Its what's inside that counts !

Now with the skins cut out its time to do the I-beams. The idea is to reduce the volume in the front of the mat. And by placing them in divergent lines it controls the shape across the width of the mat.

Alternative surfmat outlines.

The old rectagular surfmats are fantastic but what if someone did something different ? Part of the art of mat riding is evenly distributing your weight over the mats area to create an even layer of air to ride on, but why not pull in the front of the mat so you only need one arm forward to cover the area ? And why not reduce the area / bouyancy in the tail to reduce slipping on a steep face ? So I'm doing a swallow tail too. First create a paper planshape to transfer to the material. Funny thing about getting the right material, Ive used a few "waterproof" fabrics and I'm sure they are, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are able to handle pressuried air. Best way to cut the fabric...scalpel, and a steady hand.

See thru surf mat.

I'm amazed how easy it is to make a surfmat, there's only 6 pieces, the two main pieces are the deck and hull and they're the same shape, and the 4 I-beams match each other too. Its so easy but maybe I'm not doing it right ?! Here's the finished Invisibe Surfmat.... Glueing is a quick way of putting the pieces together, now I wish I'd made it a more complex design. I always try to do something different in each mat so I can test various ideas or concepts and in this one Ive used tapered I beams at one end and square beams at the other end. I found it to be a very stable and familiar sensation to ride, except for the view of the water surging like a tornado under the mat, its a bit of a maelstrom of many directions and speeds, but a very absorbing sight while trying to stay on the wave. Next time I go out I will take the GoPro to get some pics of the water flow through the mat. But I'm already looking at doing a new mat design. Here's the basic planshape and it will have no edge laps, 4 divergent I-beams and a tapered nose to tail foil.

Wraaaped in plaaaa-stic.

In go the I beams with a thin coat of glue. The margins that I'm glueing together are 1 inch wide, sounds slim but when I did the Materials Testing the fabric always rips apart before the glue gives way. In fact this glue has never failed over 5 years of making mats. First glue, and then roll out any air bubbles, too easy. I'm really going to be able to see the water flow under the mat. I don't think Ive seen anyone make a clear mat before ? There's so many new surf mat design Ideas to explore. For the next Ultimat surf mat I'm experimenting with tapering the I beams to get a different rocker and nose lift. . As well as incorporating a Flexible Front Frame. . And a few other new surf mat design concepts... Stay tuned.

The Invisible Mat.

I thought it'd be cool to do a retro surf mat design with a twist. I'm making it from "Optical clarity" clear vinyl but the first problem is that its almost invisible. I cut up all the pieces and then I couldnt find one of the I-beams for 15 minutes because its completely clear. So I'm going to do the deck and hull in clear but do the internal beams in coloured material. Heres a photo but there's not a lot to see.... The cool part is that I will be able to see the water flow under the mat as I surf, paddling out I should be able to see under me like I was wearing a mask. I think there's a good idea in putting 'tell-tales' on the hull like they do on a sail to determine in which direction the flow is moving. . Im also testing all the intended materials to ensure theyre compatible with the glues.

Materials Testing.

Now not everyone tests the components before they build something, but I like to test various materials and then base my designs on the characteristics of the materials. Id like to find out how strong the 6mm corflute is before I use it to make a frame, and its clear that one layer isn't going to be strong enough. By using 3 or more layers glued together it should have vastly increased strength, rigidity and flexibility but it will be interesting to see the difference between a single and three layers in a basic test. Single layer of 6 mm. Snapped at 10.5 kg. 3 layers glued with pu glue. 50 kgs and only bending slightly. I think 3 layers will be suitable for this application. I don't test every bolt and screw but I like to know that what I build is dependable and that it works.

Back to the Future.....

Sometimes you need to go backwards to go forwards and so it is for design, there's always a new idea to follow of a new material to test but new things are best tested one step at a time. Originally the frames were made in epoxy with XPS and carbon fibre or 4/6/10 oz glass. But that build technique is slow and inexact due to the variations within the foam and glass. Better to find something already manufactured to a high standard that can be easily and affordably sourced. I thought I'd give ply a try with this mat. But plys not right. It has nice flex and will do the job but its heavy and sensitive to moisture. 5 pontoons, 4 I-beams, 2.5 inch thick, nothing tricky with the hull shape. What I need is a totally consistent product like a plastic, but even 3mm plastic gets heavy as you add it to the other components... Something plastic but mega light, some sort of engineering sheet that's internally stable. Something I can use for the frames as well as for internal hull springers, battens and my flexible I-beams (Tensairity) prototypes. Then I found architectural corflute. Light, uniform, flexible, uv stable, recyclable. Time to test it for suitability.

Inspiration and Due Diligence.

everyone looks for something that interests them, i just like all sorts of surfcraft and especially surfmats and their materials and construction. I took a mat and a bodyboard down to the surf and swapping back and forth confirms how quicker the mat is to accelerate but its slower to turn, less directional, and thats a shame for something thats so good at hitting top speed, but that speed is so conditional, why not take the best of various craft and combine them. but first try a whole lot of basic concepts to see what works, heres a few experimentals from 08 / 09 ... XPS and veneer vacced deck with single span 200D hull. Perimeter frame with single span 400D flexible deck and hull. theres plenty of inspiration and precedence for mixing hard and soft elements, and flexible inclusions... Stringers / springers / ribs and strakes. Makes me wonder how fast a windsurfer could plane with a flexible hull....maybe I'll try converting one too. Along with making and testing the prototypes theres always a need to take notes after each surf to log results and dimensions and doing conceptual drawings to visualise how components work together.. and then back to building... Materials testing for compatabilty.. SO the inspiration came from the mat itself and then theres been years of diligent thought, building, testing,refining, cursing and the odd moment of epiphany. I guess this is the way every mat builder started out....