Board Stiffeners

[Poobah]

I wanted to start a thread about board stiffeners, and I've only got the start. So feel free to pitch in, and don't hold back if it involves a sponge bodyboard. There...we've warned the readers in advance.

Hold on....technical problems.

Rod, I can't open the PDF. It only gives me the option to save it.

leonard.pdf

(565.95 KiB) Downloaded 170 times

[rodndtube]

The file opens for me... my guess it has to do with your browser settings. In Firefox, Menu|Tools|Options|Applications|Search for Content Type "Acrobat" without the quotes or just scroll down -- there is likely more than one listing for Acrobat files. Change the operation to "Use Adobe Acrobat," or whichever program you use to view Acrobat format files. Nels, if you are using Firefox, your setting is probably "Save File." It is an 8-page file or I would extract the PDF to JPGs.

I did export the file to a MS Word file (docx as it is much smaller that the doc format file).

[krusher74]

Since back in I think the 90's several bodyboard companys introduced the "stringer" this was basically a fiberglass pole (like a fishing rod) put in the middle of the board. Before this stringer boards could easily by creased upon a hard lading from an air, this is basically like a normal board snap, but the board will not end up in 2 pieces.

Over the years there have been various iterations of the "stringer" being able to get a double or triple from a custom shaper if required

Rheopaipo had a interchangeable stringer which you can swap out various stiffnesses of rods, which has now been taken on by NMD and VS

http://bodyboardhq.co.uk/whatsnew/artic ... odyboards/

I could go on and on but its easier you look at this image search and see whats been done, whats in that patent pdf just look like a very complicated version of the basic stringer.

I'm not quite sure where you want this thread to go, but in the foam and fiberglass/epoxy paipo realm there are also many new "stringer" option comming through with the latest board building technology, parabolics by firewire for example.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=bodyb ... B460%3B460

[Poobah]

Maybe I should steer clear of older PDF files and just go with links to Google. Here's Timothy Leonard's Variable Stiffener again. I call this the pizza paddle stiffener. I'm curious to know if anyone here has seen the prototypes or knows some story about it. Has anybody tried something similar to the pizza paddle bodyboard without foam, like using two thicknesses of plywood?

http://www.google.com/patents/US20030008575

[krusher74]

To be a stiffener it has to be stiffer than the material around it

If your talking about sandwiching that patent between two sheets of ply, then the ply would be the stiffest part of the board, so the pizza thing would have no effect