best place for Skimboarders

jambolian

Any body a fan of skimmin, and where in ireland would be the best place for it?

PjC

Any beach where theres a good wash really. I do it from the Burrow in Kilmore Quay in Wexford, or curracloe. In curracloe on low tide there is usually a few shallow pools which are perfect for flat land skimming.

Im making a launch bungee at the minute. Been playing with set up for a few weeks but should have just right now soon. 1 sea anchor, 2 metres of chain and HEAPS of bungee = hitting the sand alot faster than you can run!! But when you stick it its absolutly savage!!

Will post up a few videos here when I get it going right

theo4130

im a big fan of skimboarding, i lent my board to a friend and never got it back though. gonna find myself a new one somehow... i do it a bit at mahermor when the surf isnt great,
i cant wait to see you videos PjC! sounds intense!

Jackobyte

I was skimboarding yesterday in Kilkee, Co. Clare...:cool: I find that most days there is an opportunity to skim here but you just have to time it right... I usually skim on the edge of the sea though rather than in pools...;) There are pools but they are too deep and when you hop on the board, it goes 2-3 inches under...:( I enjoy going between waves anyway so you can turn on the wave and go through them:D:D I don't skim that regularly though... That was the 1st time this year...

jambolian

cheers for tips, i shall defo be stallin there soon!

you should defo keep up the skimmin, good fun and not to mention the excersise man! About that anchor idea, so ingenious its brilliant! any chance i could try, make sure to post up those vids, savage!!

PjC

It'll be a while before I get the elastic set up right, atm i'm adding more into it, making it longer and thicker... its gonna be lethal when its up and running. It'll totally eliminate the need to "run and hop", you can just stand on the beach with front foot on board, when a set rolls in lift you back foot on and you get launched into the sea (or pool)!!

I actually reckon Im gonna need to fit foot straps on the board to keep myself on it when Im getting used to it!!

PjC

theo4130 wrote: »

im a big fan of skimboarding, i lent my board to a friend and never got it back though. gonna find myself a new one somehow... i do it a bit at mahermor when the surf isnt great,
i cant wait to see you videos PjC! sounds intense!

Im actually making a board I've dubbed the "sidewinder", I'm able to use it as a bi-directional board and am toying with foot strap position now. Full lenth grip pad over 3/4 inch ply. Its a little heavy though, im trying to make it lighter! I want to start selling them but need to get the weight issue sorted.

More than welcome to try out the launcher when I get it sorted, and the board.

Jackobyte

PjC wrote: »

It'll be a while before I get the elastic set up right, atm i'm adding more into it, making it longer and thicker... its gonna be lethal when its up and running. It'll totally eliminate the need to "run and hop", you can just stand on the beach with front foot on board, when a set rolls in lift you back foot on and you get launched into the sea (or pool)!!

I actually reckon Im gonna need to fit foot straps on the board to keep myself on it when Im getting used to it!!

You're absolutely crazy!!!:D It'll be Class!!! Where do u skim? Found answer!!!!

Jackobyte

PjC wrote: »

Im actually making a board I've dubbed the "sidewinder", I'm able to use it as a bi-directional board and am toying with foot strap position now. Full lenth grip pad over 3/4 inch ply. Its a little heavy though, im trying to make it lighter! I want to start selling them but need to get the weight issue sorted.

More than welcome to try out the launcher when I get it sorted, and the board.

Maybe if you lose the full covering of grip and just use surf wax??? It might help weight problems...

theo4130

thanks for that, i used 1/4" ply wood last time, the 3/4" was way too heavy, they go like rockets if you glass the bottom, little bit stiffer too. have you checked up the price of some top class boards? its ridiculous!

Jackobyte

theo4130 wrote: »

thanks for that, i used 1/4" ply wood last time, the 3/4" was way too heavy, they go like rockets if you glass the bottom, little bit stiffer too. have you checked up the price of some top class boards? its ridiculous!

How much are top class ones??? I use a €30 one that I got in local surf shop!!!:D

Is it easy to make your own???

PjC

Yeah - check these guys out HERE. They seem like legends, esp thomas!

Eh, designing your shape is easy but cutting the shape outta ply and keeping the rails etc all the same AND following the lines with a jigsaw aint easy. Took me 4-5 cuts to get a straight curve... if that makes sense haha

I tried 1/4 inch first but found it a little too thin, same with half. Maybe I should go back to half for a while

PjC

What size boards ya'll skimming? I have a 56x22 which i'd like to say is a custom board but im gonna say home made haha. I have a 42x18 circle one as well which I dont really like but is grand yoke!

jambolian

Circle one are pretty good but i find they are much heavy and hardgoing than the rest, they aren't great in deeper water. How long did it take you to make your own, are the woodies better than the fibres?

PjC

I dunno what glass boards would be like, i'd love to try one though, they look great when you've decent shore break.

Takes me about a week to make a board inc paint, but i take my time im sure someone good with wood could do it ALOT quicker. Im brutal with wood but getting the hang of it now. Noticed a fray in my elastic cord at the weekend so back to drawing board with that idea. Egh

markY6222

Keel Beach is pretty Good! But Id Say Give Surfing a go!:D

jambolian

How did it happen, that sucks man! sorry to hear, but just think of the capable of! yeh glass is so light, but cus im heavy i find thee woodies dive alot and don't go anywhere, just from experience

jambolian

that came out wrong, think of what your capable of when its finished

PjC

Just from use i suppose. I obviously need stronger elastic. The last thing i want is it snapping and taking the face of me or someone else. You been on the beach much lately??

Groe

Inch Beach In Kerry Is Unreal James But It's Abit Far. Haven't Seen You Skimming In Ages Man..The Last Time Was LAat Summer With Gilso After Sailing. I Got My Board Fixed Up So Let Me Know If You Ever Want Someone To Go Out With Or Anything.

Jackobyte

Outta curiousity, how old are most skimmers...? I'm 15...:D

EDIT: Was 15 last Thursday!!!:D

Groe

I'm 14, 15 in November. I'd say it'll be a young enough age group.

Jackobyte

Groe wrote: »

I'm 14, 15 in November. I'd say it'll be a young enough age group.

Thought so but when I first saw it... about 6-7 years ago it was twenty-something year olds doing it so they'd be 30-something year olds now...

PjC

Im 25 in a few weeks. Been skimming only this summer but surfed/windsurfed a bit in the past, been sailing all my life.

Did a minor repair the elastic (cut out the fray and tied a knot, safe as a house *ahem*) and used it with my kayak yesterday... haha some fun bashing through waves instead of them pushing me back on the way out

Jackobyte

PjC wrote: »

Im 25 in a few weeks. Been skimming only this summer but surfed/windsurfed a bit in the past, been sailing all my life.

Did a minor repair the elastic (cut out the fray and tied a knot, safe as a house *ahem*) and used it with my kayak yesterday... haha some fun bashing through waves instead of them pushing me back on the way out

What type of kayak do you ride...? I have 2 RTM Mambo's (sit on's)...!!! They're so sturdy that ever in strong waves they're really hard to topple unless you go parallel to the waves just before they crash!!!

PjC

I have a riot dominatrix 47, one of the earyl playboats. A very small, tippy, unstable playboat at that. Like a rocket in good surf but its KILLING my ankles and big toe, theres just no foot room at all. Looking at getting a dagger GTX to do some river running at catch better surf!

Only been kayaking a few months so the riot is a little outta my depth anyway! Defo reccommend it for someone under 5'5 and less that 10kg though.

I dont like sit on's, you just cant carve as hard or do tricks in them. I can bow stall and ALMOST cartwheel the riot... which I wouldn't have a hope of doing in the GTX, but I dont want my toe to bleed anymore so its gotta go!!

Jackobyte

I'm 5'1 and am light enough... bout 45kg...?:D

PjC

Yea, be the right job for you! Too bad its new owner is collecting it tmro

PjC

Flooded garden + old skimboard = fun and grass burns! Best skim session iv ever had. Wish my gf had of been here to video it

Brian

Bump. Where can I pick one up for a decent price?

Jackobyte

Baza210 wrote: »

Bump. Where can I pick one up for a decent price?

You can pick 'em up in virtually any surf shop, usually for about €25-30. Some places you can get ones for about €10 but they usually have dolphins on them or something and I can't see them being any good. Never tried one of those ones though so they may be spectacular but in most cases, you get what you pay for.

Brian

Does size/weight matter much? I'm 6'3" but fairly fit.

PjC

You'll need a 42" anyway, 36" will be too short. height dont really matter I dont think. I have a 42 I bought for 35 squid in my local marine stop in wexford, I made my own 42 as well, and I made a 56 just to see how it be. the 56 is a little bigger and more awkward to throw/drop but if you read over the other posts and see what i've been trying to do the 56 is better for that!

Have a look on ebay aswell, I say an Alder fibreglass skimboard sell for €15. It was used but looked spotless. How bad for €15!!!!

Brian

I'm trying to get my hands on a Victoria Foamie but neither Victoriaskimboards.com nor www.Sandskater.co.uk are being very communicative...

PjC

Sandskater are usually pretty good. God you goin top end eh? I could only justify getting a zap or a victora if i was using it as a strapless kite board

Brian

Heh, on the Victoria website the Foamie is $100, and there's a 25% discount on Monday which makes it $75 which is less than 50 euro. Not bad, eh? Sadly they haven't replied. Shipping from sandskater is £30, which hurts. Neither of 'em have replied anyway.

PjC

Thats not bad at all! Hope you hear back soon, with the weather we're having at the moment you'll be skimming in your back garden!