Hybrid riverboards/ Anybody out there building boards?

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Yount on November 1, 2011 at 8:43pm

I'm here.

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Permalink Reply by Adam Masters on November 1, 2011 at 11:18pm

I've been building my own boats for the past year or so using 2lb density A/B foam, which i've used to cast from the inside of old kayaks (to get a hull shape to start with) and then shaping the resulting plug. Seems it could be a great way to build riverboards. Curious if anyone has ever built something that can be kicked and hand paddled at the same time.

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Permalink Reply by Josh Galt on November 2, 2011 at 1:23am

"Curious if anyone has ever built something that can be kicked and hand paddled at the same time."

Adam which types of riverboards / hydrospeeds have you used? Pretty much all of them can be. Brian J even says he spends most his time hand-paddling, and he uses a bodyboard.

But on the Kern, Carlson, Ripboard, and any hydrospeed (imho, especially on the hydrospeed / sledge type boards because you're in them) you can hand paddle and kick at the same time. That's the real beauty of it.

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Permalink Reply by Adam Masters on November 3, 2011 at 9:54pm

I used some kind of board in 1990 on the payette river in Idaho...plastic with metal handles. With a guy named Jon Wasson.  I was basically still in diapers, so I don't have a vivid memory.  Haven't checked out any modern riverboards.  I have so many kayaks and toys already, so I might as well go ahead and get a riverboard of my  own. I'll start looking for some used ones...i'm thinking of something that will plane out when you want it to but allow you to kick when needed.  You know, because there's probably a ton of money in that.  Like real estate.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Yount on November 4, 2011 at 3:49am

Look forward to seeing what you come up with as far as a happy medium in length and finding a design that will plane well yet be buoyant.  The need to be able to both kick and hand paddle is huge.

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Permalink Reply by J. Young on November 4, 2011 at 8:44pm

Hugely huge, to be exact. I spend, at a guess, 70-80% of my time on a board hand paddling. The only time I'm not hand paddling is when I have to hang onto the board instead.

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Permalink Reply by martyStecher martystecher on November 12, 2011 at 6:58pm

I have a hybrid project in the planning which I hope to finish for spring.  It is a long wide 2 part wave surfing board with BMX handle bars on the front for standing.  I haven't settled on how it will flex between the front and back parts.  For the stiff parts I will rough carve blueboard then cover that with modeling clay, model, then glass that using a combo of fiberglass, carbon/kevelar and epoxy.  fiberglass for impact, and carbon/kevelar for weight and stiffness.  Each of the big parts can be made 1/2 shell at a time.  Smaller parts can be made whole over sanded blueboard, then the blueboard is melted out with acetone.  Parts are glued together. 

It is my understanding from surfboard forums that blueboard does not work well for glassing as it expands and shrinks causing gaps which fill with water.  .  So i want to fill my resulting shells with 2 part foam.

 

the basic idea of this craft is that:

It is impossible to stand on most river waves due to the changing flow, or shortness/steepness of the wave.  Any time the wave changes your board goes one way and your body the other and unless you are on a really big wave you do not have enough time to recover.  With handlebars you can turn them the wrong way to cause a fall towards the direction you want to turn.  Like how little people drive motorcycles.  If your knees are bent then you can carve.

On the hull design, I surf, I turn, therefore It will have to have rails.  possibly a wider front section and a narrower back with short fins.  

I would quickly drown without fins so the deck will have to accommodate.  The handle bars will be out of the way for riding facelevel.

I will be taking pictures along the way.

Here is a standup pict

http://www.teamfli.com/photo/standup-board-2/prev?context=user

cheers  Marty

 

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