The first Convertible LWB ( light wind board ) UPDATED

[panchito]

Si Señor.

Do you need a light wind board ?
Dont want to spend 600 $ or € ?
Dont want to carry 2 boards with you ?
Dont want to spend more than 50 $ or €?

And have basic tools and a week end ?

YEAP..... Presenting the first & only " Convertible board "

Light wind ?? take the LWB out and have fun...yes this board really works, tested and it work as good as any other LWB out there..... because normally only one fin is on the water when riding up wind so there is very little drag if you have big fins on your standard board ( like me ) .

Wind picks up ?? no problem , go to the beach and with one hand remove the locks out of your LWB and go ripping again with your " small " board......

BUT. just to be clear......this is a LWB in all means..... not made for big air......if you want that , better you put snap on looks ( I did not want to do this because you have to drill on your board), but for light wind riding is great....tested the board for about 2 hours and everything I did was from time to time check that the screws are tight .....and finish .

Costs ??? 10-15 bucks for the wood, some wood sealer, paint and marine grade hardware .....that was the most expensive part of it , about 20 Euros.

The padding ( 7mm) is out from some wet suit material that I had......it adds some cushion to eliminate vibrations and reduce some rocker from the small board. if you want to add more , better install 2 front screws for better holding.

Any way , the board works fine......got me out nice cruising on flat water ( at the Lagoon ) with 8 knots but on choppy you need maybe 1 or 2 knots more together with my Machine 17,5 and 72 kgs weight.

The LWB is 149 x 46 and have a light convex rail.....same as my SX board but much less as you can see.
The board is made out of marine plywood 5 mm and very easy to work with
So kids..... just try it and you will not regret it

Have fun

P.S: If some body is interested just ask and I will more than glad to answer ......send me a pm

just my 2cents, regards

[kitezilla]

Panchito:

Thanks for a great new concept! I think you are on to something.

I have a Flysurfer 26M, and get overpowered to the point of experiencing terrror. I think I will work with your invention, and try to make a system of locks where I can just pull a cord and eject the big board in a split second. With the smaller board employed, I will then be able to control the big kite and come back to retrieve the big board. I need to find a way of towing the big board back to shore. Any ideas on that?

I have made boards in the past with 2 differently shaped sides, and that idea kind of works, but is not sufficient. I like your idea better. Keep on "thinking outside the box". You are the man!

[gonewiththewind]

Sorry, but I don't get it. Why not just build a complete lightwind board out of wood? You're still carrying two boards to the beach. So the only advantage is not having to buy another set of straps and fins?

Kudos for creative thinking though.

[panchito]

Kitezilla: yes . thank you....could be a good idea....need to work on that one too.

Gonewiththewind: well.....not really , I carry only one board to the beach, and yes I do have a lightwind board ( the one I glued to an old liquid force truth 150 board ) but it is a bit heavy cause the lf board is allready heavy and the plywood board I made last year is even more heavier cause is made out of 1,5 cm marine plywood.

So my convertible is a good mid-weight board ( not heavier than a 164 flydoor both hand in hand on the beach the other day )

At the end....this is just an idea.....if you dont like it......I dont have any problem with it......the day I tested the board i spend more time talking to kiters interested in the concept than I spend kiting....some of them took pictures and measurements to make one for them selves.........

But again if you can park your car in front of the beach , well you can carry all the equipment you like...in my case many times in Tarifa I have to carry 300-400 meters my quiver so it makes a lot of difference if you take two or just one board with you and dont forget your kites .....so for me is a nice idea and I like it....

Regards

[gonewiththewind]

That's cool. Sorry, I didn't mean to rag on your idea. I was just asking to get a better sense of what the advantages were supposed to be.

[panchito]

no problem..... gone withthewind.......

plywood boards are for my taste too heavy, also we need in our area a rocker cause of the choppy conditions we kite....and not every one is able to do a wood board.....but this one took me some hours in total and it was really fun to do it......just to tell you that the decal on the back of the big board was the most expensive of all, but I like it so much and it looks cool.....is from TFC " Tarifa fin company " I dont know any kiter coming to Tarifa and not leaving home without a set of fins from Bob.....

the " under " board is only 5 mm and is very light and easy to manipulate....it dosent have fins....just holes for them ( for the top board ) so I just sit the small board on top and move the locks on top and finish..... takes me 20 seconds, and the same for taking the small baord out of it....and with one hand, no need to land your kite

So..... is easy to handle in all means......and cheap.....

[Rockstar]

Sorry,someone did that about 4 years ago ! I think it was even a real production board.

[theflyingtinman]

Nice one.

I also have quite a walk to my launch from the parking lot so
I may try this.

Here's a variation I may try: Since the main board provides all the
stregth you need for most of the area of the LWA ( "ligth-wind
adapter") how about a bottom layer that is very thin (3mm ply?
plasic sheet? or something else) with a trim of ply (3mm? 5mm)
glued around around the edges to exacly match the shape of
the main board. It would be lighter. the "frame" would hold the
boards exactly aligned and the fins would stick through more
and thus be more effective. Not sure what to do about the
foam (make it thinner?, leave it out? )

Hmm ...jsut had another idea. With thin enough base and
strategically positioned foam strips you might be able to put
in a bit of concave

Steve T
.

[fokiten]

Nice,,,

Say, I think 1/8" tempered masonite would be the bomb,, almost unbreakable with just a few inches sticking out,,,

The fin slots alone should eliminate drift,,,plus with a large surface area at the ends a simple spacer block could be glued on and this block would also provide meat for a tee nut and thumb screwed hold down...

Yup,,,sweet thinking...

Thanks
fo

[chemosavi]

I keep blowing my horn on this one but a 1/4" sheet of nomex honeycomb 2 feet wide by 5 feet long weighs about 1 or two pounds. It could even be cut in half so you could fit it in your "golf" bag. If you put that sheet on two two by fours, you could stand on it. Only problem is, it's expensive. Expandable boards......

Panchito is on to something here I think.

Oh yea, and everybody else who posted...