Driving Tips

Driving is a critical part of the footing experience. Too hard out of the hole, usually frustrates the footer who's learning deep water barefoot starts. Likewise, approaching ideal barefoot speed too quickly can sometimes be frustrating.

We've learned that a fairly quick pull out of the hole is good but then you should back off just slightly as the footer gets comfortable planing on his/her butt - not too much or too quickly though. Then, it's easier for the footer to "butt out" or get outside the wake for an easier stand-up (since the water is softer at slower speeds, it's easier to steer with your butt). Once the footer is outside the wake, a steady throttle to barefoot speed is usually acceptable.

I have deliberately left out the boat speed in this discussion. We've found that driving for most footers involves hearing and feeling the boat speed and watching the footer in your rearview mirror (of course you should ALWAYS be paying attention to what's in front of you first!). The more you drive for footers, the more you'll get to know this "hearing, feeling" way to drive and you'll become comfortable with it.