Here's how keep your body warm while waterskiing or wakeboarding on a cold day to avoid frostbite or hypothermia.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Varies
Here's How:
- Dress appropriately and bundle up.
- Use wetsuits or dry suits, ski gloves, booties, and hoods.
- Install a hot water shower on board the boat.
- Keep a cooler of hot/warm water on board. Soak your gloves, etc. in the water prior to your turn behind the boat.
- Use body heat and huddle up.
- Avoid consumption of alcohol.
- Have lots of towels and blankets on board and wrap up in them.
- Bring clothing to change in to after you are done in the water.
- While riding in the boat sit somewhere you are shielded from the wind.
- If no heat source is available on board, with the engine off, pull the motor cover off and absorb any generated heat while it lasts.
Tips:
- Use the 100 degree F rule. If the sum of the water temperature and air temperature is below 100 degrees F, you should not be in the water.
- Wearing a dry suit can cause you to tire quicker than normal. You are more restricted with your movements because of the bulk, therefore, it takes extra effort to maneuver.
- Don't be dumb and ski numb.