The great thing about Malibu’s many wake innovations is they give you new options for fun behind the boat. One of the most ground-breaking is Surf Gate™, which gives you the ability to switch your wave from one side to the other without moving any weight. Add to that Surf Band™, which allows you to change your wave by pressing a button at your wrist while you’re surfing and you’ve got a whole new level of challenge and tricks. Veteran pro surfer and Malibu athlete Stacia Bank shares her tips for mastering the transfer.

Most people will be transferring from frontside to backside so that’s the easiest way to explain it. Frontside is when your toes are pointing at the wave and it feels more natural for most people. If you’re unsure, try going frontside to backside first.

Set Power Wedge™ III at the middle, or number three, position to get started. You can always adjust from there with Surf Band to customize the wave to exactly what you want, but that’s a great starting point for most people.

Surf signals are the key to the whole transfer process. They’re exclusive to Malibu and they give you an audible signal of when to switch so you can nail it every time. Watch the wave transfer from the boat the first few times and visualize yourself pumping in and switching over with the timing of the beeps. Just hit the button labeled “surf” that has the arrow for the side you want to surf and the boat does the rest. The first beep tells you to get ready. By the second beep, you should be loading your front foot to gain speed toward the back of the boat. And by the end of the third long beep, you should be transferring over to your new side of the wave. 

Bend your knees to absorb the hump of the wave as you go over it so you can settle in comfortably on the other side. When you get to the other side of the wave, quickly shift your weight to your heels so you can keep the wave. If you haven’t surfed backside much, just try to get your weight forward and point the nose of the board at the back of the boat; if you try to pump it, you can overcomplicate things and can lose the wave. If you find you are nailing the transition to the other side but you keep losing the wave, practice surfing backside or use a bigger board until you get more comfortable.

Going from backside to frontside is the same process. It’s a little more difficult to hop over the rooster tail backside, but when you get to the other side it’s easier to keep the wave because you end up frontside. Everyone learns differently, but the key is to have fun and enjoy the new challenge. Try to go side to side consistently without falling.

When you’ve got your transfers dialed in, the next step is tricks. Challenge yourself with an air transfer or a 180. The possibilities are just about endless so use your imagination and keep being creative all summer long!

Malibu’s patented wake innovations create the most versatile wakes and waves on the water today, all because of our continual focus on our boaters. Build your new, world-class Malibu today or experience the versatility of a Malibu firsthand with a free test drive at your local dealer.