Smallest Twin Keel Ridden?

[skansand]

"I hate the fact that they don't build functional sponges in my size. "
man... ithink taht what killed it for me too...even with my 45" bz im struggling to find speed in waves under 6'...manta makes a nice looking 46" and so does toobs but theirs is for dk....im down to make paipos with spongy decks though...gonna try ply and insulation foam....with yoga matt surface

[ScottMac]

..

[kneelingBROTHA]

"I hate the fact that they don't build functional sponges in my size. "
man... ithink taht what killed it for me too...even with my 45" bz im struggling to find speed in waves under 6'...manta makes a nice looking 46" and so does toobs but theirs is for dk....im down to make paipos with spongy decks though...gonna try ply and insulation foam....with yoga matt surface

I HAVE the manta 46" from a few years ago, and the construction hasn't changed. It is unweildly. Its wayyyyyy too big to do anything on. You can cruise but that's about it. OH YEAH...you can't even paddle it properly. Its like trying to paddle a 7' long kneeboard with flippers. It just doesn't work; and I'm 6' tall.

If I could get the speed like I used to when I was younger, yeah, I'd likely still sponge, but I can't, and I like this even better, so it all comes out in the wash and works out in the end, you know?

What the sponge industry needs to do for the big boys is develop a 3" thick foam blank in polypropalene and make it able to be cut down to fairly normal widths and lengths in modern shapes. That would be the clincher.

But I'm stoked on kneeboarding so right now, I'm not too concerned about a 3" thick polypropalene blank!

Kneelo for sure...

[skansand]

well if you wanna hit some shorey...id love to check out the 46"..you could try any of my bbs...42"Custom x bat..45" Bz rolled bat..42.5" mike stewart V..41" ben severson bat...they all have their ups and downs.....i can throw around the 45 pretty well..the swallow tail on the 46" might be the reason for it incapabilities...they hold really well......
id like to see a 6'2 C in polypro....

[kneelingBROTHA]

hey man, I honestly do want to hit some shorey sometime, but on the kneeboard. I know it sounds crazy but once I get my barrel-takeoff timing down, I want to try shorey. Like Seal, or some mysto wedges my friend was telling me about. But shorey doesn't like hardboards. Hmmm. I'd have to weigh the risks and benifits on this one!

And thanks for the offer to try the boards. I have 2 in my garage that I own that are pretty comprehensive, and a third, 45" BZ with skegs in it right now. My dad owns the 46" Manta. I basically spent the money I could on sponges for the past few years. I never could afford getting a hardboard...so waiting for the ebodyboarding.com sales was the call!

Anyhow...if I plan in advance (instead of randomly hitting the road in disgust of the pathetic south bay surf...) on going to huntington sometime maybe we could kneeboard it.

have a good one!

[DrStrange]

Scott, who shaped the 5'8"? Is that the Mandala or Blast you have or some other? Inquiring minds...

[kneelingBROTHA]

I basically spent the money I could on sponges for the past few years. I never could afford getting a hardboard...so waiting for the ebodyboarding.com sales was the call!

have a good one!

You probably have a sizeable investment in body boards. I'm sure performance body boards go for $150 ~ $200+ and you couldn't afford hardboards....?

Now that you've come over to the darkside, you may be surprised just how quickly you are able to accumulate the funds for a kneeboard, and it's a fair trade -- 2 or 3 bodyboards for one very nice kneeboard.


Enjoy!

Not quite. Bodyboards die fast and I probably had one a year, for about 3 years. And I'm not talking about performance bodyboards for the most part, unless they were on major discount. The Manta my dad has is from 1999. That one was expensive...but it was from 6 years ago. I got a "Bull" in 2002. In 2004, I got a new Manta, which was a performance board. In 05, I got a $110 board (not exactly performance). In '06, a 45" BZ for $140. And the BZ is toast now, the stringers snapped I think--both of them. In short, I didn't come on here to scam anyone and the quiver I have is truthfully built up over years. The bull has long since been trashed and the BZ is a goner, the $110 board has a little bit of life left in it. Oh, and the Manta from 99 is trashed too. Little beads of polypropalene fall out when you pull out the plug.

The performance manta, which I got for my birthday, is the only one that really has stayed around in excellent shape. VIVA MANTA!

I did get those hard boards in 2000 or 2001 for $75, but that was four hardboards and 2 out of four were trashed. There was an OG pop-out among the four which was rather amusing.

Anyhow, I'm just saying that I'm not on skid row but in reality I really can't afford hardboards at the moment; one bodyboard a year is really just enough to keep me in the water. No offense or anything Martin Murph. I can understand the skepticism, but my "quiver" is an accumulation of boards over a fair period of time.

AND THANK YOU MARK!

The planning for the next board I brought up because A) I'm obsessed with fish boards (especially since I have one in the garage mocking me; too small to ride!) and B) I love talking design. My dad's an engineer, it just interests me to no end.

There's my "board" [boring] story.

peace!

--marc

[chasinglefts]

Thanks for all the response, the good, the bad, the funny, and the spongy.
I've been in the Outer Banks for a few days, hoping to spend some time testing my 4'10, but got skunked.

ManO- I don't know about the gath alien helmet look, but as far as board size, that's about what i'm thinking.

I'll update if/when I get ahold of a board this small, or have one made.