The project started with envisioning a new look of a kiteboard built by Sean Poole from a couple of years ago. Briefing me on exactly what he wanted in the updated design brought some new challenges. Factors taken into consideration would be that the board will be; planing at high speeds across the water surface as the wind propels the kite into a forward direction. Surfing allows the wave to push the surfer forward onto the planing surface of the board. In this case being pulled onto the planing surface of the water would pose different design aspects.
Pictured above are some previous versions; with a noteworthy design feature of the black board
which has two adjustable poles attached on top to change the cant of the fins during a
session.
Sean is a 3D printing professional (https://provolution.co.za/). When I was approached take part in this build, he insisted in building his own fins. With years of experience in working with resins and vacuum bagging, Sean decided to try a new method of printing the molds from plastic, which can be recycled and used for new molds.
The fin below was an experiment; to build a fin that was strong and could be printed easily. There were some problems with the foiling of the fin so we decided to change that with the new designs. Building fins this way is great as it can be recycled from old milk bottles and reprinted until the fin is perfect.
