Mini paipo

What works and what doesn't. Share design ideas, references and contacts for paipo board builders.
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zensuni
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Mini paipo

#1

Unread post by zensuni »

Hi there!
I have been playing with the idea of riding very small boards, smaller than regular paipos but bigger than regular handplanes.
So I came with this one:
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The size is approximatively 30x45cm, 2cm tick plywood. No concave, no rocker.
The rounded shape makes it very easy to use.
Depending of the wave, I can use it with both hands on it in front of me (if I need more glide), I can go one hand like a handplane, or I can grab it like a mini bodyboard in hollow sections.
It definitely has less speed than my regular bigger paipo board, but it still has enough to make waves, and the feeling of "bodysurfing" is fun, especially in close outs.
I used a foamy handplane recently, this mini paipo works better.
Here is the board in action:
https://youtu.be/P-CHEu7yfgg
kage
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Re: Mini paipo

#2

Unread post by kage »

Looks fun, no rocker?
Nels
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Re: Mini paipo

#3

Unread post by Nels »

I've played around with these sized boards too...lots of fun! Can be a bit hard on the shoulders and upper arms after a while. They function like the proverbial McDonald's trays. Don't need flex, don't need rocker. Nice to not have a squared off nose thickness though, I got by just sanding a little nose "kick" on the underside of the front of the board. I liked my wood boards better than the mini bodyboard/kickboard at these sizes. Without some kind of strap you have to watch out for the board popping loose and into your face. For that reason alone I never made anything with a pointed or split tail.

These are the easiest boards to make. The only problem is there is literally nothing to break so they last forever. They are fun to make too, so that lcan easily lead to "overpopulation issues". Good times!

Did you seal it with anything? I've used polyurethane varnish, spar urethane, and epoxy resin. All worked fine.
Thumper
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Re: Mini paipo

#4

Unread post by Thumper »

Just finished a mini paipo similar to yours with a square tail hope to use it this weekend,it’s about double the size of my largest hand plane and about 1/3 the size of a paipo hopefully a bit faster than my hand planes and less pain when it clobbers me like a full size board, don’t know if catchalot is on here I copied one of his designs if this one fails I will make one of his mini coffin boards next.
Poobah
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Re: Mini paipo

#5

Unread post by Poobah »

Just the sort of topic that will drag Poobah out of his cave. My Royal Egyptian Cubit boards were based on the length of the Pharaoh's forearm, about 20 and 5/8th inches or 525 mm.
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The nose handle on the blunt nose board has some anti-pearling function, and it makes the board easy to hang onto during a turbulent tumble.
Last edited by Poobah on Thu Jul 30, 2020 1:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
Poobah
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Re: Mini paipo

#6

Unread post by Poobah »

This one is five pieces of wood. The main experiment here was to have the two stringers protrude from the bottom of the board as stringer fins. I have yet to make a scaled-up version. The nose could sometimes put a lot of water on my face on an angled takeoff.
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Last edited by Poobah on Thu Jul 30, 2020 1:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
Poobah
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Re: Mini paipo

#7

Unread post by Poobah »

Inspired by that old bellyboard brochure from the fifties. I can't remember the name. The author mentioned the men in Durban riding half-size boards, so I made a 24 inch board (half of a 4 foot Cornish board.)
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Poobah
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Re: Mini paipo

#8

Unread post by Poobah »

Then there's the stock shape toilet lid mini paipo, sanitized for your protection.
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zensuni
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Re: Mini paipo

#9

Unread post by zensuni »

Nels wrote: Tue Oct 29, 2019 3:11 pm Can be a bit hard on the shoulders and upper arms after a while.
That's exactly what is happening to me right now, shoulder tendonitis :lol:
And it's a shame, since this little board offered me plenty of good sessions.
I'll have to go back to my classic bellyboard to give my shoulders a break !
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zensuni
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Re: Mini paipo

#10

Unread post by zensuni »

Poobah wrote: Thu Jul 30, 2020 12:45 am Inspired by that old bellyboard brochure from the fifties. I can't remember the name. The author mentioned the men in Durban riding half-size boards, so I made a 24 inch board (half of a 4 foot Cornish board.)

tootallj.jpg
This one looks great !
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