Surfing balance board - A level coursework

by **stevehills64** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:12 pm

Hi everyone,

I am doing my Design & Technology A level coursework and would be grateful if you could just answer a few quick questions.
It wont take you long but it is valuable information for me
I have decided to make a balance board to help surfers, mainly beginners, to improve on their balance so that they can stay on their board for longer.

What type of material would you like the board to be made from?

Wood Metal Plastic Other……………

Would you like it to be painted or just left the natural colour?
Natural colour
Painted:
Red
Blue
Green
Yellow
Other……………

What price do you think would be suitable to set the board at?

£10 - £20 £20 - £30 £40 - £50 £50 - £60 £60-£70 £70-80 £80+

Would the board be better if it could help you balance sideways (rail to rail) as well, for helping with turns etc?

Yes No

Would you like the board to be environmentally friendly?

Yes No

Have you any other comments that could help me with my coursework?

Thank you for your time to help me with my coursework,

Steve Hills

Edit.
I know there are boards that exist, but i need to do primary research which is to ask people some questions

**Sponsor**

by **the.ronin** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 7:24 pm

Are there really metal boards? And ones that cost 10 pounds?

by **garbarrage** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 10:23 pm

sign me up.... really interested to see one that balanced rail to rail aswell, and still gave a realistic feel....

also... the balance boards out there at the moment are hugely overpriced for what they are... plywood and a tube!

by **phillwilson** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 11:30 pm

always happy to help,

1. wood is always a good option for cost vs durability

2.natual for me dude, but coated and nice to touch

3. cheaper the better seeing as you are a new comer competing with existing products such as indo boards etc

4. absolutley......i do it myself using a skim board and a beachball...sure yours would be less leathal.

5. yup if poss

ok heres one to push the boats out...u wont be able to do it, but it will show ur course leader your thingin etc... hows about a tread mill type of device which has rollers you could place a board along but in lots of small lines so they could move up and down randomly to create undulations to "surf"...dont know if its possible but it would be fun to try.

good luck

Phill

by **stevehills64** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 1:45 pm

Thanks for answering the questions.
I think I know what you mean with the tread mill idea. I think that would be quite hard to make though!

Are there really metal boards? And ones that cost 10 pounds?

There aren't but the reason for the questionnaire is to find out whether people think that the board would be better made from metal. I of course no one will but I can show in my coursework why I chose it to be made from wood.

the balance boards out there at the moment are hugely overpriced for what they are... plywood and a tube!

lol totally agree, I was going to have it so the user has options with the way the want to balance. So they can choose whether they want to balance side to side, or nose to tail, or both of them.

If you could just answers the questions then when I have enough I can start on my designs, I'll post them up here so you can help me improve on them

Cheers, Steve

by **k mac** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 10:38 pm

What type of material would you like the board to be made from?

Wood

Would you like it to be painted or just left the natural colour?
Natural colour or some funky design !

What price do you think would be suitable to set the board at?

£30 £40 -

Would the board be better if it could help you balance sideways (rail to rail) as well, for helping with turns etc?

Yes , that would be a very good way to approach the market from a different angle....scuse the pun!

Would you like the board to be environmentally friendly?

Yes always a bonus with the green obssesed consumer !

Have you any other comments that could help me with my coursework?
What type of material would you like the board to be made from?

Wood Metal Plastic Other……………

Would you like it to be painted or just left the natural colour?
Natural colour
Painted:
Red
Blue
Green
Yellow
Other……………

What price do you think would be suitable to set the board at?

£10 - £20 £20 - £30 £40 - £50 £50 - £60 £60-£70 £70-80 £80+

Would the board be better if it could help you balance sideways (rail to rail) as well, for helping with turns etc?

Yes No

Would you like the board to be environmentally friendly?

Yes No

Have you any other comments that could help me with my coursework?

this is one i made (very simple!) But i found the weakness was finding a good roller ?
http://www.surfing-waves.com/howto/make_indoboard.htm

good luck ! Would be intrested to see progress !

by **stevehills64** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:53 pm

Thanks,
I will make the roller myself, by turning wood on a lathe. Do you think the roller should be covered in rubber like the indoboards or just left as wood like the lush board.
Cheers, Steve

by **Big Man** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:12 pm

Just had a thought here, obviously these things exist already for stand ups but being able to balance rail to rail is different, and definitely a great idea, and it's what prompted this one too.

Some bodyboarders practice rail balance by having just a few inches of their rail resting on a bed, then laying prone and trying to balance themselves in the air. if your balance plate for want of a better word was wide enough to lay on, you would open up a whole new market by making the product attractive to spongers.

by **stevehills64** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:20 pm

I was thinking of having half a cylinder on the bottom of the board (that can be detached) but positioned so it allows the user to balance from rail to rail without having to balance nose to tail as well.

Is this the kinda thing you meant?
Also, with the indoboard, its quite small compared to a surfboard so I was thinking to make it bigger and in the shape of a surfboard, maybe about a metre long

by **stevehills64** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 1:51 pm

Added more questions:
These are the last questions:

Would you like there to be a grip on the deck of the board? (not nessearily to cover the whole board)

Yes No

Would you like there to be a design on the deck or just left natural colour

Design Natural

What size would you like it to be?

Skim board size 1 meter long Full size surfboard Other, please specify

by **garbarrage** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 3:14 pm

Would you like there to be a grip on the deck of the board? (not nessearily to cover the whole board) - maybe... couldnt have a slippery deck.. those balance boards can be viciously dangerous enough.

Would you like there to be a design on the deck or just left natural colour -
a design couldn't hurt, might help the marketability aswell.

What size would you like it to be?
full surfboard size might add to the cost quite a bit and be a bit impractical... its only a training tool so probably the tried and tested skimboard size would be better for storage purposes... enough surfboards scattered about the house as it is. the missus might lose it if i clutter the place any more.

by **LOLRuss** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 5:45 pm

What type of material would you like the board to be made from?

Wood or plastic. Metal won't feel right.

Would you like it to be painted or just left the natural colour?

I want flames. But really color doesn't matter to me. Red.

What price do you think would be suitable to set the board at?

I don't want to pay more than $40. I don't know what that is in pounds, as our currency is hyper-inflating just now.

Would the board be better if it could help you balance sideways (rail to rail) as well, for helping with turns etc?

Yes

Would you like the board to be environmentally friendly?

Yes, thats important in this market.

Have you any other comments that could help me with my coursework?

You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when youre sittin at the table.
Therell be time enough for countin when the dealins done.

by **LOLRuss** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 5:47 pm

Would you like there to be a grip on the deck of the board? (not nessearily to cover the whole board)

Yes. Coat it in sand-paint stuff or something.

Would you like there to be a design on the deck or just left natural colour

I don't really care. Natural is fine if it keeps the cost down.

What size would you like it to be?

Skim board size 1 meter long

by **billie_morini** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 8:45 am

Q What type of material would you like the board to be made from?
A I'd like plastic for durability. I'd like wood because it is pretty. I like fiberglass because it surfs very well.

Q Would you like it to be painted or just left the natural colour?
A. I'm a plain kind of guy. I like Natural colour or non-painted. but, occassionaly I admire red boards.

Q What price do you think would be suitable to set the board at?
A $500 US

Q Would the board be better if it could help you balance sideways (rail to rail) as well, for helping with turns etc?
A no

Q Would you like the board to be environmentally friendly?
A No. the quantity of units produced is small and does not cause significant environmental impact

Q Have you any other comments that could help me with my coursework?
A. You should surf yourself to know better what to achieve

Q Would you like there to be a grip on the deck of the board? (not nessearily to cover the whole board)
A No

Q Would you like there to be a design on the deck or just left natural colour
A Natural

Q What size would you like it to be?
A 9ft long, 22in wide, and 2 3/4in thick

by **stevehills64** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:00 am

Thanks, need some more people to answer the new questions

by **drowningbitbybit** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 11:11 am

stevehills64 wrote:Would the board be better if it could help you balance sideways (rail to rail) as well, for helping with turns etc?

Indoboard has beaten you to it IndoFlo

by **LOLRuss** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 1:50 pm

billie_morini wrote:Q What type of material would you like the board to be made from?
A I'd like plastic for durability. I'd like wood because it is pretty. I like fiberglass because it surfs very well.

Q Would you like it to be painted or just left the natural colour?
A. I'm a plain kind of guy. I like Natural colour or non-painted. but, occassionaly I admire red boards.

Q What price do you think would be suitable to set the board at?
A $500 US

Q Would the board be better if it could help you balance sideways (rail to rail) as well, for helping with turns etc?
A no

Q Would you like the board to be environmentally friendly?
A No. the quantity of units produced is small and does not cause significant environmental impact

Q Have you any other comments that could help me with my coursework?
A. You should surf yourself to know better what to achieve

Q Would you like there to be a grip on the deck of the board? (not nessearily to cover the whole board)
A No

Q Would you like there to be a design on the deck or just left natural colour
A Natural

Q What size would you like it to be?
A 9ft long, 22in wide, and 2 3/4in thick

You know he's talking about an Indo board and not a surfboard, right?

by **garbarrage** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 4:37 pm

^^ had me scratchin the noggin there too... thought 100 bucks was bad enough!!!

drowningbitbybit wrote:
stevehills64 wrote:Would the board be better if it could help you balance sideways (rail to rail) as well, for helping with turns etc?

Indoboard has beaten you to it IndoFlo

anyone ever try one of those cushions? they any good? girlfriend's shop sells indo boards and have demo models out.. can see some benefit to the indo tube version, but quite sceptical of the cushion.. happy to be proved wrong...
if someone could come up with a tool that worked to help those of us not fortunate enough to live near a break when we're not surfing, i'm sure it'd sell like hotcakes!!!

having said that i made one out of a piece of scaffold plank and a cut off from some plastic gas pipe ducting... actually a bit quicker than the indo board..
point being, if you do come up with something and want it to sell it can't be so simple that anyone can make one..

by **LOLRuss** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 7:05 pm

Sure it can be so simple! There's room for more than one manufacturer if its a good solution to a problem, especially if you can beat them on price and/or quality... or just plain marketing.

by **garbarrage** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:07 pm

wasn't so much referring to manufacturers replicating it as people just making their own cheaper versions instead of buying them...
only know one guy who has an "indo" board.. but he's always been a bit of a sucker for advertising..
we all know one... the guy who always has the latest wetty cos it looks cool etc.

Surfing balance board - A level coursework

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