Tip 1. – Don’t Learn To Jump/Beach Start

Jump, or beach starts, are where the skier will stand about knee-deep in the water with a few coils of rope along with the handle. The boat accelerates, picking up all the slack and giving a huge jolt as the rope tightens, and launches the skier forwards.

I’ve seen people strain muscles and even break a handle. I have actually never even done one and will be happy never to try.

The time this start comes in handy is when the skier weight is too much for the boat engine. The wider the gap between skier weight going up, and the horsepower going down, the more likely you are to try a beach start.

You may get to a point where you have little choice but to try this because the boat can’t get you up in a deep water start.

Tip 2. – Wear Low Drag Gear

Learning to do a deepwater start will involve a good bit of time being dragged through the water. By keeping your gear streamlined during this learning process, you will reduce energy loss, and increase body awareness.

A wetsuit is easily the most beneficial piece of gear to use here. There are no tags to catch the water, boardshorts can parachute with water as the boat starts to move forwards, making the drag too much to hold on to.

Wetsuits will also give you more sensation of passing through the water, which can be useful for your body’s innate sense of balance. These extra sensations can help your body stay balanced as you plow through the water

Tip 3. – Use A Deep V Handle

A Deep-V handle is made to help skiers control their ski in the water when doing a deepwater start. When floating in the water, put your ski through the rope gap, and allow your ski the rest against the rope. It does not matter which foot forward the skier is.

Tip 4. – Try A Double Wide The First Time

More surface area will give you a large base of support. There will be a little more drag, but not

Tip 5. – Use A Tower

The higher you can attach the rope, the more assistance the skier has. It helps the skier getting up on to top the water without having to go through as much water first.

Tip 6. – Let The Boat Do The Work

The boat has all the power here. Your goal is to set a position in the water, and when the boat starts moving, not having to do anything but keep your side-to-side balance.

By aiming to do less, you leave less to worry about, less to focus on so you can focus better.

Tip 7. – Have Good Boat Communication

Make sure everyone knows what the calls are going to be. Make sure that the commands being used don’t sound like other common calls. For example. No, Go, Slow, all sound way too similar at 23m/70ft with the engine going.

Here are a few to get you started.

• Idle – This is to get the driver to bump the boat in and out of idle to keep the rope tight, giving the skier support to work with. Done by just letting the engine engage, let the rope tighten, and back out again, so you don’t pull the skier around.
• Slow – This is to get the driver to put the boat in idle and leave it there. This gives the skier a chance to check their position before committing to a full attempt.
• Ready – This is when you are ready to go, and the boat should proceed with pulling you up.
• Stop – Driver should drop the boat out of gear at this call from the skier. If you lose your balanced position early then, it lets you reset with the boat bringing you the handle again.

Tip 8. – Getting Up Takes Longer Than A Wakeboard

If you have wakeboarded before, then you will want to be aware that getting up on a single ski takes longer than it does on a board. Wakeboards have a huge surface area, which lets them pop right up on top of the water at low speed.

Single skis are pretty narrow with far less surface area; therefore, more speed is required to get up on the top of the water. That speed is gained as you are pulled through the water.

What Will You Do With Your Back Foot?

Tip 9. – Try A Double Boot

A double boot will keep you totally secured to the ski at all times. Many people enjoy the security they feel, as you can move your feet around in the boot a lot to adjust your position and weight.

Tip 10. – Try With Foot In The Kicker

If you are using a kicker, then you can shove your foot as far up into the loop as you can so it won’t fall out as you get up

Tip 11. – Knee Tucked Behind Knee

With the above two methods make sure to keep your back knee tucked in behind the front, it will help secure your strength and stop the back knee causing drag in the water and being pulled away,

Tip 12. – Try While Draggin Your Foot

Lots of skiers who are using kickers start with their foot out of the back kicker. It means that when you are in the water, your back leg is floating free, giving you a lot of control while floating there.

When the boat starts to take off, you need to think of the ski leg taking all the weight, your back leg is pulled back by the drag. Allow your back leg to drag back your hip somewhat too, reducing drag again.

Put your foot in the kicker as soon as you feel comfortable.

Tip 13. – Rest Your Foot On Top Of The Kicker

If you don’t feel stable enough to put your foot in the kicker while still getting up the consider placing it on top of the kicker so you can stand on that leg still.

Tip 14. – Wait Until You Are On The Plane To Put Your Foot In

Once you are up on the plane, then you can take the time to get your foot in the kicker, no worries.

Tip 15. – Have As Much Ski Out Of The Water As You Can

When you are floating in the water, and the boat is keeping the line tight about to go, make sure that as much ski as possible is out of the water.

There are a few benefits to doing this.

First, it will help you to be in a relaxed ball position with your knees between your elbows and your body tilted back floating in the water.

Second, when the boat starts going, it will mean less surface area in the water creating drag, which means less weight for you to hold.

Third, when the boat starts pulling you forward, it will be pulling you forward onto the top of the ski.

Tip 16. – Rest Your Ski Against The Rope

If you need help keeping the ski straight as you start, then rest the tip of you ski against the rope when sitting in the water. It will help guide your ski through the first moments of acceleration and the wobble that can occur there.

Left foot forwards skiers put the ski on the right side of the rope

Tip 17. – Let The Ski Sit At An Angle

If keeping the ski straight is not a problem, then let the ski sit at a little bit of a natural angle while you sit in the water. It will make arranging the rest of your position easier. Make sure to bring the ski to the front as the boat accelerates.

Tip 18. – Over-Hand Grip On The Handle

When first starting out, I would suggest keeping the grip with both hands going over the top of the handle. I will level out your shoulders, making it easier to maintain balance with your upper body.

Tip 19. – Start Relaxed In The Water

I watch people get worked up sometimes in the water because they don’t feel they can hold a perfect position prior to moving forwards. To that, I would say that being relaxed is more important.

Being tense removes your body’s ability to react. By relaxing, we are giving our body the freedom to activate the necessary muscles in response to changes in balance. If you start relaxed in the water, you can then move to the wanted position as the boat applies constant pull for you to work with.

Tip 20. – Have A Friend In The Water With You

If you are near the shore, then get a friend in the water with you for support. They can help hold you so you can arrange yourself, and remind you of the important keys you are wanting to focus on.

Tip 21. – Get The Driver To Nudge Idle To Keep The Rope Tight

The driver makes a massive difference for someone who is just figuring out the deepwater start. It is a very fine line to run with how often you drop the boat in gear, to give enough rope tension, or giving too much tension, disrupting the work of the skier to get organized.

Tip 22. – Make Sure The Driver Accelerates Super Smoothly

With some boats, this can be super tough, just do your absolute best to be as smooth and progressive with the throttle.

Also, always make sure that you have the boat in idle for 1-2 seconds at least, before accelerating to get the skier up. If you don’t wait that second or two, then the boat will clunk into gear, and there will be sudden and very rough acceleration for the skier out the back.

Tip 23. – Try Getting The Boat To More Than Idle For A Moment

Something that I have seen work for some people is to get the boat to start going, and then pause at low speed for a moment, going double or triple idling speed. This really gives the skier a chance to set and know if they are going to be able to get up this time. If it doesn’t go well, then you can stop and try again more quickly.

Tip 24. – Allow Yourself To Compress As The Boat Accelerates

Don’t fight the compression when the boat speeds up, keeping in a centred ball makes it easier to roll up onto the ski. It also means that you are not pushing away with your legs, which we really don’t want.

Tip 25. – Focus On Side To Side Balance

If you have your position reasonably set, then all you will really need to worry about is your side to side balance. Your head will be one of your most useful tools here to shift your weight to the sides.

Tip 26. – Hold On Through The Pull

Be patient, it will take a moment for the boat to get up to a speed that can get you on the plane. You need to hold on through the ‘pop’ of the ski getting up out of the water. When the pull feels like it is at its max is right before the release of the ski popping up.

Tip 27. – Allow Your Body To Be Pulled Forward A Little

As you reach the point of pressure building, you may feel your self being pulled forward. Don’t fight this feeling. As the ski is about to pop up on the water, there is a final tug that brings your body up over the ski, which rotates the ski up onto the flat plane.

Tip 28. – Your Ski Will Make A Breathing Pocket

If you are worried about getting lots of water to the face, don’t stress. As you get pulled forwards, your ski will make an air pocket for your face so you can breathe.

Some people like to keep their face down to make a larger air pocket, I prefer to keep my eyes up instead.

Tip 29. – Pull Up On Your Back Foot A Little

If you are behind a boat that is a little lacking in power and dragging you a long way, try pulling up a little with the back leg. The thought here is to give the ski some help getting up onto the plane by removing a little water resistance so you can get more speed.

Tip 30. – Take A Moment To Reset Your Balance Before Standing Completely

Once the ski has popped up on top of the water, take a moment to set yourself before standing fully. That moment will help you to settle and move with control.

Tip 31. – Push Through With Your Hips To Stand

When you do stand, think of having the entire movement come from the hips. You will be a bit bent over from getting up, now thrust those hips the whole way through until they feel like they are over your toes.

Tip 32. – Letting Go Of The Rope

Often people are in great positions and look really balanced; the issue is that they will let go of the handle way before they can get up, purely because they don’t trust their own grip. There will be a variety of reasons why they will tell you they just can’t, but continue to encourage them to hold on for dear life because they have to get through that, and they’ll be right there.

Also, if you miss the deepwater start, don’t continue to hold on to the handle and get dragged through the water.

Tip 33. – Stop Before You Get Too Tired

Trying deepwater starts is tiring if you are not getting up, you are just constantly trying to hold on as you are dragged through the water. Take a rest while you still have energy, so you will have a better chance next time, don’t burn yourself out.

Tip 34. – You’ll Learn In Time To Resist The Pull In Balance

Once you get the hang of this, you will be able to get up no matter what you do. This is why you will see some really good skiers doing the exact opposite of what we teach beginners. We’ve been through it and are familiar enough to be able to do things like this.

Disclaimer

The tips here are a collection of the tools I use while coaching. Not all these tips will work together, and some may even be contradictory to some degree. A lot may be missing as coaches tailor advice to the individual and their previous experiences.

Without being there to see you ski, I don’t know which of these tools to use to maximize your learning curve. Every person is different and reacts differently to the same advice. I put so much in here to accommodate as many different learning styles as possible.

Not all the tips here will work for you. The idea here is to get you thinking along the right lines about the fundamentals. Use whatever tips make sense to you, and use the rest as inspiration to experiment on the water. Find out exactly what makes you feel the most comfortable, and use it, because comfort is the main goal. If you’re comfortable, fun and progression come easily.