Accessorizing

When it comes to wakeboarding, there is a lot of freedom in choosing your style. You can express your riding style by putting stickers on your board, using a special binding clamp to ensure attachment to the board, or ride behind a brand new 2007 Super Air Nautique 210 Team Edition wakeboard boat.

These accessories may or may not be in the budget, but sometimes they’re a necessity to break away from the pack and establish yourself as your own wakeboarder. Of course, this could be done by just learning a ton of cool new tricks and showing them off in front of all your friends, but if learning isn’t your thing, then accessorize. On my first board, I put stickers of a whacked out fish and a mesmerized smiley face balloon on the back of my board. By the time I grew out of it, they seemed childish and kid-like.

So once I bought my new board, I decided to keep the face clean. I didn’t feel like marring the graphics and artwork on this one yet. Instead I tried redecorating it with a sleeker look. I added Rainbow Fin Company bones to reduce plate flexing on the bindings and make sure the bindings never get loose. Another accessory that’s just like it is the Hyperlite claw set which works only for Hyperlite bindings, but the RFC bones should work on most binding sets. I bought red ones to add another color to the ambiance of the board. Before it was just blue, gray, and silver, but that was kind of mellow and dull, so I thought some red would bring some spice to the overall look of the board. But I left the wakeboard at that and decided on modernizing another part of my wakeboarding realm.

One accessory that I haven’t explored yet is the use of differently shaped and sized fins. I’ve only used the ones the manufacturer supplies with the board. But I’ve gathered a few assumptions on the subject, and that is the larger the fin, the more grip and cutting power you’ll have on the water, and the smaller the fin, the more glide you’ll feel and ability to do surface turns. I guess I prefer using a fin that is sized right down the middle. So I can get the best of both worlds.

I ski behind an old 2001 model 1989 Ski Nautique. It’s a classic, but not known for a huge peaky wake with a nice lip. This was another element of my “wakeboarding realm” that I felt was holding me back. A new 2007 Super Air Nautique 210 Team Edition wakeboard boat was definitely not in the budget, and neither was any other new wakeboarding boat. I had to settle for purchasing a set of “fat sacs.” These added up to a possible 900 pounds of ballast into the back of my boat. But filling them up and maneuvering them around was hard as shit. A pump would have helped a ton, but that wasn’t in the budget either. Yet there was definitely a plus side to buying them. The wake was now a lot larger and taller. I was able to perform and land tricks much easier then. My tantrum was much simpler because I had a lot more pop off the wake. The same went for back rolls because of the taller, gradual sloping wake. Spins came a lot easier from the added hang time and grabs were much more enjoyable. If your boat doesn’t have a large wake and you’re struggling to get the air you need as well, I highly recommend a fat sac for your boat. The advantages definitely outweigh the disadvantages.

Another thing I still lack from my wakeboarding accessories list is a taller pylon. What this does is help lift you up off the wake because the rope is tied to a point higher than you when you’re out on the water. So when you jump off of the wake, you’ll go higher. I’ve used one of my friends’ “sky high” before and I really noticed a large difference between the heights of the pylons. With a normally sized one, it pulls you down as soon as the handle is higher than the point the rope is tied to, but with a taller pylon, it continues to pull you up until gravity eventually pulls you back down. I landed my first back roll when using a taller pylon the first time I rode behind one. But these pylons can cost up to $250-$350 dollars and for right now, it is once again not in my budget. But it still comes highly recommended from me.

If you have the cash to spend over a brand new boat, I recommend buying one; especially if it’s a Nautique you’re looking at. Nautiques last a lifetime if you take care of it. My family has taken care of our ’89 Ski Nautique very well and it still runs great. Besides fixing and replacing chewed up props, there have been no huge problems with the boat. I wakeboarded behind a brand new 2006 Super Air Nautique 220 Team Edition, and it was ridiculously amazing. This was a one of a kind wonder boat put out by Correct Craft, the maker of Nautiques, with an experimental propeller. It’s a beast on the water. The wake is close to 3-1/2 to 4 feet tall with the ballast tanks fully filled. This same boat was going to be used for wakeboarding nationals the next week. The air I got jumping off of this wake was monstrous. I had never been so happy in my life. But this boat also has a retail price of about $92,000 dollars. That’s a pretty penny for a boat, but you would look nice sitting in it. You’d be a pro.

In terms of accessories, if you have a sweet set-up, you might as well buy a video camera stand for the pylon. The stand swivels on top of the ski pylon and is connected to the rope, so it automatically follows your movement out on the water. I’ve heard its pretty sweet, and it’d be worth it for recording all your tricks out on the water. So board safely and board hard!

-Peace