DIY Boogie Board Float

[flying_spanner]

Hey there all.

Well it's been a productive weekend.

All my new gear I have purchased in the last 4 weeks is no longer Vergin-esque as Megan (my girlfreind), Mike (a mate from school), and Myself went for a snorkel in one of the sheltered wee bays 20 mins drive from where we live.

My Wild Blue wetsuit is great! It cost me (NZ)$200 and has most of the features of the $700 Picasso suit I was drooling over in the local dive shop.
SeaTrials.JPG
Here's a link for anyone who's interested in the specs. Wild Blue Weekend Warrior Green 5mm

My Sherwood Mako mask is super comfortable, and has a really wide feild of vision. It may have a larger internal volume than say an "Omer Alien" or similar, But it suits my needs.

So enough Bragging about all my new gear and get on with the real reason you're here looking at this post.

Today I've been making one of those boogie board floats. Below is a link to the website that has instructions on how to make the float, I basicaly just copied this but changed a couple of things to suit my needs better.
Rob Allen Spearguns, Freediving and Spearfishing Equipment

Here's the pics.
Float1.JPG
The mast for my flag is a tube of semi-flexi plastic that is the support out of the Bladder Fuel Tank from a McDonnell Douglass Skyhawk jet fighter!!! (My flatmate and I are aircraft engineers & have heaps of redundant aircraft parts at our disposal)
Float2.JPG
Here's the mast folded down and stowed for transport. It's held at it's base by a piece of 3mm bungy that allows the mast to be pulled from it's mount (the block of wood in the centre with the hole drilled in it), but still be attached.
I reckon the flames should make it go thru the water heaps faster!!!
Float3.JPG
Here's a pic of the underside showing the stainless steel swivel/clip with 20metres of floatline attached. The floatline can be purchased online from the link below. Nick the owner of the online store is very approachable and easy to deal with via email. Even if you're a green as grass newbie who knows nothing like me!!! (there you go Nick, there's you're free plug!!!)
- Floatlines

If anyone has any questions fire away. Next on the plans are Backpack straps like the Floatboard on the website link previously. And a custom made, Origon stock, spear gun to attach to the other end of my floatline. Watch this space .

[bgill]

Nice post and good links too! Awesome for a guy like me living on the cheap!

[foxfish]

Looks good flying_spanner I have cut a couple of notches near the front of my board so I can wrap the float line around the board. I find I can then tie off the line to suit the depth I am diving or shorten it right up when swimming hard.

[flying_spanner]

Originally Posted by foxfish

Looks good flying_spanner I have cut a couple of notches near the front of my board so I can wrap the float line around the board. I find I can then tie off the line to suit the depth I am diving or shorten it right up when swimming hard.

That's a really simple, yet brilliant idea that hadn't occured to me. I may "borrow" that idea too

[flying_spanner]

Originally Posted by bgill

Nice post and good links too! Awesome for a guy like me living on the cheap!

Don't get me wrong making this wasn't exactly cheap.

Board $19.99
Bungee Net $15.00
Flag $7.00
S/Steel Clips $14.00
Caribina's $12.00

Total $67.99

A commercialy made PVC (rigid) float with flag and stainless shark clip down at my local dive shop is only $69.00.

So why not save yourself the hassle and just buy the dead right thing from the local dive shop?

Well my Float-Board is a lot more usefull for shore dives as It serves a few more purposes than simply marking my position, like spares storage, get to surf back in at end of dive, Backpack to carry gear over rocks to water, etc etc.

Will it be too bulky to put in the boat? Yip, probably.

Next I can see myself buying/making another float that'll fit into my divebag, purely for boat diving.

Hope these ideas help someone & if anyone else out there has any other ideas that they have incorperated into their float-board post 'em (with pics) for all to see!!!!

[foxfish]

My dive line is a plastic coated washing line, stainless clips are expensive! Bungee cord is cheap as chips at the locale chandlers.

[swiman75]

Hello everyone. I am new to the Deeperblue.
Here is a pic. my board. Got a problem with the flag. Have not figure out how to keep the flag always on top of the board. Sometimes, the wind and wave flip the board over, and the flag goes under. It always make me nervous to not see the board when I surface.

[catman]

Ok so here are some pics of my board.

[Orangekiwi]

nice job flying spanner.
catman, what sort of boogie board is that you have got there?
I have been thinking of buying one of those insulated fish cooling bags you can buy to clip onto the back of a kayak. Attach this somehow on top of a boogie board and you have a "drip and leak" proof bag so that no fishy smelly things can drip into the water as they are kept inside the bag and kept cool. Will keep the bronzies away now that summer is approaching again.

[flying_spanner]

Originally Posted by swiman75

Hello everyone. I am new to the Deeperblue.
Here is a pic. my board. Got a problem with the flag. Have not figure out how to keep the flag always on top of the board. Sometimes, the wind and wave flip the board over, and the flag goes under. It always make me nervous to not see the board when I surface.

I think I may have an answer to this problem. A lead keel attached to underside of board under the flag.

Take 1 oblong (1" by 2.5") dive weight. Drill two 5mm holes right through the weight, aswell as through the board. 2 long stainless bolts with nuts, a couple of washers and Bob's you're uncle, Betty's you're aunt!!!!

I'll post some pics of mine once I've done this Mod.

Please note: this idea is also "borrowed" this time from my flatmate who's also an engineer and much smarter than I .

[swiman75]

Originally Posted by flying_spanner

I think I may have an answer to this problem. A lead keel attached to underside of board under the flag.

Take 1 oblong (1" by 2.5") dive weight. Drill two 5mm holes right through the weight, aswell as through the board. 2 long stainless bolts with nuts, a couple of washers and Bob's you're uncle, Betty's you're aunt!!!!

I'll post some pics of mine once I've done this Mod.

Please note: this idea is also "borrowed" this time from my flatmate who's also an engineer and much smarter than I .

Sounds like a great idea, thx. I mean, the DIY part... not the relative part...

Nice to know fellow freediver from aviation industry also. Thanks also to your engineer friend for the original idea.

[deep thinker]

Ive actually thought about this also, for my one I made a while back. Problem with fitting weights to the u/s is it gives kelp a place to tangle on. If you dive in heavily kelped water where it makes a canopy on the survace your gonna have trouble dragging the float through the kelp...

[catman]

OrangeKiwi, this board was completly made from scratch using insulating boards kown as "roofmate" or "floormate" , these were shaped to look like a boogie board but a bit longer. Size is lentgh 100cm width 60cm. Them they were coverede with epoxi resin and fiberglass mat.

[foxfish]

They are nice boards catman, you obviously went to a lot of work to get what you wanted.

[catman]

Yeap it took me a almost a full month from start to finish. Here is a link from another site with more pictures. (its written in portuguese)
http://www.submerso.net/verartigo.ph...dulo=Bricolage