Making Mats --- The Flying Vee - Mat.

Theres always a new way of doing things, new technology, new materials but it all starts with a new idea, a new concept, a different way of looking at things. Ive always seen the mat as a bit of an undiscovered gem, something that almost everyone has had a go on but few linger to plumb the depths of its potential and every time I ride a mat I think , maybe theres more to discover here..especially with the design and then the performance. First up is the obvious outline, why does a mat have to be rectangular ?, it would be the only surfcraft I can (quickly) think of that doesnt have a curved outline, yet the outline dictates so much of a crafts performance. I looked at how some mats are made using a heat welding machine and theres a lot of heating elements and temperature guages connected to a metal heating bar and I guess it would be a lot of work to make 50 different versions to be able to do custom shapes. So maybe the outline of a mat is more about the constraints of the machinery than the physical possibilities. The Flying Vee Mat is just one concept that has brought about a different way of making mats, I wanted to get rid of the flaps around the perimeter of the standard mat, I dont like the way they look, they dont do anything but theyre a product of the heat welding process and no more. But how to remove them without altering the integrity of the mats strength...? Simple, turn the mat inside out. Its amazing it hasn't been done before. Heres the Flying Vee with the i-beams installed on one side.... So with the deck and hull sides against each other, now weld, or glue an inch perimeter around the top and sides. The mechanical difference between this technique and the Flaps Out technique is zero, both are based on "peel strength" but it matters nought whether the bond is outside the mat or inside.