Birth of a Motorized Surfboard

An anonymous reader writes: "The October Mechanical Engineering has a article on the creation of a motorized surfboard. Looks like a bigger creative leap than Segway and potentially a lot more fun!"

Comments

Re:Hang Octane! Cowabunk!

[vnguyen6]

And we wonder why Americans become so obese!

Getting lazy

[ee_moss]

I went surfing for the first time last summer. By the end of the summer, I was feeling pretty cocky about my surfing abilities. At first, though, it seemed like a real pain to fight against the waves paddling, trying in vain to make it out of the kill zone just past where the waves are breaking. But, as I kept it up, my muscles grew. Which was a good thing, because I had an office job at the time that kept me there 15 hours/day. Surfing was the only way to keep fit, and although this might be good for beginners, I think this is just going to contribute to the obesity and laziness of this world.

Surfing is supposed to be a sport!

Re:Getting lazy

[baba]

I've seen at least two instances of decades old (50's?) motorized boards in Santa Cruz; one in the surf museum, and another at a pizza shop. This is no new invention, and I suspect will fare just as well as the old ones. Real surfers don't seem to go for this sort of junk.

Re:Getting lazy

[KiDas]

When I first got into surfing I thought it would be great to have one of these. My main thoughts were along the lines of safety. If you could have a normal surfboard that when an extra big wave was heading towards you about to crash down on you, you could (while laying down on your board) press a button near the front of your board with your thumbs to accelerate out of harms way. You would either go at the wave full speed to get over it or go down under the wave and actually be able to have power while under water. For me that hardest part about surfing was actually getting under the wave that is about to crash or has already crashed. As the waves get bigger this gets increasingly harder/impossible (really really big waves.) It could also serve well to help catch those large waves with having to use a jet-ski to tow-in surf.

Seeing this article excited me for a second, but what a dissapointment... and I think i've changed my mind about these things now.

No where in the article does it mention how well it really surfs. Most of the pics on their website show people standing up on them riding like a jetski. That's really what this is. Not a motorized surfboard. Surfing means riding waves and if it's not still good at riding a wave, then it's not for surfing... more like waterskiing.

If it could be done without altering the shape of a normal surfboard and also allowing full operation when underwater as well and being completely quiet and environmentally friendly, then I will be excited. That day is likely a long ways away.

There is a certian "spiritual" feeling you get from surfing that you would definately loose if it didn't meet those criteria. Adding to the safety of surfing with a properly well made board as mentioned would be great, but not with something that replaces what you get from paddling out, humbly getting crushed by the ocean, rushing to catch a wave, dropping down the face, and getting the ride of your life!

Another saftey thing that I'm surprised isn't available are small, cheap "aqua lungs" that would provide 2-5 min of air for a surfer stuck underwater for longer then planned. Or maybe they do have these and I just havn't seen them? They could be just part of the leash that velcros to your ankle and you reach down and snap it off in an emergency. Maybe these things would be seen as "wussy" or whatever, but I wonder how many lives something like this could/would have save(d.) These would also boost your confidence when out there in the water and maybe help to increase your surfing skills.

...sorry, I know, I'm rambling on now. It's late and it's not often that surfing make the news on slashdot, so... goodnight.

it's been done

[acidrain69]

I saw a motorized surfboard when I was like 6 years old. That was about 19 years ago. Granted, it wasn't NEARLY as sexy as this one. The one I saw was a fairly big box on the back of a surfboard. The one in the article actually LOOKS like a surfboard, maybe a little thicker in the middle.

Gas powered surfboard

[ee_moss]

This isn't the first motorized surfboard I've seen. I once saw a gas powered surfboard posted on Ebay, and it looked to be created in the 70's or 80's sometime, if not before that. The thing weighed in at over 50 lbs from what I recall, not too practical for surfing or carrying around the beach.

Company Website

[emptybody]

Here is the site, PowerSki.com

I have dreamed of these for years.
I wonder if I can get it in kit form?

Something's missing here....

[Mulletproof]

"Looks like a bigger creative leap than Segway..."

Let's see here... Auto-balancing two wheeled compact electric vehical or a surfboard with a small motor inside of it. Oh yeah, the creativity is just leaping from this project...

Re:Something's missing here....

[kfg]

I've been pretty vocal about slagging off the Segway, but never for its technology and the creative inventiveness it took to create it.

I'm with you on this one.

Hell, I even think the Segway is more useful.

You want to see real creativity and invention in personal watercraft? Well, then go to the guys with a history. . . Hobie.

Their Mirage drive for kayaks is one of those things that I wish I had designed myself. It's based on the funtion of penquin wings ( so it's Linux compliant ) that generate "lift" when you pedal them, all in one amazing compact unit.

http://www.hobiecat.com/kayaking/index.html

Beats the hell out of " Gee, I don't know. How about a kayak with. . . a motor! Yeah. Nobody's ever done anything like that before."

KFG

Doesn't this

[Timesprout]

Sort of defeat the whole purpose of being outdoors, getting some sun and fresh sea air and some good healthy physical activity at the same time?

If you need a motor perhaps you should wait until the virtual surf simulator is released for Ninentendo in oh say 20 years.

Just what the Navy needs...

[ryen]

Combine this with your own morter and we've got ourselves new Navy ammunition.

As long as it isn't smelly and noisy...

[sfled]

Yeah, that's why I go surfing, to see blue smoke, smell partially burned hydrocarbons and listen to the irritating whine of a small internal combustion engine.

Motorized HYDROFOIL surfboard

[john_smith_45678]

Sorry, motorized has been done. Even has hydrofoils!

http://robijn.net/hydrofoil/

Re:Motorized HYDROFOIL surfboard

[john_smith_45678]

Or non-motorized hydrofoil (air) surfboards:

http://www.foils.org/sailbord.htm
http://www.hydrofoilsurfing.com/

That's Nothing!

[zimmermantech.com]

How about an UNDERWATER gas powered AquaScooter? Great for fighting the current when snorkeling for lobsters here in Florida!

Just what we need

[annielaurie]

One more mechanized, motorized watercraft for people to abuse while drunk. Why is it that the drunks never collide with the other drunks? Instead they go straight for the people operating canoes and sailboats.

My somewhat grouchy and jaundiced opinion as someone who lives on the Chesapeake is that if you want to surf you should go where there are waves. Waves are found at the ocean. Preferably the Pacific Ocean.

Re:Skill?

[whereiswaldo]

Heh, just wait until people start bringing this thing to wave pools! Friggen Jetsons, LOL.

Re:Revolutionary

[MikeFM]

I'm not a surfer but this looks like fun. It's like a JetSki you can carry around. I'd definately try it. All you cool surfers may complain and bash it for it's lack of purity of the sport but I can see this as being really fun and a popular new toy.

First Prototype Created in the Late 1970s

[jeti]

Yes. Creativity and lazyness reached a new height that led to the first powered surboard - in the late seventies.

Clearly cool but, Retro

[70m_5w1f7]

This was done before I was born
and
just about anybody I ever hit waves /and/ hung with -
Talked about this type of fun...

Simple Google search:

"motor surfboard" yields competition.

Too easy to check.

Whatever...

What a piece of sh@t idea

[J3zmund]

As a surfer, I'm appalled. This looks more annoying that gas powered scooters and jet-skis combined. If you can't paddle out, you don't belong on a surfboard (the guy who started Life Rolls On and tow-in big wave surfers aside).

Some people just don't get it. I'm sure the first person to bring one of these into our local lineups will be dealt with accordingly.

From a techie standpoint, I can only wonder why this was created.

We've got those

[Exiler]

they call em toilets, but I haven't seen one that big yet

Re:Getting lazy - how about looking the mirror?

[omarKhayyam]

Hmm...talk about lazy, how about reading the article? This is not about avoiding paddling out to catch a wave, it's about surfing where there are no waves.

I wouldn't have bothered responding, except I can't believe this was modded +5 insightful.

This is something I will vandalize.

[fruity1983]

There are lots of appropriately modded posts on why this is such a stupid idea: Laziness, noise, smell, etcetera.

I have another reason.

The best part of surfing is... the surfer chicks. At least, it is in Tofino. All those beautiful hippy babes, in skin tight wetsuits, walking barefoot across the sand on a cloudy day, with the smell of the ocean and the roar of the surf as a great background.

Now compare that with how it will be if these things ever take off:

All those chubby women, in roll-tight wetsuits, leaving 8 inch deep craters in the sand as they stumble to the water, with the smell of sweat and Macdonalds and exhaust and the high pitch whine of a two stroke engine in the background.

If I see these on the beach, I will kick someone's teeth out.

Re:Hang Octane! Cowabunk!

[Weh]

I've "surfed" a motorized surfboard back in '91 or '92. It had the engine with jet at the back, the control (using a line with throttle control from front) was similar to this design.

The ride was alright I guess, not all that fast and really heavy compared to a real surfboard. The weight and limited power of the engine plus the fact that the jet inlet comes above the waterline easily limited the board a lot with regards to radical moves potential. I think I would have gotten bored with it quite fast.

I didn't try it in waves but I wouldn't want to wipe out with a board that heavy (does it have a leesh?? - would it tear off your foot?). Similarly how do you duck-dive a board like this? It would save you a lot of paddling though but I think this thing is not really intended for waves.

I don't really like motorized watersports equipment, they pollute the environment. The joy of the beauty of an area such as a beach, lake, river can easily be spoiled for a lot of people by the presence of one loud jet-ski.

Re:Hang Octane! Cowabunk!

[ColaMan]

Approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million obese, and 9 million severely obese.

AOA Fact Sheets

So I'm guessing BIG really does mean lard-ass, in the american case anyway. Especially since it would appear from those stats that more than half the population is overweight.

For the record , from OECD health data, the list from most obese to less obese countries goes :

1. USA
2. UK
3. Australia
4. New Zealand
5. Canada
6. Czech Republic
7. Spain
8. Finland
9. Italy
10. Sweden
11. Denmark
12. Switzerland

I presume by "skinny whine drinking smoking shorties", you mean the french... they're not even on the list.

Use of technology

[m00nun1t]

This article is also a great insight into how businesses view technology. He spoke about how it helped him build better designs, get to market better, improve communication, speed up production, etc. Not once did he mention Microsoft vs Linux, pros and cons of open source, etc. Doesn't mean he doesn't have an opinion, it's just not his focus. As someone who is a technology person, but spends most of my time talking to business people, this is pretty spot on.

Worth keeping in mind - for business, technology is just a means to an end.