180° Nose Stab
This is one of the greatest looking tricks there is. It starts
out looking like a jump into a table top, but ends up 6 feet
under and making bubbles! First find your launch source, then
get a good hit off it. Mid air, crack that sucker over and
pull hard down on the bars. If you have it right you will end
up pointing straight down, and with the bottom of your boat
facing the direction of travel. Nail the gas just as you enter
to make sure you have full penetration then pull out when it's
finished.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
180°Tailstand 
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
Jammin along pretty fast (above plane speed) crank the bars 1
directon, lean way forward and rock the ski up onto it's flat
surface so you are sliding on the belly. As you get around 180°,
hit the throttle to stop the ski once you've slowed down
enough. I use the weight of my body to pull down and sink the
back of the ski deep, this will naturally put you into a
tailstand.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Bunny Hop
Get going about 20 mph or so then nose in and hop hard with your legs. your PWC should
dive down a foot or so then spring back up and jump a little. Practice your timing and
soon enough you should be able to clear the entire ski out of the water with minimal
effort. Make this more of a timing issue than a force thing, it'll help
a lot. This maneuver is an excellent emergency thing, so learn it well, you never know when you are going to
come across something you'd just rather not hit, and are going to fast to avoid, To really
get your bunny hops good I'd suggest buying a small beach ball and playing with it a bit.
Get to where you can easily clear the ball with each pass.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Back Flip
Not the greatest trick in the world, but still a great dis-mount.
The Back Flip is pretty easy, and just how it sounds, get
going above plane speed, then do a normal back flip right off
your ski. That's right, just leap backwards while it's moving.
This usually goes over well right after a big trick (also
gives you a chance to rest in the water for a few seconds).
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Barefooting
I enjoy doing this one near big crowds of people because it puts
off a hug spray. Make sure you are going a good 35mph+, speed is
important or you end up in the water. Get going fairly well,
then pull 1 foot out of the bucket and put it out on the water.
Smooth water is a must, as you apply pressure to the foot on the
water, begin to lift your remaining foot out of the bucket slowly.
You should be holding on for dear life, and I am usually hunched
over my ski by the time I get both feet out on 1 side. Don't
slow down, you'll eat it as soon as your foot penetrate, so keep
the speed up! Once you made enough new fans, bring one foot at a
time back in the bucket.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Barrelroll
This trick takes tons of preparation and practice, but once you
get it there's no better crowd pleaser to a freestyler. Some
people use "L's" I use a straight turn back to make my
launch wake. Practice a few times until you get a good sharp
wake lip made each time you try. I roll to the left myself (goof
foot) so I enter the wake lip heading from right to left, with a
slight right-hand arc. Pound the gas as you hit the face and
crank the bars to the left hard, as the ski begins to roll up
the face you should be starting to throw your shoulders left and
pull left on the handle pole. If you nail it just right, the ski
should rotate up around you counter clockwise. Too little gas
and you end up entering the water upside-down (face-plant), too
little shoulder action and you end up eating major #%$.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Cliffhanger
Big Air Tricks
If you look around, there are a ton of tricks being done by
everyone from Skaters to X-Games Big Air Jumpers. Things like
Supermans, and hand grabs are common big air tricks, and
fairly easy to master once you know how to take the big jumps.
Always remember to be safe and wear your helmet!
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Fountain
Yet another huge crowd pleaser! The fountain is maybe the most
request trick after barrel rolls, but much easier to do if you
have the right equipment. Make sure you don't try this trick
without adequate bilge systems or a scupper valve. Get the ski
going at plane speed and get into your bulldog position, crank
the bars over and do a 180. While in motion, spin yourself
around on your hood so you end up facing backwards, belly on
pole, hands on grips, and feet dangeling off front of boat. Let
the craft begin to slow, as the nose starts to go under, give it
about half throttle. You should blast a huge fountain out of
your pump. Try this trick in the direction of sunlight for
rainbow fountains!
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Bulldog
Bulldog 180
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
Bulldog 180 1 handed
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
Bulldog 180 1 handed fountain sub
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
Bulldog 180 1 handed fountain sub 2
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
Bulldog 180 into Bulldog 180 sub
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
Bulldog 180 into reverse ride out
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
Bulldog 180 sub
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
A fun trick to practice and master, the Bulldog more than
anything shows how much a rider really has control of his/her
ski as a "platform". Get going plane speed, kneel down
in the bucket and reach up with your left hand to your handhold
or whatever you use to hold on. Turn your right hand around so
that you are using your thumb to manage the throttle (practice until
it's comfortable, you use it often). Goose it and get your self
a good launching boot then crank the bars hard left squeezing a
bit more throttle to break the back end loose. As you slide into
a 180, let off the gas and begin to balanace and control your
ski as the nose falls into the low spot towards the end of the
180. Feather the throttle up as you regain control and build
plane speed again to complete the trick.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Split
Hand Stand
Another fairly easy trick to master is the Hand Stand. Get
your craft going plane speed, not too fast though, we want this
ride smooth. Practice doing your handstands on shore a few
times to make sure you've got it down. Then try it moving on
your ski, the hardest part is the transition after you let off
the gas, master the timing and you can get a good couple
seconds of "upside downtime" in.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Hurricane
Rodeo
Tipsy
Left Foot Right Leg
Monkey Jump
Backwards Riding
I find it easiest to practice this at first on your knees. It
allows you to have a much lower center of gravity which will
help a lot when riding backwards. You will have a tendency to
want to tip over because your natural reactions make you
turn the wrong direction. Practice is the key here, nothing
will make it feel comfortable except just getting used to it.
Don't forget to look forward from time to time to make sure
you have a good clear area.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Over & Under
Porpoising
Similar to the Bunny-hop mentioned above, this is really jsut a string of several hops all
together. Once you get the rhythm down, you can "boing" around for quite awhile.
I've seen Dayton do it for more than 2 minutes @ a shot. The trick I've found is to
practice doing hops at home in my garage, just bounce around, I know it feels silly but it
really helps with your timing. Stand far back in the bucket, get up to just above plane
speed, then start bouncing it. When you've got the timing right, you will curve in and out
of the water like a dolphin.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Reverse 180° Spin
Tailspin
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
Video #2
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
Go as slow as you can, lean way back, crank the bars and hit the throttle. A good way to
practice this is to start slow doing doughnuts. Practice doing them smaller and smaller
until you can get it to circle on 1 point. When you've got it down you should be making a
big V with your body and ski. Your body weight should be pulling against the torque of the
engine so that you and the ski both hold a solid 45 degree angle to the water. When you
are ready to exit the spin, just lean forward and move 1 foot up in the bucket.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
TableTop
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
Video #2
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
A TableTop is a Surf Turn only instead of skipping across the top of the wave, you use it
for a launch and put air between you and the water. Prepare for a launch jump off a wave
or wake, turn into it a but then @ the last second, crank it all the way into the wave and
nail the gas, When you exit the ramp, pitch your hips into the direction of the turn and
hold untill you crown your jump. I like to make my landings hard and stop short, others
like to land the backside and ride it out, try both. :)
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Submerging (Subs!)
(Click here for video of the
trick!!)
Video #2
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
The main deal here is to get the whole ski to dive down into the water and
completely submerge. I find that the calmer the water is, the better chance I have of getting the
perfect pre-launch and it's a lot easier to get down with practice. Get
going just barley
plane speed, try to pre-bounce the ski once before you do your big pre-launch jump that
gives you the lift to do this trick. Mid air in your jump push your shoulders forward
while keeping your arms extended and duck a lil... The first few times you will have a
tendency to slap the front of the ski down, but just keep trying, you will get it then
it's like riding a bike. Remember, flat water is best, don't go too fast, and ALWAYS make
sure you have a working bilge and plenty of water depth. I've actually got my ski to go
backwards once I dove it in, so play around with throttle and posture.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Hand Grab
On those extra wavy days, I just to get in a few Hand Grabs
when I can. The trick is very simple, hit a jump, get
giant air, and while you're up there, let go and let the ski kind of
launch out in front of you a bit. As it starts to get under
you, reach down and grab the end of the bucket or a side rail.
The bigger your airs, the longer you get to "hold it
out".
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Surf Turn
Watch any Surfing event, and you'll see these guys round of the face of a wave and kick
the back of their boards out on the crest of a wave. You want to do basically the same
thing, get going with a wave or wake and start carving up and down on the face of it. If
you crank the bars and juice it just as you go to round off the top of the wave, you can
actually break the back end loose and it will skip a bit across the crest. Hold the
throttle nailed for cool re-entries.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Tailstand
The object here is to get the bottom of your PWC as perfectly straight up and down as
possible while still maintaining control. Go as slow as you can, stand with both feet in
the back of the bucket, lean back and let the back end sink a couple feet. Pull up and get
the front end high out of the water. Balance and control are the two keys here, the jet
constantly wants to unload, while the ski itself wants to go down. When you are doing this
right you should be more than half way under water yourself so practice someplace warm. I
thought I was doing them fine for a long time until someone pointed out that the top of
my ski was vert, but the bottom still had 30 degrees to go. The trick ended up being to
take my back foot and put it behind me for better control. To end the
Tailstand, just pull
yourself closer to your ski while leaning forward. If you have a handhold, this trick is a
great opening to the Corkscrew which will then set you in perfect position to ride it out
into a Bulldog.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Superman
Very similar to the Hand Grab, the superman is another Big Air
Trick. Once airborne, let the ski launch out a bit ahead of
you, then stretch or extend your body out so you are in
the Superman flying position. Bigger the air, longer you have
to fly :). Remember to always use caution when performing this
trick.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Log Jumping
What I like most about jumping logs is they are some of the few stationary jumps we get.
What I least like about them is if you get too crazy, you are smashing out intake grates
on a ride-by-ride basis. I hit about a 7foot round out near Edmonds and it
completely ripped out my grate, stick with logs and rounds no bigger than about a foot. These are
usually half submerged or more and are slippery with slime from being water-logged. Get
going a good stable speed, approach the log as it is were you jump point for a bunny-hop.
Pre-launch and pull your feet up. If you get it just right, you'll get a nice little
launch.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Low Speed Control
Making a machine built to scream stand in place, or plow around @ under 1knot takes
practice and skill. You must have good throttle control as well as exceptional balance.
This is where a lot of people get into trouble. See, a ski is made to direct water @ speed,
when it's not flowing down it's hull-lines, you basically have no steering and have to
rely on engine control and balance. Maybe the single best skill builder for any level
skier.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Corkscrew
(tailstand twist)
SkiSurfing
(Click here for video of the
trick!!)
Rip it up! SkiSurfing has made it into the bigtime now with Freestyle events @ coastal
areas being called "FreeRide" events instead. 50% big air tricks, 50% wave
riding. Ohyea, just get out there and start carving it up. Find any waves, they don't have
to be monster big kahuna ones, it's all about the shape not the size *yea*.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Power 360°
The Power 360° is a good basic trick to learn, it will take some time
tho. First get
going about 15-20 mph (just out of the water) then raise your pole way up and lean
forward. Do a 15° turn to the right to set yourself up, then crank it hard left. try to
sink the nose just enough so it catches and pulls the front around. As you start to get
the nose under, nail the gas and let the ski pull itself around. By the time the ski gets
straight again, you should be going the original direction, a complete 360 :) a common
problem is breaking the pump free of the water and sliding on the belly of the craft
instead of carving it into the water.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Wife Soaker
(Click here for video of the
trick!!)
First you have to get a wife that's willing to come close
enough to actually douse her. Next you get her to video tape
you doing stupid stuff, each time you do something for the
camera, come a little closer. Once in range, blamo, crank it
over and let it shoot (heh, I'm so gonna get my arse kicked
for this one).
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
CSub
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
A fun step further
is to reach forward with both hands to the bumper, and control
the bars with your feet (throttle too) When you goto dismount,
either decelerate and slide back like normal, or try the trick
I'm perfecting in this video where you basically turn the
dismount into a power sub!
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
Hood
Tricks
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
Video #2
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
Video #3
(Click
here for video of the trick!!)
One of my favorite things to do are hood tricks. These tricks
take the timing of a dancer, but once your going it's very
fun to ride out on the front of your ski. First kinda squat
down in your bucket with your knees bent out touching the side
rails. Then get up to plane speed, bring your front leg (right
for me) up past the bars and reach around on the throttle
(again, goofy foot only). Grab it and bring yourself back up to
plane speed, just then reach out with left hand and dig into
your hand hold (bottom of handlepole). Lean forward so you are
laying on the pole and scooch your other leg up past the bars.
Sit up and ride around. Handy for relaxing after a long haul
or just goofing around.
-Christopher Riley (aka CPRman)
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