| 2008 Tandem Riding Board The board you see
below is by far the most advanced tandem riding bodyboard in the
world today- there is no comparison. Believe it or not,
this 5'6" white board was
made using the old silver board that was recently state of the
art- see the old board
here. It has been completely changed. It was stripped of the the
old silver vinyl and made thinner. Deep arm and body
grooves were added, and the handle setup was changed because you
now have deep grippy grooves all the way down the sides of the board
to hold onto. I am using my custom made strong rope handle setup
with a larger loop for
this because it is far safer than the usual plastic handles.
I was limited by the original shape of the silver board- the shape
you see here is just a little not as refined from what
will be on future tandem riding boards that I will be making
soon- but it is close! My 11 year old son and I have ridden this board at Sandy Beach
on the pretty big(4-6') outside peaks where the surfers are-and I can tell you that
this board is awesome-
and safe too! I would not risk my son at Sandy Beach using
defective or cheaply made equipment- this board has been made to
incorporate all I have learned in riding tandem bodyboards here
in Hawaiian waves. Because my son paddles pretty good, and I
have big feet and fins, long arms and 30+ years of experience
surfing Sandy Beach, we get our share of the bigger waves
competing against short and longboard surfers.
On some of the waves we caught, after the initial explosion
of the white water and as we are speeding towards the shore, my
son jumps to his feet and surfs the board as I ride behind
making sure the board is steady. I also took the board out by
myself to the bigger waves, using no fins and paddling it like a
surfboard. It paddled fast and high, a little tough to duck dive
with even my 220 lbs- but remember that this board is made for 2
people-up to 380lbs! I easily caught big waves and made up to
three 360 spinners on each wave- I had a blast! I did not try to
stand up on the board- that will maybe be for some other time.
My wife and I have also taken this board to Hanauma Bay and used
it as a diving platform. We paddle out beyond the reef with our
gear mesh bag tied to the handle. The board was perfect in that
situation- not too big where some Park authority would question
it, and big enough to hold both of us (385 lbs) securely
and safely as we paddled out through small breaking waves on the
shallow reef.
News Flash!
11/1/08 I rode this
board today at 2-3 ft. outside Sandy Beach and after the third
try was able to standup good. My last wave I was "pumping" it on
a fairly nice wave face and toward the end of the wave I
attempted a standing 360- and almost made it all the way around!
A good time to go in. Next weekend I'll try again to achieve
that standing 360 close to the beach.
Gripping the board is now easy and secure. A constant problem
in the past is that the smaller person in the front was always
sliding a little off center which made it a problem to balance
the 2 people sometimes, especially when you are paddling. You do
not want minor irritations like that when a 5 foot Hawaiian wave
is about to break on both of your heads. I have solved that problem with the deep
center body groove. It keeps everybody located exactly in the
center and feeling secure. Your elbows, knees, hands, and feet- they all
lock into the deep side rail grooves- totally awesome- why hasn't it
been done before? The carbon fiber white vinyl is just perfect
for providing the right amount of grip with no rash.
Compare this board to large, wide, thick tandem riding bodyboards that are on the market
with the top and rail foam that gives you heavy rash- what are they thinking? You have to have a fairly
pointed nose to punch through a big Sandy Beach wave, and the
smaller person in the front has to have a narrow
enough nose to help paddle- to help us sneak by a big breaking
wave. Notice the kick in the thick nose. You better have that if you
come down a steep wave with 2 people on board and expect to survive. And the most
important thing- a good leg leash. Forget about an arm leash- it
must be a leg leash for this big board in big waves. My leg leash
plug will keep you and your partner safe. A thinner tail
area helps you sink the tail for hard turns, and nice deep bottom channels help
you keep from sliding out when you don't want to. If you do want
to do some heavy side slipping or 360 spins- no problem with
some practice! This board was built to advertise and promote
Kenu everywhere I take it- hence the many large stickers, skull
logos, etc. Your custom board can of course be made with any
combination of stickers or top vinyl prints you want. These
boards are all built in the traditional Kenu style- super strong
and stiff. Did I forget to mention that underneath the
white carbon fiber look vinyl skin is a special piece of
1/4" soft foam that keeps the top super comfortable for your
chest. Email or call me with questions about this awesome
creation.
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