winddude said...
I hate to destroy everyone's dreams but you could not get a board out of Cobra for anything like the dollars people are talking about here. With mould costs from $30 - 100 k you guys are dreaming. Chinese manufacture would be possible but I'd rather have a 8 year old Jp or Starboard any day than those POS.
It is also in Cobras interests to protect its big customers ( Pryde, Starboard Naish etc) so they would NEVER do it!

Last I checked their minimum order was somewhere around 150 boards. Cost per board was about US$500. That might have changed though...

as far as producing copies of other boards. They might have done that back in the day when they tried to break into the industry and did their own boards. These days they pretty much make the majority of production boards on the market and run a pretty professional outfit. I doubt they would do make you a copy.

As for some sweatshop in China doing it. I am sure they would. The main problem with products coming out of China is that unless you have someone doing quality control on site what you get will be a total piece of **it.

Really? 4 pages on this???

A board within a board within a board??? What would that weigh like 1 million kilo's???

While we are at it, lets discuss putting a little outboard motor on the back of the board just incase the wind dies... Fly screens on submarines. This is daft.

jermaldan said...
Really? 4 pages on this???

A board within a board within a board??? What would that weigh like 1 million kilo's???

While we are at it, lets discuss putting a little outboard motor on the back of the board just incase the wind dies... Fly screens on submarines. This is daft.

Two in one boards would be a different thread. It could be done easy, say a 90 litre freestyle with add on rails to make a 105 litre. The rails wouldn't need to add strength so they could be light. I'll build one someday. The thread is better than most of them. Who wants to start a thread on how boring seabreeze has become?

barn said...
It could be done easy, say a 90 litre freestyle with add on rails to make a 105 litre. The rails wouldn't need to add strength so they could be light. I'll build one someday. The thread is better than most of them.

I think that did that floaties concept back in the 90s. For some reason it never caught on. Don't really know why.

jermaldan said...
Really? 4 pages on this???

A board within a board within a board??? What would that weigh like 1 million kilo's???

While we are at it, lets discuss putting a little outboard motor on the back of the board just incase the wind dies... Fly screens on submarines. This is daft.

I made one back in 2002 I think.
Back when the big boards first started to appear.
It fitted over an F2 Ride 115L board & increased the width by about 30cm & volume by about 30-40 litres.
It was a twin fin & the connection was through the inner board's fin box.

It was called the "Overboard" but nicknamed "The Shoe"
It actually worked well but the construction was crap & it filled with water

I would be happy to sell the manufacturing rights
I will see if I can dig out a photo

Paul Kelf said...

jermaldan said...
Really? 4 pages on this???

A board within a board within a board??? What would that weigh like 1 million kilo's???

While we are at it, lets discuss putting a little outboard motor on the back of the board just incase the wind dies... Fly screens on submarines. This is daft.

I made one back in 2002 I think.
Back when the big boards first started to appear.
It fitted over an F2 Ride 115L board & increased the width by about 30cm & volume by about 30-40 litres.
It was a twin fin & the connection was through the inner board's fin box.

It was called the "Overboard" but nicknamed "The Shoe"
It actually worked well but the construction was crap & it filled with water

I would be happy to sell the manufacturing rights
I will see if I can dig out a photo

I did opposite with old style wave boards already. Cut 30 cm of the front the pointed sharp nose , replaced with new nice round modern looking.
Safer definitely for sails.
Anyway I did test this way that is quite possible to cut the board, reshape and glue back.
Recently I did re glued whole de- laminated bottom of my lovely JP92 L - so far works fine .

Back to 2 in 1 or 3 in one - i think that basic board should be made rectangular.
Then on the side will be some mounting future to attach different sizes sides to make different volume.
Maybe somebody has a concept how to do this attachment, in what form _ rails to slide in or bolts ?
I could cut one of my old boards in garage to do experiment with w different "sides"
Possibly that back part (rail) of the board should be also replaceble to allow for different width - wider for light wind , narrow for speed.

I still like the idea!!

Go for it macro, but keep the Xfire shape !!!!

maybe you could ask Cobra to sell you a few non painted/branded Xfires ?

Go for it.

Make it somewhere between a freeride and a slalom.

Would love to see a board company run with the idea of building a budget board. It dosent have to be fancy just last a season or two. Ideally it could be pitched at the first time short boarder. Use it abuse it for a season, if you take the nose of with the boom no big deal. Finish the learning curve on something thats cheap that your not going to cry about if you damage it. Then you can go spend money on a good board and hopefully wont destroy it.

barn said...

have you upgraded from mspaint? or just got very good at it

JUST BUY A SECOND HAND BOARD!!!!! THIS IS STUPID!!!!!!!

Carantoc said...
I can't work out ....... who is egging on the crazy people.

Damn, you got me

Carantoc said...
This is brilliant. I can't work out who is serious and who is egging on the crazy people.

How about I sell you a 99 litre modern style freeride board for $200, manufactured by the highest selling, oldest and most esteemed board company in the world, but with no-branding on it.

Yep - $200, that is significantly under your original budget.

All you have to do is send this bloke $150 and then when you get the board cross out the 'Mistral' with a black texta.

www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Windsurfing-Boards/~at06a/Mistral-Shift-8-4-99-litres.aspx?search=6dS%2bE7kXONTNaWZQFworNw%3d%3d

Then send me $50 to make up the $200.

Holly crap !! that really nice board !! and I spent a month to fix my Jp 92 L with de laminated bottom instead just replacing
Anyway I decided to buy new RRD XFIRE v.5 (new year release ) from our best Aussie shop ! How patriotic is it ??? Then I can cut my old board to pieces for different experiments ...

Carantoc said...
This is brilliant. I can't work out who is serious and who is egging on the crazy people.

<second hand board stuff snipped>

Brilliant? Nah, its sort of strange. I can't work out why some people seem to be going out of their way to dismiss an idea that has no impact on them. It's almost like you were afraid of someone thinking outside of the box and possibly innovating.

Why does it matter to you? Everyone is free to buy a new board, a second hand board, modify their boards, or cut up a brand new board and add fifteen fins to it.

I strongly suspect that those same shapers that work for the major brands, or any brands, are the same people that would have tried all sorts of modifications, weird, wacky, or plain old boring, to see what they would do.

Starboard seem to have a bit of a reputation for thinking outside the box. What a bunch of losers! You hardly hear about them today

FormulaNova said...

Carantoc said...
This is brilliant. I can't work out who is serious and who is egging on the crazy people.

<second hand board stuff snipped>

Brilliant? Nah, its sort of strange. I can't work out why some people seem to be going out of their way to dismiss an idea that has no impact on them. It's almost like you were afraid of someone thinking outside of the box and possibly innovating.

........

Starboard seem to have a bit of a reputation for thinking outside the box. What a bunch of losers! You hardly hear about them today

Not sure anyone is dismissing the new and innovative ideas. But I didn't realise that was what this thread was all about.

The original post is claiming that board manufacturers and retailers are ripping us consumers off, making massive fat profits by selling boards at over-inflated prices, that you can buy a board from a chinese bloke for $350, and that people would prefer to buy a board for $400 that lasts 6 months and not a board for $2000 that lasts five years. It is also then stating that the $350 board has an unknown construction and that the person complaining about $2000 boards has no idea how boards are made or from what materials.

Then in previous posts we have also had moaning that cheap masts don't last more than one season and that cheap ali booms break on average every 2 years. Can't have it both ways.

Now, if the original post was an idea and not an ignorant dig at the windsurfing industry - something like :

Do we really need composite sandwich technology for intermediate boards ? who would be interested in buying a glass over stringered PE foam board (or another cheaper alternative) for 1/3 of the price of a full carbon / wood sandwich that would probably only last a couple of seasons of flat water sailing but would take the learner off a learners board onto a short board and get them addicted to the sport. After all most people on here learnt on these boards in the past, they maybe 3kg heavier, not as stiff and much weaker, but are they really that bad for the intermediate if they cost $1000 not $2500 ?

Then that would have been an idea.

It is interesting also that after moaning about prices and saying people would be happy with cheap crappy boards the original poster then goes out and buys a new upper-end-of-price range board.

So, not only does the general consumer prefer high end higher price goods (look how many carbon boards vs same board in glass construction are sold) the original poster also prefers the higher end product, whilst simultaneously moaning about it.

Perhaps if Macroscien had gone out and purchsed an OES custom (or NCS just up the road, or any of many Gold Coast surfboard shapers) custom in PE construction for around $1350 then he would assist OES to advance the low-tech low-price end of the market he was first promoting.

I present this thread as evidence of a brilliant version of a good 'ideas' thread :

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/Wooden-windsurfer/?SearchTerms=SUP

Not this 4 pages of random dribble crap.

Carantoc said...
Not this 4 pages of random dribble crap.

I've got a few ideas on the hydrofoils, but I'm keeping these to myself for now.. But I'm very excited that Brendon Goddard will be playing for essendon next season.. what type of mast do people use in 15 knots? My board has a crack, how many millilitres does it have inside? I've noticed there is less babes windsurfing, is our sport not cool? What type of wetsuit should I buy for a Sydney winter. How **** are kitesurfers with their dangle here and their dangle there.