INTERESTING , BGreen !
you guys think outside the box , I like THAT !
I hope 'Proneman' and Ambrose , and others [?"woodogre'?? , do YOU make paipos and such too, please ?] will contribute
cheers for starting this , mala !
ben
I will be interested to see IF fins are used , what you guys come up with , I often check out kite , windsurfer , and wake board fins , when I'm at the beach or if I'm near the river ...
Thanks. When I started riding them 6 years ago, a woman at work asked if I was having a mid-life crisis. I told her, “No. I’m having fun.”
People grow old when they stop having fun!
That board is guaranteed to improve your surfing.
Altho' I have been surfing since the mid 60's I have been riding prone exclusively for almost 10 years due to neck and shoulder issues.
60" X 18"
So simple and so much fun, your not Grumpy, out in the waves you’ve got the biggest smile of them all.
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So simple and so much fun, your not Grumpy, out in the waves you've got the biggest smile of them all.
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That's supposed to be a secret.
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Malaroo, after I rode the first aluminium foils
[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/SURFFOILS/Rearaluminiumhydrofoil.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/SURFFOILS/aluminiumfoils.jpg[/IMG]
I thought I should investigate this low-level hydrofoiling a bit more.
I split the design into 2 components, the struts and the foils. I designed the 4.5 in Aluminium struts you see there, drilled holes thru them to reduce weight.
Theyre connected to the b/board with plastic screws used for leashes. And connected to the foils with .5 in Stainless bolts and nuts.
[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/SURFFOILS/detailofcurvesandstruts2006.jpg[/IMG]
I did try struts that were flexible,
[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/SURFFOILS/shorthydrofoil.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/SURFFOILS/curved_straight_struts.jpg[/IMG]
as well as plastic struts that gave the foils some suspension...
[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/SURFFOILS/suspensionstruts.jpg[/IMG]
but the Aluminium ones never had any problems and still survive.
The foils were a journey too, I pinned up a photo of Baron Hanns Von Schertel in the shed and started reading all the hydrofoil theory my head could handle, PMing guys here on Sways as well as joining Hydrofoil forums and boat building sites.
In the end I had a head full of hydrofoil theory / dimensions and foils shape but nothing specific for riding waves on foils so I ignored everything Id learned and just made the flat plate 2mm thick Aluminium ones. And they worked. Well.
So I became my own reference and just wrote notes after each surf and numbered each foil so I could refer back to the foil and the notes.
Both front and back foils were the same dims, mostly 22 in wide X 8 in chord, with a combined area of 352 sq in, and this area is enough to plane at low speeds, larger foils with bigger area plane a fraction quicker but why go bigger if theres little gain ?
Because the Aluminium flate plate foils worked so well I chose to not foil the foils at all, no NACA trickiness at all, I just rounded out the leading and trailing edge and left it at that.
The rail to rail shapes were taken from surfboard design and I tried flat / convex and concave and those contours behaved similarly to how they do on a surfboard.
Flat rail to rail foils were fast but stiff and the best shape I found for the Front foil was a subtle concave thru the middle with upturned tips.
Thanks surfoils, that was great read, I’ll let you have a short rest and then another one when you want to. A lot of people are fascinated, my PMs have comments about how interesting this thread is.
Malaroo, there was lots more but when I pressed POST COMMENT it crashed and lost the new info and pics.
Ah well, later......
Good to hear you enjoy the story.
Don’t you hate it when that happens, Thanks heaps surfoils, looking forward to the next post, and the one after that, and the one after that, and lots more I hope.
Well my experimentations with paipo’s aren’t up to the level of some of the creations on this thread so far but ever since I creased a brand new foam bodyboard on the first decent wave I caught on it I’ve been playing around with some foam and wood hybrids and they’ve been some of the best fun I’ve had in the water.
Performance wise, how do these composite boards ride compared with a standard boogieboard?
Bob
It struggles a bit with late, step take-offs but the lack of flex make them ridiculously fast and the increased volume make it so easy to get into waves. Been playing around with rail shapes and fin set up’s to improve control and it’s getting pretty easy to throw about.
deleted post because I forgot to reply rugerdier
What fin set ups have you tried?, and which ones were better that others to throw the board around?
Beautiful boards!
How much more does it hurt your stomach than a regular boogie?
Most changes have been a variation of twin keel fins and concaves, having the fins out to the edge with a large centre concave seems to give great hold on steeper waves but turns were a bit more drawn out. Have found by bringing the fins toward the centre, about 4 inches off the rail on either side with a concave between the fins, flattening out after, that the board was a lot more sensitive to small shifts in body weight and could get in some really tight turns. If I could get past the looks I’d like to try a larger single fin, though may need to round out the tail, if only for aesthetic value.
As far as how much more it hurts your stomach, I’ve never really had a problem though surfing in the UK means I rarely ride them without a wetsuit, I’d imagine choppy conditions with no suit could start to show on the ribs in a prolonged session. Can confirm that a crack to the head is rather more painful though!
These two 8-4’s might be the one I would keep if I had to have only one. Yes, there is only one board above…but when set up as a single, it is a different board. It is a great prone board…excellent knee board…and is a very good stand up rider as well… catches waves like a 9-6…but I like the lightness when walking back up the beach after the 300 yard rides…
Shaped by Paul Gross…when he was not so busy building his 4th Gear Flyer Surfmats…
Thankyou proneman, great pics and fascinating read.
First time I have seen a board that copes with prone, kneel and stand.
The boards rocker and vee look unique!
Is that a curved vee right through the length?
Do you know how that rocker came to be? Surely not a standard foam blank rocker or is it?
Is that a secret point break? looks amazing.
Interesting fin set up.
Here’s my paipo…I call it the bodyplane…the deck pad makes for a bit more comfort and grip without the need for wax, rail groove for your thumb…channels taken straignt from the handplanes I’ve been making and selling for the last few years. Cheers
Rich
www.thirdshade.com
(soon to available through my online shopping cart…)
How heavy is that beast?!
