As is always the case, make sure you have at least two people in the boat – driver and spotter – and review the signs with everyone before you start the engine. Before we get to the hand signs, here’s a little pre-tow advice from a driver who’s tired of driving in circles getting the handle back to the rider. The
lump on her forehead doing just that. Still makes me chuckle. Seriously though, it is dangerous, like your momma always said – someone could lose an eye.
On to the hand signals – pass the mag around to everyone in the boat and have a couple people try each one so everyone is on the same page (pun intended).
Slow Down: It’s thumbs down to tell the spotter the driver needs to decrease speed. A quick tip here is once you’re out of the water, ride in a straight line for a minute so the driver can adjust to the speed you asked for, once you make a couple passes you can fine tune your velocity.
Speed Up: A good ol’ thumbs up is what you need to indicate an increase in speed.
spotter shouts ‘Ready?’ then the rider responds with either ‘Wait!’ or ‘Hit it!’ Not ‘No’ or ‘Go’ which sound too much alike.
One more piece of advice for the spot- ter, in a boat with a mid or stern tow bar, don’t sit directly behind it. Especially with larger waterskiers, in a double boot, using a cheap towrope, the recoil if they let go while attempting to get out of the water is truly ballistic. My ex-wife picked up an ostrich egg sized
Speed OK: The rider indicates they are finally happy with their speed by touching the tip of the index finger to the top of the thumb (yes the same hand), making an ‘O’ and extending the remaining three fingers in the air. If you don’t have all three fingers remaining because of an accident with an old snow thrower, just do your best.
Turn Around: Stick your index finger straight up in the air, yes the index fin- ger – the one closest to your thumb, never the middle finger, and make a circling motion in the direction you want to turn. Typically you should be on the outside of the turn (more ag- gressive riders) or directly behind the boat in the wake (a slower position). If
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