At Look At The Difference between Water Skis and Wakboards
Saturday, September 10th, 2011Wake boarding and water skiing are entirely two different sports although there appears to be some similarity between the two.
The nature of both the rides is a key point of difference between the two. Water skiing is a simple sport whereas wake boarding seems to be a combination of different sports. In water skiing a person uses skis to ride the waters while being pulled along by a moving speed boat. Though wakeboarding follows the same principle, it is more of a combination of surfing and snow boarding along with water skiing and a little bit of skate boarding as well.
Water skiing traditionally is just a ride behind a speed boat. This is pursued for the simple pleasure of skiing over waters. It is more of a smooth sailing ride unlike wake boarding which is a rough riding sport . Wakeboarding on the other hand is a sport based on the thrill and excitement of jumping the wakes created by the boat and thus the size of the waves play a huge factor here.
The different nature of the two sports is reflected in the individual sports gear as well. Water skiers ride the waters on water skis whereas the wakeboarding sport makes use of specially designed boards complete with foot straps and fins to help maintain the balance of the wake boarder. Unless you are slalom skiing, skiers generally use two different skis for both feet whereas wake boarders use a single board.
The boats used to pull these sports riders are also of different makes. While the water skier may use any simple motor boat for skiing, the wakeboard boat is specially designed to create extra high waves as the thrill of wakeboarding (as in surfing) is to ride these waves without loosing one’s balance. The boats used for wakeboards have increased weight at the rear to create higher and steeper waves. The wake board boats have increased weight at the rear to create larger wakes. As the height of the waves is directly proportional to the weight of the stern, the engine is placed backwards at the rear for added weight. Newer technologies like aftermarket ballast and lead are further used by manufacturers for creating larger wakes.
The ropes used to pull the skiers and the wake boarders also belong to opposite categories. While the ropes used in wakeboard belong to the non stretch variety, the water ski sports requires ropes with some stretch which helps to pull the skier back and forth as he rides along the curve.
Now that you know the differences, visit the following website for more information:
Water Ski Equipment
Discount Wakeboards