal flags to alert other boaters to their presence. You, however, as the operator of your boat, need to remain vigilant and watch the path ahead of you so that you can avoid obstacles like other boats, swimmers in the water, buoys and even marine wildlife. 

Visit our website or one of our two dealerships to take a look at our wide stock of new and used wakeboard boats for sale. Germaine Marine is here to serve all our customers in the states of Arizona and Utah.