Surf Ropes & Handles

Choosing a Wakesurf or Foil Rope

A wakesurf rope is built differently to any other tow rope, for safety reasons. It's short and thick, it floats, and the handle is small and soft — often a padded grip or a monkey's-fist knot. That's because of how wake surfing works: you take a deep-water start holding the rope, the boat pulls you up and into the wave, you work your way to the wave's sweet spot, and then you drop the handle and ride the wave's push with no rope at all. The rope and handle spend most of the session being thrown back to the boat and dropped in the water, so they're made to float and to be harmless if they hit you or the boat. The floating line matters for one big reason: wake surfing is only ever done behind an inboard boat, where the propeller sits under the hull. It must never be done behind an outboard or stern-drive boat, because the rider moves toward the back of the boat — straight toward an exposed propeller — when the rope is dropped. A floating rope keeps the line up and clear of the prop. The range covers every style. Standard surf ropes come with a handle; no-handle ropes suit riders who already have one; spinner ropes have a segmented handle for 360s and spin tricks; bungee ropes soften the pull; and quick-connect and tow-in packages speed up rigging. There are 2UP ropes for towing two surfers, kids and womens options, and extensions to fine-tune length. Foil ropes are the longer cousins — used for wake foiling off the boat's wake, and floating for the same propeller-safety reason. Browse the full range online or visit the Brisbane store and we'll match a rope to your boat and sport.