MyPaipoBoards Forums

I have never done a foil on struts before, it’s like a proof of concept, will it spade in or will the foil twist off the struts? It’s a good way to use up my left over Airex foam. The test ride will be interesting, the water is a bit cold now 19c!!

Have you had a chance to get your new creation in the water yet??

Hi Dave
I haven’t tested it, I am looking for a chunky shore break to test on. It attracts a lot of attention from surf savvy and land lubbers mostly its “that’s cool what is it ‘’ Mostly my explanation makes people’s eyes glaze over. I will post the ride report

The red wing board has finely been ridden . I had put the test ride off by over analyzing and fixating on imagined defects in the board .But last long weekend down the south coast I met two body boarders with credentials one is a SA champion in his division and on his way to surf pipeline in a competition ,and the other top ranked in his division ,thay offerd to teast the board .The first test was in harsh shore break conditions sometimes sucking onto dry sand a 2ft barrel with a 2ft lip. They reported amazing lift and drive , I was amazed it held together been driven into the sand so many times, it was a dream test we had a Gopro in the water and it looked like we were getting surf magazine standard picks but somebody hade maybe double clicked and got it locked up and we got zip, The second test was a reef break for about 2hrs this time the Gopro battery went flat !. I didn’t see the session .He reported good drive ,managed a few floaters , and is impressed with its cutback spray , he said he battled to pull Rollo’s . It is such a relief to get unsolicited positive feedback back on a relatively uncharted pathway to riding waves. The biggest complement is getting a board order from a 2hr test ride and he wants it with the same diminutive dimensions ! ?

That's great to hear the guys were open to it.

amazing he was even trying rollos!

I offer my board to local bodyboarders in the water, they ether dont ant to try, or give back after one was saying things like its too fast

My test riders did question there safety in the 2 ft barrel 2ft lip conditions .Most body boarders don’t take to my full sized boards mostly I get vague its ok. But they genuinely seemed to enjoy the red board may be the compact size makes it more controllable .I still haven’t ridden it, I am obviously champing at the bit to try it

Will there be a third attempt at photos? Must have been fun watching.

We had everything in place for epic video , but still managed to stuff it up?!My old surf buddy is trying to get back in the water maybe I can use him.

Here is the first customer [ demo] board. It is also my first cloned board. I tried to show the wing orientation to the wave face in this crude visualisation , the wing tips are as wide as a body board. This may be a different way to look at reducing form drag ?

Chrispi,

Looking at this it made me wonder how heavy the board is and in relation to overall weight - how heavy is the tail/wings?

Bob

Bob
It weighs 1,8 kg . This wing is two layer foam laminate with full width corrugated spars, it is amazingly strong but lit . My other boards have soiled wings and are a bit heavy , but board weight is insignificant when it must Carrey 110kgs at full speed ?

The board weighs 1,8 kgs. 3.9 pounds

Chrispi,

Thanks. Regarding weight I was thinking more about the balance of the board. Light weight wings would reduce this being an issue.

Bob

Interesting point , but a counter intuitive lead tipped foil could have interesting ride characteristics ?I will now have lead tipped foils stuck in my head for weeks !! I also always forget rule one in engineering KISS

Hi Chrispi, good to see you actively posting again,
Concerning weight, for the actual riding of the wave to some extent a little more weight is a good thing, it can help power through some whitewater and carries speed a little better. For me weight becomes an issue when dealing with the paddle out and buoyancy, getting my 20 lb. board started and keeping it moving takes more effort than I'd like, but I kind of prefer it while riding, sort of like a Cadillac, smooth cruizin.

Don’t they ad Wight to tow in boards ? the biggest surf boards are mono hull sail boats ,imagine a long tilting fin on a surf board

With weight I wasn't thinking so much of the overall weight but how the weight was distributed. Tow boards have gone short and heavy - the type of wave being ridden is in another realm though.

Here is one of my more conventional in-between crack pot body board builds ,3m long out rigger canoe float

I finely gave the red board a test ride. It’s the longest I have left a new concept un-ridden . The small size and low volume must have put me off ? The waves were 1m , 9sec , with strong off shore winds .The first surprise was how drag free it felt, with its bits hanging off the bottom in the water flow. The next surprise was its ability to duck dive, with very little forward speed I could glide under water with small wrist movements move up or down, with an amazingly flat glide path. This should be great for getting out in big conditions , using kick board method with elbows just in front of the tail hands griping just behind the nose could catch waves easily , as anticipated it rolled off the wing centre engaging the wingtip as speed picked up driving down the face. But that’s when the problems start because of small its size it’s hard to hold onto and control , on my elbows control was good but as I move forward it was difficult to lock onto the board ,it was a short about 15 wave test ,it seems the small size is good and a bad , it needs lots more testing. Obviously a bigger decked board is on the slab

Chrispi,

What is the size and volume? How much longer would you go?

Bob