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Toys Technology

Birth of a Motorized Surfboard 173

Posted by michael from the david-hasselhoff dept.
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!"
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Birth of a Motorized Surfboard More

Birth of a Motorized Surfboard

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  • I wonder if they can take the really big waves [blat.info]. I can't imagine that a jet on the back would make it any safer. But them, where's the fun in a safe sport, I guess.

    I'm still waiting for my flying car.
    • And we wonder why Americans become so obese!
      • I notice a lot of this anti-american fatso talk lately.

        A couple things about americans.
        We're BIG. that means one of two things.. a) lard ass or b) able to snap your puney leg with his forearms.

        I think americans are generally more healthy then the skinny whine drinking smoking shorties in most other countries.. but anyways my point is you should probably focus your anti-fatso sentiments more directly on fatsos and not so much on americans

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

          AOA Fact Sheets [obesity.org]

          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 "

          • Well if being skinny short and scrawny makes you healthy then you can have it. Yeah theres a lot of obese americans but there are also a lot of BUFF ones. Probably a lot of strong guys make up most of that 127 million "overweight" metric.

            Anyways I live in CA I don't see half the fatsos people in the midwest or east coast probably see. I actually look around and see mostly extremely healthy people that are in great shape.. comparing these people to the avg german or asian person its like yea the american wo
    • Saw your flying car come over a hill in San Francisco. No, Wait!
    • I'm surfing right now on my powered laptop! And I can surf really big sites too!
      --
    • 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...

    • Re:Hang Octane! Cowabunk! (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Weh ( 219305 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @02:52AM (#7131032)
      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.
  • Noisy buzzing surfboards along with the noisy buzzing scooters.. This is where I start becoming technologically conservative-minded.
    • You see, in LA they have this cool thing called "The Pacific Ocean". It produces lots of big waves, on which cordless surfboards can operate.

      These will have a little bigger effect in Minnesota, with all those waveless lakes.
      • Yeah but it takes soooo much annoying practice to learn how to surf the waves.. How easy it would be to have a motor instead!

        Well who knows if these things will be one of those trendy "hits" like the motorized scooter (you know the one about the size of a Razor but with a tiny chainsaw motor on the rear)
    • Not only buzzing surfboards, but POLLUTING surfboards! The beaches are one of the few places with somewhat clean air, and now we are going to pump more pollution into the air here too?
    • does it tip over when its battery runs low?

      IMO, that is a feature, not a bug.

  • Getting lazy (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ee_moss ( 635165 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @12:24AM (#7130558)
    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 (Score:4, Insightful)

      by baba ( 105606 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @01:19AM (#7130775)
      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.

      • tow-in (Score:2)

        by jeti ( 105266 )
        > Real surfers don't seem to go for this sort of junk.

        I don't know about real surfers, but I think tow-in (via jetski) is not an exotic practice. In fact it is said that some spots can only be surfed via tow-in.
        • As a surfer, i hate those tow-ins. Sure, they're fun for a time, but they make too much noise. I expect this motorized board to do the same.

          For me, a large part of the fun in surfing is the rest. Just the crashing of the waves and the noises the seagulls make, and not much else. No cars, mobile phones, and other distracting noises, just nature.

          Heck, it's been years since I last surfed, and boy do I miss that...

    • Re:Getting lazy - how about looking the mirror? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by omarKhayyam ( 544074 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @02:22AM (#7130958)
      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.
    • Ummm... you people realize that Slashdot is for web surfers, riiiiggghhhttt???? ;-)

      From their website, the engine alone weighs 38 pounds, and the expected cost is only $6000-$7000! Compare this to a 6 ft shortboard at maybe 5-10 lbs or a 9 ft board at maybe 10-15 lbs, either board costing anywhere from $400-$1000. It's not going to grab the typical surfing crowd but probably could get the same group of folks who would buy Segways. This would probably be used by folks on lakes too small to get any c

    • Cocky after one year of surfing? Keep surfing, it won't be long until mother ocean humbles you.

    • Re:Getting lazy (Score:2, Interesting)

      by KiDas ( 669016 )
      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 unde

  • it's been done (Score:3, Interesting)

    by acidrain69 ( 632468 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @12:25AM (#7130560) Journal
    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 (Score:3, Informative)

    by ee_moss ( 635165 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @12:27AM (#7130570)
    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.

  • Skill? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Kethinov ( 636034 )
    I honestly don't see the point. Surfing is about skill and instinct. You need to find the right wave, then have the ability to propel yourself onto it and maintain balance for a set period of time. Automating the process takes the effort out of it.

    But who am I to critisize? I live in Kansas and didn't RTFA. (Well I did look at the nifty pictures.)

    • Heh, just wait until people start bringing this thing to wave pools! Friggen Jetsons, LOL.
      • if fluoride is so bad why do americans have good teeth and just about every other nation seems to have really nasty teeth? I always heard it was the fluoride
        • if fluoride is so bad why do americans have good teeth and just about every other nation seems to have really nasty teeth? I always heard it was the fluoride

          Yeah, I'm pretty sure it does help people's teeth. But, what are the side effects? Cigarettes help people feel more relaxed, but they cause cancer. Not everything that is good for you in one way is good for you in the long run. Just a thought.
      • >Fluoride poison [fluorideaction.org]

        End DHMO poison now! [dhmo.org]

        Oh, sorry, didn't realize that fluoride site was actually trying to be serious on such a laughing matter. That's so sad.
    • I'm glad you realize that you didn't RTFA. The product is intended for bodies of water that don't have waves... Like lakes or rivers... possibly near Kansas...
      • We have natural bodies of water here? A famous, yet ignorant quote for me, when I moved here. I used to live in Syracuse, New York. Living here, where natural bodies of water are scarce, sure beats living in Syracuse next to Onondaga Lake, which is one of the most polluted lakes in the world.

  • Company Website (Score:5, Informative)

    by emptybody ( 12341 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @12:29AM (#7130579) Homepage Journal

    Here is the site, PowerSki.com [powerski.com]

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

  • Something's missing here.... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Mulletproof ( 513805 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @12:29AM (#7130580) Homepage Journal
    "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.... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by kfg ( 145172 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @01:03AM (#7130716)
      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
    • "Looks like a bigger creative leap than Segway..."

      Well, it was said that cities will be redesigned for the Segway.

      I think this powered surfboard and the personal mortar will redesign cities much more quickly.
      Except in some cities in Florida which already have extensive systems of canals which are suitable for commuting.

  • Doesn't this (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Timesprout ( 579035 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @12:30AM (#7130583)
    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.
    • Ever tried water skiing? Just as much sun, just as much fresh air, and probably more intense physical activity than surfing - and pretty well impossible without a motor.
      • Ever tried water skiing? Just as much sun, just as much fresh air, and probably more intense physical activity than surfing - and pretty well impossible without a motor.

        OK for the sun bit, less fresh air though (you are behind an engine exhaust after all), I won't comment on the activity bit that depends on what you are actually doing and the conditions.

        But water skiing gets pretty BORING after a while compared to surfing. Surfing is one of those things you never master, and the ocean is always going to
  • "this is the birth of a whole new water sport that will change the direction of the watercraft industry the way the snowboard changed skiing." I'm sold, where do I get one?
    • Hold your horses, snowboarding and sking go in a mostly down direction, thats not really what you want in water.

    • Re:Revolutionary (Score:3, Interesting)

      by MikeFM ( 12491 )
      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.

  • Just what the Navy needs... (Score:4, Funny)

    by ryen ( 684684 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @12:33AM (#7130598)
    Combine this with your own morter [slashdot.org] and we've got ourselves new Navy ammunition.

  • As long as it isn't smelly and noisy... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by sfled ( 231432 ) <sfled&yahoo,com> on Saturday October 04, 2003 @12:33AM (#7130602) Journal
    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.
  • this is just one of those jet-ski's packed in to a surf board. I see no innovation on the level of the segway.
  • well, now, I've been reading the first few posts here and everyone seems to be assuming that this thing'd get used in ocean waves. I doubt it for a couple of reasons.

    first, it's way too heavy. sure, it'd help ya get past the waves, but there'd be no way to control it adequately riding back in. you'd need biggish surf to be able to be propelled beachward.

    second, if you did take it somewhere where the surf was big enough to ride on this pig, the locals would skeg your puffy ass just to see you bleed.

    thi
  • Sorry, motorized has been done. Even has hydrofoils!

    http://robijn.net/hydrofoil/ [robijn.net]

  • That's Nothing! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by zimmermantech.com ( 624686 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @12:39AM (#7130629) Homepage
    How about an UNDERWATER gas powered AquaScooter [zimmermantech.com]? Great for fighting the current when snorkeling for lobsters here in Florida!
    • how much for one of those?
      does it have a snorkel for intake/exhaust or is it really submersible?
      • You can find them used on eBay for around $300 or buy them new at www.aquascooter.com [aquascooter.com]

        I have heard of an attachment that allows you to connect a scuba regulator and go down to about 80 feet. I also have an electric one called an AquaSub but the batteries really start to die out after about 15 minutes of heavy use. I can usually go all day on just 1 liter of gas with my AquaScooter!
  • Now i have to finish work on my Motorized Shopping Cart.

  • Just what we need (Score:5, Funny)

    by annielaurie ( 257735 ) <annekmadison.hotmail@com> on Saturday October 04, 2003 @12:45AM (#7130652) Journal
    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.

  • Motorized surfboards have been around for awhile. People who haven't surfed don't realize just how social surfing is. There are rules, ettiquette, customs, and lots of interaction. I can't think of a break where this monstosity would be welcome. However, with the greying of the general population adn the surge in media/marketing hype attention to surfing maybe we'll be seeing lineups full of these things.

  • "This is a birth of a whole new water sport that will change the direction of the watercraft industry the way the snowboard changed skiing," he said.

    But with a custom engine and everything else they designed so that this works correctly, and considering that a standard surf or snowboard is already expensive just for the raw material, I seriously doubt that this sells cheap.
    I don't think it can change the direction of the watercraft industry if only a few people can afford the thing...

  • Yeah, and no problems if it runs out of battery power. ;-)
  • a Mortar-ized surfboard?
  • I like the Hydrofoil surfboard [hydrofoilsurfing.com] better... =D Looks pretty cool... Of course I'll never have the chance to surf, living in the suburbs and all.. A guy can dream can't he? heheh
  • No need to put the engine on the board. Towing is all you need to surf the biggest, gnarliest waves [surfermag.com] on the planet.

  • First Prototype Created in the Late 1970s (Score:3, Insightful)

    by jeti ( 105266 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @01:22AM (#7130782)
    Yes. Creativity and lazyness reached a new height that led to the first powered surboard - in the late seventies [monojet.com].
  • I thoguth surfing was about acheiving a oneness with the wave and the ocean through the act. I mean, the whole appeal is amstering the skill and then riding upon the waves as if you were a part of that wave yourself.

    To strap youself to a machine and try to ride that wave is simply to try and conquer it just like everything else in this world. To surf and several other activities, are to relax and achieve a state of exhiliration and calm (at least in theory, I'm a nerd on the east coast).

    For those that ca
  • What's the big deal? Eight-inch mortars are common in professional pyrotechnic displays. The shells are as big as these bowling balls. And they actually do something in the air, instead of being inert.
  • a wave pool that goes in a circle, so you can just catch a wave and go around forever?
  • The article does not mention what speed the surfboard can go at.
    Some places [flseagrant.org] have restrictions on speeds for watercrafts though these rules do not generally apply to water skiing. But, in light of the fact that these surfboards have mechanical engines, it might be possible that there will be new rules and speed restrictions.
  • 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.
  • I've been surfing for 15 years, and have many a time wished I had a little trolling motor to put on the front or back of my board to save my arms from paddling (not paddling out, but just paddling against current in larger waves to stay in one spot). This board may do something like that, but frankly, from the looks of this design, it'll do little more.

    I have HUGE doubts about it's ability to handle in actual waves. See, when surfing (longboards OR shortboards), the tiniest of touches turns the board. You
  • Ever sat on a surfboard waiting for the waves after paddling out, feeling truly at peace with the world? Ever felt the power that waves have, the majesty of the sea?

    Well, this instrument of laziness, ignroance and pollution will guarantee that you won't.

  • This is something I will vandalize. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by fruity1983 ( 561851 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @02:36AM (#7130997)
    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.
  • The marketing dept always seems to figure out how to price stuff according to how badly people want a certain feature set.

    How much you want to bet that there'll be a nice price jump when you get to the models that can outrun sharks? "And this deluxe model comes with a high-voltage electrostatic defence barrier to ward away predators..."
  • gee, another chance to slam a segway. love it. when i replace my car with a surfboard, i'll start bookofsurfway.com. jeez.
  • A friend of mine had what was called a Jet Surf, he bought it in an auction (yes a real one not ebay) it had a little 2 cycle Mercury engine on it and ir hauled some major butt. I suggested to him, since fishing was his big thing to attach some poontoons and a steering mechanism to ir and mount a lawn chair to fish from, and use it as a small personal fishing craft (River/Lake of corse) now that would have been fun ;P
  • "You take your car to work,
    I'll take my board -
    and when you're out of fuel.." ...eh.. I'm probably too.

    Surf wax america!

  • Use of technology (Score:3, Insightful)

    by m00nun1t ( 588082 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @05:12AM (#7131370) Homepage
    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.
  • This is new? Really?

    "Skim the Waves in this motor-driven paddle board", The Boy Mechanic, Popular Mechanics/Simon & Schuster, copyright 1952, page 99.

    mark

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