BOATERS BLOG
Boating is always fun, whether spending time with loved ones or going on a solo fishing trip. Cruising the waves and feeling the wind rush through your hair is undeniably satisfying. However, what makes boating even more exciting and thrilling is the watersports that provide entertainment and joy, whether you are watching or participating. While tug toys or towable inflatables are a great time for kids, watersports can be something that kids and adults of all ages can do. Before choosing which watersport you want to explore, the experts here at NBOA put together a comprehensive guide to various watersports that require a boat! Learn which sport might be up your alley, then practice your balance and strength while enjoying a day on the water with family and friends.
Water Skiing
Water skiing, although painful and challenging at times, is a great place to start if you are new to watersports. Water skiing was one of the first boating watersports that positioned watercrafts as more than a mode of transportation or means for fishing. Traditional water skiing involves two skis for each foot and a rope attached to the boat. As you begin floating in the water behind the boat, with your ski tips pointed up, the boat will start to accelerate and pull you up out of the water. Then, hold in your core, bend your knees, and keep your skis relatively close together as the boat does most of the work.
Slalom Skiing
Slalom skiing is very close to traditional water skiing, except you will only use one ski for both feet. Many people like to feel confident water skiing with two skis before giving slalom skiing a try. A great technique to test if you are ready is to drop one ski when water skiing (with the intention of circling back to pick it up later) so you can practice and get a feel for slalom skiing.
Hydrofoiling
To those unfamiliar with hydrofoiling, this sport can often look like seated skiing. While this is not far from the truth, there is a lot more to hydrofoiling than meets the eye. To start, the skier straps themselves onto the seat, holds the rope attached to the boat, leans back, and keeps the tip of the board up and out of the water. As the boat accelerates, the rider and the board will elevate into the air, and the foil assembly underneath the board will help stabilize the rider’s direction.
Barefoot Skiing
Skiing barefoot takes additional training and practice, such as working your way up from traditional water skiing, mastering slalom skiing, and then ditching the skis altogether to enjoy barefoot skiing. The technique is almost identical to conventional skiing in terms of holding the rope and allowing the boat to pull you up and out of the water. However, it is also common for barefoot skiers to begin on a kneeboard or wakeboard and dismount once they feel ready to do so.
EZ Skiing
Watersport trainers are designed for kids who are beginning to learn the fundamentals of water skiing or wakeboarding. They help kids work on their balance and get acquainted with watersports in general. Since there are various types of EZ Skis, you can choose between inflatables or materials that mimic skis or a wakeboard, making EZ Skis the perfect way for parents to confidently introduce their kids to the wonderful and fun world of watersports.
Kneeboarding
“Kneeboarding” is precisely what it sounds like! A rider will sit on their knees while their board is pulled by a boat. Kneeboarding is another great gateway into watersports, like wakeboarding and wake surfing. As a rider, you will lay across the board on your stomach, head facing forward with your feet behind you, and either attach the rope from the boat to the front of your board or hold it in your hands. When the boat increases speed, sit up onto your knees, place the strap across your thighs, hang on, and enjoy the ride.
Wake Boarding
Like snowboarding is the counterpart to skiing snow-covered mountains in the winter, wakeboarding is the counterpart to water skiing. Wakeboarders begin in the water with their feet secured in bindings on the board, bend their elbows while holding the rope from the boat, and allow the boat to pull them out of the water into a standing position. Unlike water skiing, wakeboarders stand sideways in either a “regular” stance with the left foot forward or a “goofy” stance with the right foot forward, just like snowboarding. A pro tip for wakeboarding is to keep a lot of your weight balanced towards your back leg while riding behind the boat.
Wakesurfing
Wakesurfing ha
s become more popular over the last few years and differs from wakeboarding in a few ways. For instance, the board has no bindings and there is no rope for you to hang onto while you ride. Instead, wake surfing is all about surfing the wake behind the boat and staying close to the boat while doing so. Because of the close proximity between the surfer and the boat, wake surfing should always be done behind a boat with an inboard motor. To get into a sideways standing position on the board, surfers will begin by holding a rope between their legs as the boat accelerates.
Then, with their feet rested on the top of their board, surfers press their heels down to pop the board up and help themselves come to a complete stand with bent knees.
Tubing
Although tubes can be a part of the collection of towable inflatables and tug toys mentioned above, tubing involves quite a lot of arm strength and core stability. While the boat is gliding through the water and navigating through waves, you will be tested to see how long you can hold onto the tube before falling into the water. Most of the time, tubing involves laying down on your stomach over a large round raft that has multiple handles so you can hang on tight and enjoy the ride.
Watersports add another large layer to the fun, excitement, and joy that comes with boating. Many families enjoy practicing watersports together and kids can bond with other kids who have the same interest. As with any boating activity, watersports come with risk, which is why making sure you have proper boat insurance is imperative. Get started today with your free marine insurance quote from your friends here at NBOA.