the-BA : Ride the waves

Pro-surfers make a fair few pounds (or, more likely, dollars) for their wave-carving antics. And it’s not a bad lifestyle; the likes of Taj Burrows, Kelly Slater and Rob Machardo spend their days on the ASP World Tour, jet-setting round the globe, ripping waves to pieces in places like Fiji, Hawaii and Indonesia. All they need is a board and a block of wax.

Have you ever wondered how surfboards are designed and made? And why do surfers wax their sticks?

You might like to …

• find out about surfboard design and manufacture; find out how designs and techniques have changed over the years; find out the difference between ‘pop-out’ boards and ‘custom’ boards; find out what makes them strong/waterproof
• investigate the effect of using different shapes for surfboards; find out how they’re designed to stop them flipping over on the water; find out how long boards and short boards react differently in the waves
• investigate the effects of using different size/shape/number of fins
• find out why surfers wax their boards; carry out tests to investigate the effectiveness of different surf wax; try to make your own wax
• link up with some professional surfboard designers and design and make your own board
• investigate what creates waves; try to make a wave machine that creates breaking waves (not a ripple tank).

Further links:
http://www.jpsurfboards.co.uk/buyerinfo.htm

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