You should also be comfortable staying afloat in water, especially in the beginning when you will be spending a great part of the time in the water trying to get started. Choose a wakeboard that suits your size. The bindings ought to fit as well. If you have small feet, especially, make sure that the bindings are not too loose or you may have to spend a lot of time putting your gear back on after each try. As a general rule, larger boards are more stable, but are harder to manoeuvre.
Smaller boards are more sensitive to control.
A comfortable boat speed for a beginner is about 16 to 18 mph. As you improve you will want to push that up to 20 mph. When you get really good, try 22-24 mph, though not many people can handle that speed. On the first try, the beginner should aim to ride straight, after which he can attempt to manoeuvre the board. Cutting across the wave comes next, followed by wider cuts and so on.