A truely green board, with zero environmental impact, that lasts forever.
Only to be bumped by the infamous “Post your Hull pictures Twentieth Thread”.
I know that we arent going to see the next great thing without designing and building all sorts of odd things to see what works, or to see what stinks.
And if the big surfboard companies dont make an effort to look for innovations then I suppose the good people at Hasbro, Mattel, or Lego will move in and make a market for their plastic surf toys.
Personally I like the minimalist 2 piece board drawing so thats what I'll make and give it a go. I think I can claim that as a truly original idea. The basic planshape and dims are below..
I think Oneula may be right about canoes being the next popular device, They are easy to balance, look 'Island-style' and will create absolute havoc where ever they appear. One man size with mini ama will be the go.
Hey Foils...anything from tits to pedals so far...
I'm grateful you have taken the thread seriously.
The two-part board as you illustrate:- Is that intended to have a part on each foot, or are they commected to a piece to be paddled-on?. Is each piece a submerged foil and the paddle-on section ommitted from the illustration?
Josh
Josh, Im done with the foils for a while, Ive proved to myself that a flat foil of 300 sq in can lift a 85 kg rider on a waist high wave. So my 2 piece board is 2 planing surfaces with a bridge. Just getting the planshape worked out today.
I could refine the foils further but now I'd like to concentrate on something new AND profitable.
To that end, and with my Futurist hat on....I guess the next device could come from several directions...
1. an old mode, rehashed, like alaias, canoes, windsurfer.
2. Something new from outside the water sports industry, like a LEGO hand held AQUAFOIL. Pick one up from your local pharmacy for only $14.99. (Not all colours in all stores.)
3. a refinement of a current product, like putting another fin on a board.
But whatever it is, it will be profitable.
You could go with something from category 1, Im thinking of something that would take off like SUP's. Something like a personal 'Uni-Canoe' using a shaped/glassed longboard blank that rides on its edge with the rider sitting over it like a horse. 2 aluminium poles ( akus?) and a small glassed outrigger float.(ama) Throw in a paddle and anyone can get out in the surf on it.
It looks good (see pics below), its easy to use, theres a rich history and link to the Islands that newbies would love. I can see something like that being popular very quickly. I have a fibreglass one and its a bit complex to set up but a hoot to use and it opens up open sea travel, or just going from beach to beach up and down the coast on a sunny day.
Something from category 2 would be new but its less likely to be a copy of a conventional surf riding device. Its also likely to be made by a big toy maker or similar and for them to get into the surf market it would need to make big money and that smells like plastic. So Im thinking of something that would either be hand held or of simple operation, like an inflatable surf skateboard. Or plastic planing skis that strap to a kids forearms or chest.
But if its coming from category 3 then it will come from within the industry and thats going to be the least likely device to be a success if it involves the current construction techniques. Boards today are beautiful aqualine misslies but they are also bulky, fragile,expensive, time consuming to make and need skilled artisans to construct. But its also the only credible direction for a new device to come from. Maybe a new bodyboard device, Im thinking the drop knee style of riding because its a small step up ( yuk yuk) from the basics of prone bodyboarding.
Theres little chance of a standup derivative busting out because of the media/big player control and the lack of profit in current construction techniques. And the overwhelming presence of popouts.
Theres a chance to bring out something new from the current level 'hand made' factories but it will need to have a higher degree of individuality and intricacy. Bringing out some totally new design or product could be the lifeline that 'handmade' factories need because the popouts are only copying standards but if design started to move again and constantly shift then the popout guys cant tool up fast enought to follow the trends. Keeping design alive will keep the factories open by using their flexibilty and ingenuity that the copy cats cant match.
My 2 piece board is just a possibility.
I’ve spent the last few afternoons down at Last Resorts (Bakersfield-by-the-Sea) being a guinea pig/test pilot on a new kind of board. Its one of those deals where i don’t know really how its supposed to work, so it takes some time to play around and feel it out.
The best thing to do in that situation, I find, is to just forget about the board and go surfing, and at the end of the session, ask myself, well, did it light up in any unique and special way? Is it an improvement? a step back? Does it feel good? Am I happy with it?
And, today, I’d have to say “yeah…I’m stoked!”…even in total crap surf I was able to put together a fun session, and am eager to try it in something better.
What adds some interest to this is that two of the three prototypes that I built are presently on the other side of the planet, in the possession of a much better surfer than me, awaiting a swell at a place that should yield some great feedback.
Will post updates.
No the guy standing on the paddleboard wasn't Owl Chapman. The Owl is about my age (ahem) and this guy was younger. Edmud Pestana was out that day on his SUP, he knew the name, I think it was Vincent but I didn't get anything further.
Here it is…http://www.surf-grip.com/
How’s this? Don’t tell anyone, it’s a secret.
Made this for Flippy Hoffman. We built this so he could catch waves, even though paddling in was getting too hard. It’s got an electric ducted-fan and internal battery pack. Goes about as fast as you can paddle (or at least I can paddle) full on for about 20 minutes. The motor is meant to be used in short bursts - like catching waves and making sections - so surf time is around two hours or so. Total added weight is about 5 lbs.
Anyone out there make hi-tech batteries?
photo: Devine
[quote="$1"]
I would like to see a board with TITS on it call me crazy but it could be fun!
[/quote] Anything with tits seems to be better. Even TV commercials. Got milk?
Alan.........hi profile surfer testing on the other side of the world?..............?
I thought J.J. Moon was dead!
and finally........that thang for Flippy......where's the kelp catcher........or is it only for Hawaii and Teachupo? (can't spell)
"Actually the bodyboard Drop Knee stance is a good one for advancement as its a step up from boogieing but retains a lot of the easy benefits of prone riding. Its the newest mode too, one knee up, one down."
.........
Hmmm...DK bodyboarding, while challenging, has never made the slightest bit of sense to me. That's one of the few surfing things that I have never come close to seeing the point of. When Jack Lindholm was doing it bodyboarding was a wide open world and everythng was new and without limits. Eventually, to my somewhat disengaged viewpoint DK seemed like "halfway" standing. Hawaiians especially have had opportunity to see guys standing on bodyboards, something that does register with me. DK just looks like an invitation to a groin pull.
I eventually have come to wonder if Morey created a surf vehicle that was maybe 80% perfected right out of the box. Subtle and not-as-subtle design and material variations have taken place in the 35 years since inception, but a 2009 bodyboard is very clearly a close relation to a 1970's bodyboard.
Nels
I thought this was a rather futuristic design when seen last year on an outer island. Surf, SUP, knee all in one. 6'5" x 30" x 6".
!!)
Ace, the surf grip thingos are just the sort of thing that'll take off with the kiddies.
Allangibbons, looking forward to the pics, when and if you can.
Well heres my entrant from the refinement category.
2 piece planing standup, outline only shaped. Bridge not shown.
1 1/4 in XPS
Front 9 X 19
Back 41 X 19
800 sq in
That idea kinda reminds me of the “Snakeboard”, that two piece skateboardthing that you propel with jesticulations of the hips.
Perhaps Foils would allow such a device to work on the water as well?
Very interesting concept! Glad to see something from WAY outside the box.
anyone remember those hollow windsurfers from berky aerospoon?
oh the next great wave riding device has to be the board that kelly won his us open heat on...its so experimental (i hope you get the sarcasm)
while going through the slides these captions were on back to back pictures...a bit of a conformity issue
"Kelly, riding an experimental, dual-stringered quad, was typically humble in his assessment..."
"Check out that board, all stringerless and weird, with five fin slots, presumably so it could be ridden as a quad or a thruster. (Or a five-fin?)"
so did it have 2 stringers or no stringers? heres the joke of an article http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/kelly-slater-returns-to-hurley-us-open_28895/ certainly no one has ever some up with a design like this before...ha
I see bodysurfing taking off a lot more in the future. For one, it’s a minimalist approach to riding surf (sort of what joggers like about their sport), 2. it gives you great views, 3. great exercise. What’s one of the drawbacks, well… speed. I see those suits that Phelps and other olympians use being sold cheaper to the layman and tweaked to full advantage of wave riding. Sort of like a shark skin, rough one direction (to catch the wave) and smooth the other direction to gain speed. Hell, the downward facing section of the suit could have some sort of bodyboard slick skin on it as well.
Surffoils idea of removable tails is a great idea. Sort of like FCS for your tail, and it wouldn’t be that hard to implement right now. Somebody jump on that. And why stop there? Replace the nose section as well. How cool would it be to buy a standard ‘mid’ section of a board and you buy different noses and tails to what you see fit. This would be great for traveling and experimenting. You could go from shortboard to longboard in a couple of minutes and a couple turns of your NCS (nose control system) or TCS key.
How about controllable flex in a board. Soft mat-like bottom with a hard surfboard deck. Or retractable fins for throwing tail or riding fakie. Some sort of snakeboard surfboard (already mentioned) would be real interesting. With a snakeboard setup you could essentially ‘tic-tac’ your board out into the lineup without laying down to paddle. That would be the new form of SUP boards sans paddle.
One invention I could foresee would not be good in my eyes. Ski lifts out to the lineup. Sounds funny but it is a possibility. Could easily be attached to the side of a pier and at the end juts outward into the lineup. Just drop into the water and you’re good to go. A ton of inexperienced surfers would be in a situation they probably shouldn’t and couldn’t be in. Most times inventions/innovations are created to make something easier. In surfing’s case, there needs to be difficulty in order to weed out the ‘less fit’ and to appreciate the skill of those that have mastered this difficulty. I don’t want to see surfing made easier, it’s already being made cheaper (overseas). What I want to see is inventions that allow the experienced surfer do new and creative things.
I have other ideas more along the surf accesory route that I might actually do one day so I’ll have to keep those to myself.
changing flex characteristics have already been implemented in skis and snowboards...where theres a chip between the core and the topsheet that senses chatter and stiffens the ski or board...dont know how well the technology could be applied to surfing but then again i am no engineer
Yes Monkstar1 that was the idea to have a Tail Control System. Needs a bit of thought to get it right, but I liked it. I agree with you that Bodysurfing would be the easiest mode to bring out a new product as theres always 10 times more people wallowing in the shallows than catching waves out the back, so theres a much larger market for a simple 'surf toy'.
Heres the front foil in progress.
I think it might just be to install this: http://www.dennopop.com/index.php.
Or, I guess, grow some f’in pecs.