To the untrained eye, the double-up can look like a chaotic mess that’s impossible to navigate. Over time and with a little practice, however, these rollers can be bridled and used as a tool to send you higher in the air than you’ve ever been on a wakeboard. The first step in this process is understanding how the double-up works and where you need to be in relation to the rollers. In this instructional, we’ll focus specifically on how to pick out the roller you want to hit and where to position yourself to harness its power at the wake.
The first thing you’ll need to do is select the roller you want to hit. There are technically five rollers, but riders typically hit only two of them, rollers number two and three. Rusty Malinoski says: “It varies on the trick, but the second roller is the money roller for pretty much everything. It’s the most consistent and it’s usually the one I like to hit, because if the double-up is a little too closed off, the chances of you getting into the third one are really slim.”
Remember that your eyes may deceive you when scoping out the rollers from a distance. The largest roller you can see is actually roller number two. To really connect with the double-up, time it so you end up in the trough immediately before the roller you want to hit. For example, if you want to hit roller number two, find the largest roller you can see as the boat crosses the rollers, and then time your approach so you end up in the deepest part of the trough immediately before roller number two. At that point, the double-up will swell beneath you and propel you into the stratosphere, just like it did for Rusty in the photo. Have fun!
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