barrel roll off boat wake help

[LMnsr]

Hello,

I want to start learning barrel rolls and was wondering if I can pull it off on 2-3ft boat wakes with a surf ski.
The only reason I won't try it in the surf is because I'd be riding alone. So I kind of prefer to learn barrel rolls off of smaller boat wakes to be on the safe side.

What I want to know is do I approach the smaller waves at low to mid speed, or mid to high speed?
I'm pretty sure I know how the technique is from reading and watching vids, but I don't get too many big wakes where I ride and was wondering what's the best approach.
I was planning on trying it this weekend if I get a few good wakes.

thanks!

 

[Quinc]

Boat wake should be more then enough. Being able to do 180 nose stabs first will help too.

 

[LMnsr]

Boat wake should be more then enough. Being able to do 180 nose stabs first will help too.

Thanks... Do I approach smaller waves at higher speeds for barrel rolls?

 

[TheBuzzard]

if you expect to get all the way around, you have to pre hop, you cant just crank the bars n gas it on small wakes. also depends where you hit the wake. at its steepest point will shoot you up higher but where its rounder, you can hit it with more speed. if you dont know how to do a very slow U turn nose stab, you are trying to sprint before you know how to crawl. rolls are dangerous at higher speeds if you dont know how to roll. go slow, land up side down 1000 times, then 3/4 the way around another 1000 times and you'll get it. never jump straight again until you learn to roll. thats what i did on an sxr.

 

[LMnsr]

if you expect to get all the way around, you have to pre hop, you cant just crank the bars n gas it on small wakes. also depends where you hit the wake. at its steepest point will shoot you up higher but where its rounder, you can hit it with more speed. if you dont know how to do a very slow U turn nose stab, you are trying to sprint before you know how to crawl. rolls are dangerous at higher speeds if you dont know how to roll. go slow, land up side down 1000 times, then 3/4 the way around another 1000 times and you'll get it. never jump straight again until you learn to roll. thats what i did on an sxr.

Thanks for the reply.. The last couple of weekends I've been doing 180 nose stabs off of boat wakes and smaller sit down wakes, pretty much got the hang of it. (low-mid speed). So I thought the next step was barrel rolls. The reason I ask is since in most videos I see people coming in at higher speeds, prehop and do a barrel roll. I thought it made a difference.. But I will take your advice. Ill just start small, I rather not get injured if I can prevent it by going slow at first.
Let's see how it goes on my first try haha

 

[TheBuzzard]

when you do U turn nose stabs over and over, after a while you start getting upside down. at that point you hit it with a little more speed to keep the ski parallel to the water instead of perpindicular to the water. if you just take it slow until you get the motion down, then you'll make it. you have to crank the bars, gas it and dive your head/body to the roll side. try and look under the boat while your still on it. make sure your feet and nailed in and never let go, no matter what.

 

[LMnsr]

when you do U turn nose stabs over and over, after a while you start getting upside down. at that point you hit it with a little more speed to keep the ski parallel to the water instead of perpindicular to the water. if you just take it slow until you get the motion down, then you'll make it. you have to crank the bars, gas it and dive your head/body to the roll side. try and look under the boat while your still on it. make sure your feet and nailed in and never let go, no matter what.

Thanks this helps a lot.. I'll start this weekend by being more aggressive on the U nose stabs to see what happens. If I feel comfortable enough I'll give the roll a shot..
I should be in surf stance for this correct? My footholds are a bit sketchy at times.Not sure if it's because the turf is 4 yrs old, but I really have to kick my foot in and squish my toes so it's stuck in it. I do have front holds also so that helps.
I'm planning on redoing my hull very soon so I will have new turf on

 

[TheBuzzard]

i never ride surf stance so i dont know about rolling like that. a lot of guys do and i notice when i land, my body is kind of sideways anyway, so surf stance might also work for me, but i aint going to try it! i hate to say it but bob holds never have kept my feet in to my liking. the clinic is now making new style pods for their setup and they are 1000X better.

 

[LMnsr]

i never ride surf stance so i dont know about rolling like that. a lot of guys do and i notice when i land, my body is kind of sideways anyway, so surf stance might also work for me, but i aint going to try it! i hate to say it but bob holds never have kept my feet in to my liking. the clinic is now making new style pods for their setup and they are 1000X better.

I have my footholds all the way to the front and I still get a bit of purpoising, I think if I chop my pole a couple inches it will eliminate that problem. I got the ski with a standard length UMI pole. I personally prefer the rear holds but I ride surf since it still a bit bouncy.

That's good news..You know when they will hit the market? T

 

[TheBuzzard]

you're not riding a hull that was designed for surf/ chasing boat wakes so its going to be hard to get the desired result. bobs are supposed to ride nose high and go slow for tricks. a short pole is a must but its also bad for boat chasing. i dont know when the new holds are coming out but they used them for WF

 

[LMnsr]

Just an update..

So I tried barrel rolls today. The first one was very sketchy ha I was hesitant and only went about 1.5/4 of theway. But then it got better. The second and third one I landed on My head. Then fourth time on a bit bigger wake maybe 3 3.5' I went 3/4 of the way and landed on my side. That was a great feeling!
I tried it again a couple of times but there werent any boats passing close to shore anymore, it was too choppy further out to make a clean approach so I called it a day.

One thing I noticed is that the wake plays a huge roll on how you will flip. I would say land on your head a couple of times off of 2 footers just to get a feel for the motion, then aim for 3'+ wakes which will get you passed the halfway point. (ofcourse this is my opinion riding a heavy surf hull with a basically stock 701 with a bpipe).
I thought the motion/technique is quite simple. One way I can explain it is like doing a frontflip on a trampoline. But in this case attached to a jetski.
I roll clockwise so I basically approach the wake @mid speed, turn left in the dip, crank the bars and give it full throttle and do a front flip with your body and the counter-force of the ski and your body = barrel roll? haha

Thanks for the help guys! will be posting videos soon. got a few fails on my gopro i might add later

 

[LMnsr]

Not the best angle but here it is... just 2 attempts I had on film

 

[N3vrSat1sfied]

Not the best angle but here it is... just 2 attempts I had on film

next time angle the camera up a bit so we can see whats going on

 

[LMnsr]

next time angle the camera up a bit so we can see whats going on

Thanks, that's why i said not the best angle. I need to get the attachment screen so I can see what I'm filming.. Next weekend I'll have some better shots I will post.

 

[j0hnny]

what gopro is that? rather than the screen im just planning on a test run streaming to the gf's phone as a preview before i ride.

 

[Big Kahuna]

crank the bars. drop your elbow to the inside some. for flat water you try and "look" up under the hull...... In surf it is more handlebards. not so much upper body. you are using speed and momentum up the wave to get you going.

 

[LMnsr]

what gopro is that? rather than the screen im just planning on a test run streaming to the gf's phone as a preview before i ride.

Its a hero2. There are a couple of 3's at my office. I might start using one of those. Forgot you can do that on the hero3. Good idea

crank the bars. drop your elbow to the inside some. for flat water you try and "look" up under the hull...... In surf it is more handlebards. not so much upper body. you are using speed and momentum up the wave to get you going.

Thanks! I only tried it off of some boat wakes so i guess it kind of counts as a flatwater roll? The wakes were mostly like 1.5' -2' so i use a lot upper body to get the ski upside down. The bigger wakes @3' went a lot better. Where I ride there are some decent waves a bit offshore most of the times. But yesterday it was flat. I was planning on testing it out there, so this wknd if the waves are breaking there i will go test it out to feel the difference.
Not really a surf spot just a reef/sand break next to a few small islands

 

[TheBuzzard]

its a lot of work to roll off no wake or small wakes. you really have to muscle it around. big wakes are easy, you just crank the bars and no pre hop required.