This one is 55" x 22". Instead of 2" polyethylene foam, I used 1" EVA (mini cell). The old one is damn hard to duck dive, and the foam soaks up water like a sponge, making for a heavy, heavy piece of gear. Hopefully, this second version can function in bigger waves and stay lighter.
The idea was to create a plywood paipo with fins, so I started with 3/8 ply and glued on a chunk of 1" pine to anchor the FCS fin plugs.
I had not really considered the heat aspect...especially if it goes somewhere tropical. I guess I'll be building character.
I wish I could get it to the water sooner, but my next beach trip is in five weeks. Atlanta has jobs, cheap housing, and a great music scene, but it is missing something important.
That piece of pine is there to hold the FCS fin plugs (sockets ?). The plywood is less than 1/2 inch thick, so I was concerned that they would rip out otherwise.
As it is you are scorching the waves!!! That black deck might needs some orange fire stripes
We expect a full Thanksgiving Weekend report
Atlantasurfer wrote:I had not really considered the heat aspect...especially if it goes somewhere tropical. I guess I'll be building character.
I wish I could get it to the water sooner, but my next beach trip is in five weeks. Atlanta has jobs, cheap housing, and a great music scene, but it is missing something important.
rodNDtube "Prone to ride"
I love my papa li`ili`i
"The sea doth wash away all human ills."
-- Euripides.
About a dozen years ago, I made my own monstrosity out of foam and plywood. I was trying to add flotation to a wood skimboard, while still retaining a thin rail. Basically an oblong cut of boogie board glued onto the wood skimboard with contact cement. I can't find a decent photo of it. Just a distance shot that I blew up, so it's kind of grainy.
Well anyway...the unexpected surprise was how it felt to have my elbow held firmly in place. Sometimes I would hug the foam with both forearms. I felt like I'd discovered power steering. I'm not a mat rider, but I suppose it's a similar feel.
I never followed up with similar designs, like arm pockets, elbow wells, etc. But I ponder them from time to time. Looking at the new cork Bodypo, I have to wonder if the panel stringer helps with planting your elbow.
I just got home from the beach, and I have to say that my new Frankenboogie and I are now very deeply in love.
I ran it as a 1+2, with a 4.7" center fin and two 2" sidebites.
It duck dives easily and has what seems to have about as much flotation as my 50" foam and fiberglass paipo. It doesn't catch waves as readily as my 5'10" plywood alaia style board (or the original Frankenboogie), but after a little practice I was able to get into the little ones with no problem. The only problem I had were the waves themselves. I had three days of one foot crap followed by a day of choppy/ crumbly/ onshore conditions in the chest high range. Still, I had fun. I'm taking this beast with me next time I head for the tropics and some good waves.
Atlantasurfer wrote:That's pretty cool! How well did it surf? Did it making taking off easier?
Oops, I never answered those questions. It took off and rode just fine. It was actually a wooden wakeboard, so it had a continuous rocker. That and the round tail made it easy to steer through the crowds. My main goals were chest padding and flotation for sitting between waves.
It did both, and still allowed me a thin paipo rail.
Okay, let's see it fully finned-up from a couple of different angles
Atlantasurfer wrote:I just got home from the beach, and I have to say that my new Frankenboogie and I are now very deeply in love.
I ran it as a 1+2, with a 4.7" center fin and two 2" sidebites.
It duck dives easily and has what seems to have about as much flotation as my 50" foam and fiberglass paipo. It doesn't catch waves as readily as my 5'10" plywood alaia style board (or the original Frankenboogie), but after a little practice I was able to get into the little ones with no problem. The only problem I had were the waves themselves. I had three days of one foot crap followed by a day of choppy/ crumbly/ onshore conditions in the chest high range. Still, I had fun. I'm taking this beast with me next time I head for the tropics and some good waves.
rodNDtube "Prone to ride"
I love my papa li`ili`i
"The sea doth wash away all human ills."
-- Euripides.