Grayman - Thanks tons for the trip down memory lane.
I saw Dale and a friend, Marty Hienrick, get some of the most insane prone rides on these tri-plane hulls.
TonyLion - I did appreciate the surfing in that link, but for anyone who reads the link Grayman posted, you may be able to appreciate my negativity towards the guy who took what could be considered to be a large legacy of Dale’s life work, said he’d compensate, started having 'em made in Tiawan, and then… Having never known Dale to be a liar, not followed through in sharing the wealth…
If I didn’t mention it, Dale said he’s stoked Grayman’s making his own matts - truely the spirt of Sways.
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Can I ask what you are after functionally?
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I was thinking about combining the " riding an air bubble " effect and adding a more conventional control surface. I know that would be ruining the karma, the vibe the groove.... but the idea is that prone riding (boogieboarding) is so popular and if mats were easier to ride, then they could be the next massively popular vehicle to ride. Maybe some people wouldnt like that but mat-makers would be happy.
I agree, its good to think. I don’t think this would work like a mat at all though and also don’t think the likes of PG and Dale would want to get into the work this would take. I’m aware I’m sounding super negative and really don’t want to. You may also be in the cusp of designing something new! Personally, I would approach this in terms of “new” rather than “hybrid”. That will free you up to just create. Mats are mats, at the end of the day and most people just don’t get on with them… Great!!!
Back to the point I made earlier, the rigid rails on your design defy the point if inflation so why bother with inflation at all. A ton of work for limited value potentially. A single piece of material, or layers of thinner material would give you that magic towel effect with a responsive deck/hull. Mat surfers continually strive to find the lowest level of inflation they can get away with. Your rails will hold the same whatever so I say start at zero inflation and go from there. I think you might be onto a really interesting concept here!
The low bouyancy rails were so the average rider could still experience the flying in a straight line feel but also get some grip on the turns. Thats the bit that erks me with mats, the skidding turns.
How about putting fins on mats ? Thats blasphemous I know !!
Or how about making the deck out of semi-rigid material and keeping the inflated hull tubes ?
Mats are perfect for a modern revival.
Grayman, whats the temp for a weld ? 200 deg C ?
Ive got an old flat electric hair straighening clamp one of my kids used to use.. It gets damn hot and could be continuously run along joined edges to seal them. What do you think ?
I know I’ll sound like a nob but I think the answer to the problems you’ve described lie in improving technique. Mats are going through a bit of a renaissance right now and a good one because the difficulties you’ve described mean that only the truly commited stick with them. Attaching rails and fins will slow the mat down as they create drag. A hard deck on a soft hull/rail would slip more I would say as you can’t alter the rail shape. As I say, I don’t think you can replicate the mat feeling by adding hard objects to a mat because even minute alterations are magnified across the whole structure. For harder rails, squeeze and get yourself lined up on the inside rail. Rather than fins on the mat, invest in good swimfins with protruding side rails and practice dipping/releasing. Given all that, I’ve only made 2 mats so am far from an expert… This might turn out to be amazing!
G
PS sorry for my bunched up posts. My phone seems to just do it! I do put paragraphs in when typing.
Make that two… I get bummed at skidded turns too, similar to snowboarders washing out sideways, losing speed because they can’t find the edge AND I have done a great many hard carving, g-force turns on a mat at low inflation that create a sensation like nothing else. Proper squeeze, weight shift, maybe a wee bit of rocker bending and a mat can well feel like it is on rail road tracks with afterburners lit, releasing into a slippery down the line scoot. I’m getting all hot just typing about it. Damn and so far from the ocean… But I digress, that is part of the charm of mats to me, very very difficult but oh so rewarding when you hit the sweet spot. A questing for the grail sort of thing
Here’s another positive angle on “skidding” from Mat Max posted on surfmatters blog. I have a sort of rail turn bias from riding hulls that has caused me to slight this a bit…
“One of the recent highlights is learning that mats can be turned down
the face of the wave for more speed by unweighting and skidding the tail
in order to avoid the drag caused by leaning over to change rails. This
way the inside rail remains engaged so as to carry more energy forward
to scoot around sections while preserving precious momentum. Turning by
drifting is is basic to dirt biking and rally driving, which are very
similar to surfmatting, with water being similar to soft soil. One
really cool thing about matting is that your body can remain driving
down the line while the mat is angling down the face to gather momentum.
Keeping your body hurtling ahead while the mat angles downward allows
gaining velocity while conserving energy so as to carry speed around
whitewater. (Along this line I’ve found that concentrating on the totem
of the flying squirrel in flight facilitates skimming across flat spots
and and around foamy sections.)”
Having recently sampled a few Irish waves I think one of the challenges riding a mat on your shores would be the strong winds, I found a bit of board weight really helped at times.
Bluey no doubt has some great historical material which could be included on your site,
Ireland’s West Coast doesn’t reflect the rest of the British Isles weather wise. Nonetheless, I’ve stopped worrying about wind. My experience is that surface tension usually keeps even a lost mat stuck to the water, or at least stops it blowing away. The only exception to that was at a matmeet when a mat was folded to 90% by the wind and sailed off looking like an armchair! It was retrieved though. On history, a highly qualified writer is on that but I will try to put a brief thing with some links up.
do you have any more ride reports / updates / further comments on your latest mat ... [eg : the performance ? weight ? how it's holding up ? what you would do differently , on the next one ? etc ]
TaylorO, if Dales already done an inflateable board, Id been keen to check it out ! I'll PM Dale and see if he can give me a pointer where I can see it online.
Hey Brett - Not to rain on your ideas, but I’m with the Purest… a big part of the glory of the mat is the simplisity, and the way one adjusts the perfomance by hand while riding.
Mats are going through a bit of a renaissance right now and a good one because the difficulties you’ve described mean that only the truly commited stick with them. Attaching rails and fins will slow the mat down as they create drag. A hard deck on a soft hull/rail would slip more I would say as you can’t alter the rail shape. As I say, I don’t think you can replicate the mat feeling by adding hard objects to a mat because even minute alterations are magnified across the whole structure. For harder rails, squeeze and get yourself lined up on the inside rail. Rather than fins on the mat, invest in good swimfins with protruding side rails and practice dipping/releasing. Given all that, I’ve only made 2 mats so am far from an expert… This might turn out to be amazing!