Do people make bodyboards out of blanks, cloth, and glass that look just like Morey, et al.?

General Discussion
1

The other day I was looking through a box of photos, and I came across one from two years ago in which my wife and her friends are on the beach. A foot or so to the right of the group is some guy standing there with a bodyboard.

No big dea. But then when I looked closely, it looked like it was made using the exact same materials as the standard surfboard.

That got me thinking. Wouldn’t standard surfboard materials be superior for body boards? By superior, I mean stiffness and maneuverability. I realize they would ding easier, but so what. I was intrigued by the materials.

Oh, and it had a little seahorse on the nose which made me think that John Kies at Encinitas Surfboards shaped it.

Any thoughts on this?

2

people do. I know several that ride them.

3

Although the original point of the Moreys was that they would flex, something that seems to have been lost in more recent versions.

And there’s always paipos

4

Not sure if I’d want a hard board when I’m riding closed out, hollow shorebreak. Tends to bonk you on the noggin.

I’m not a good boogie boarder, but I like the fact that I can twist it in steeper waves to get speed, make it turn flat or skidded, or make late drops.

Soft flexy does work.

5

old clark plug 8’ made to get two body boards from… made a few still have two stop by for a try… no leash…ambrose…make the kids swim

6

There were a few company manufactured hardboard bodyboards made in the 80’s (the “Blade” is one that comes to mind - geez, what an apt name in many ways!) but none gained any favor and died quick deaths - as so they should. A bodyboard’s primary milieu is pounding beach break and hard BB is a killer, literally. As a shaper of soft foam boards from the late 80’s through the mid 90’s, I experimented with BB-type hardboard designs. Dependent on riding style, surfing knowledge/abilities, and the type of waves surfed, there is some merit to these ultra short lids - as a prone vehicle they are super fast on the right wave! But for the average BB’er, no way Jose. YMMV.

7

here ya go fairmont…

these pics are from late eighties early nineties,back then i was doing everything surf related…knee boards wave skis , sailboards,boogas, longboards, and regular boards…

had to keep the troops busy…

these things were easy money back then , were charging 500 for a standup and 400 for one of these, cut em out of longboard blanks, no fins,

ran all sorts of configurations,the lip on the deck was popular for holding…another feature that took off was the groove in the deck rail for your back hand to hold the rail, and the light double concave was the most popular bottom…

i had forgot all about these , till i read your post…

there was quite a few older guys (well older back then)guys in the mid to late twenties, who swore by them in bigger surf, specially down the line stuff where you need heaps of drive out of your first bottom turn…

these guys were riding the bluff ,jakes and gnarloo on these things…the floppers just couldnt handle the same heavy fast waves…when kids start to booga , alot grow out of it and stop, these boards seemed more used by the crew who reached adulthood and were looking at the longterm …

the down side was heavy injuries if you were into airs …

hope no bodys opinion of me changes , for revealing these old pics…

it all started when i did a knee ligament and couldnt surf , had to spend 6 months out,after 3 months out,i made one of these , and they just seemed to take off ,

once your a surfer , you can ride anything well, coz you have wave knowledge…

regards

BERT

8

Solid, hard, stiff prone craft have been around for centuries. Even in their most rudimentary forms, they can be very fast and manueverable in powerful, smooth waves, with or without stabilizing keels/fins.

The range of viable options is wide… everything from solid-hard-inflexible designs, to solid-soft-flexible, to hollow/inflated-soft-flexible.

Unlike the weighting and unweighting common to conventional (standing) wave riding, all prone craft are limited to fall line surfing… making the most efficient use of planing speed and momentum, as well as a wave`s energy and surface conditions.

Beyond that, there are a number of pragmatic concerns to consider such as a vehicle’s weight, size, durabiliity, complexity and safety.

Are solid-hard-inflexible bodyboards superior?

I dont think so. To me, the functional freedom to fine-tune a prone crafts entire shape, flexibility, buoyancy in the water between rides, to suit that days waves, is extremely appealing. I prefer having a single design which can operate efficiently over a wide range of waves and surface conditions. Its great to have a small surf craft that only weighs ounces, can be transported and stored compact, and is very safe.

But the ultimate answer to your question should be personal: discovered by YOU, trying a variety of designs, in the waves YOU most enjoy… and how they perform and feel TO YOU.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

9

I built this board a while back for a close friend. He really thought it was neat for awhile, but the hardness factor proved to be too much for him. After getting pretty beat a few times at one of the local shore breaks on it… he figures it’s a lot like riding a normal board in shore break… I know it doesn’t have fins, but do you really want something that hard thrown into the wash with you on a decent wipe-out? He reserves riding it for point breaks and other outside-longer rides. Because the board doesn’t flex at all compared to a normal body board, on a choppy day it’s hard to hang on to the thing, It’s sort of like trying to hang onto a skipping stone. We added the soft foam to the deck, it felt like you were going to break a rib every time you hit a bump. It doesn’t get ridden that often anymore. -Carl

10

Here’s another one. Gilbert makes his foam/fiberglass bodyboards with a big hydrofoil wing on the bottom.

11

A great resource: http://www.rodndtube.com/paipo/MyPaipoBoards.html

The Paipo, and more…

12

Anyway, if I make a bodyboard out of foam and glass it would be strictly for speed. I rarely bodyboard, but when I do it is only to get barreled and cutback. I don’t do anything else, so I figured a stiff board would go faster. Plus, it would be fun to shape.

13

Since it seems you guys have chased Roy away (I for one hope he returns), I can say that back when he was making 7-8’ single fins out of balsa with carbon fiber bottoms and fin (I may be the only one here who actually surfed one of these and hey, guess what, it worked just swell), I believe he made a shorter one for a surfer in NZ who could no longer stand up and used it as a bodyboard. I certainly wouldn’t want to get hit in the face with the thing but I bet it was fast and smooth.

14

Fairmont,

Current, stock high end bodyboards are much more stiff than flexible. They`re light and quick enough to outrun most good waves, have excellent maneuverabilty, buoyancy, plus are semi-soft, absorbing some shock.

But if you want stiff and dragster fast… just make a paipo.

15

im shocked…i have a customer who rides what we call Ridged bodyboards,made from mal blanks and glassed up.if i’d have known that i was gonna be seeing this thread id have brought the pictures of the sticks ive made him.

most of my boards are the same sorta shape as the old mach 7.7xl ,but with wacky shaped bottoms, the lastest has channels 1 1/4 deep but with the overall bottom shape of a REAL expensive sponge!

from what i gather u have to be suicidal to surf them, they aint light or soft and being that they only have 3ft leashes they can give u real battering in hollow conditions…

as for speed…plenty,lots plenty.

a case of whatever floats ur boat

16

Ahoy,

    sorry I'm sort of late finding this thread.  To answer the original question...yes, some folks do make glass boards that look like Moreys, but I really wish more people would make them look like something else.  Diamond tail, round tail, fish tail or bat tail.  I have a rigid board with a soft foam deck.  Less bruising of the rib ligaments.  You can also glue an extra 1/4 inch of neoprene into the chest area of your wetsuit.

http://www.larryobrien.com/mrwaverly.htm

17

Larry -

Here’s a little recycling project I’ve been working on… It kind of reminds me of the Captain Swim Surfer on your site the way the thickness in the rail tapers.

I started with a broken Pearson longboard found while dumpster diving at Morro Strand State Park. With plenty of inspiration from Roy Stewart, who kindly provided positive feedback to my corny drawings I sent him re: hoop fins, I fabricated this foiled hoop from carbon fiber and epoxy.

It (the board) was basically freehand shaped (no templates) all the way with a few rough measurements taken for a facsimile of symmetry. Same with the fin… I wrapped some glass and carbon fiber cloth around a 5 gallon resin pail, trimmed the hoop with a Dremel cut off wheel, laminated some foam, foiled it, carbon glassed and put it on. I plan to take it to Big Sur. Even Roy says it’s “uncharted territory” which to me says a lot(!) I take his comment as a compliment of the highest order. Although kind of crude, I guess it’s a little different from a Boogie.

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18

That looks fantastic, have you had a ride yet, I want one…

Hicksy

19

Yeah good on ja’ John looks heaps of fun! I just made a new paipo a while ago (its chipboard again) i’m yet to try it out though’

By the way, is that fin made out of a garden hose?

Josh.

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Quote:

Yeah good on ja’ John looks heaps of fun! I just made a new paipo a while ago (its chipboard again) i’m yet to try it out though’

By the way, is that fin made out of a garden hose?

Josh.

oops ignore the fin question’