ecoboardin at 2018 Surf Expo

I started attending Surf Expo and ICAST about 10 years ago.  Over that time period I have seen the slow but deliberate change in fishing kayaks and surf boards by  watermen and surfers.  Kayaks have truly been transformed to where the fishing kayak is today with amazing seats and all sorts of peddle / paddle drives.  Surfboards have not changed as dramatically as kayaks.  Surfboard materials like the foam cores, stringers, fins, and fiberglass have changed with time but the surfboard is still a shaped composite board with a curved up nose with one to three fins on the back.  Even Stand Up Paddle Boards (SUPs), which are very big surfboards that are wider and longer than your average surfboard, are constructed using the same components as surfboards. Instead of using the wave action action to propel the surfboard, a SUP rider uses a specially designed paddle. 

Radical innovation did not affect the SUP market until last year when BOTE rolled out their Rover. The Rover is a redesigned hopped SUP with a real cutout for a small out board motor.  In Europe a company called Aquanami has both a jet ski motor operated kayak and SUP.  They have not set up a distributorship here in the USA.  So where am I going with this.  

At this year's January Surf Expo a new exhibitor showed off their battery powered surf board. The company is ecoboardin. They are located in Fort Pierce, Florida.  At their booth I spoke with Carla Elicondo about their battery powered propulsion system in their innovative surf board.  They had a video running in the booth I could not take my eyes off of.  My bad I did not take a video of their long video.  Check out the short video clip from their website I posted today.  Ecoboardin has two models, the Carver and the Manta.  The list price is $5,390.00.  An extra battery costs $1,980.00.  These prices are good for each model.  The battery life for the Carver is 20 minutes at full speed.  But you can get more battery life at slower speeds. The Manta is designed for slower speeds.  The battery life for the Manta is about 2.5 hours.   I really like the concept. 

The price will not scare first adapters away because you can easily spend up to 5 grand on an extremely tricked out kayak. So why not spend that much on an electric powered surf board.  Only time will tell how the surfing market place reacts to this new surfing technology.  If the reaction is like what happened to kayak propulsion systems, hang on to your hat it will be a fun ride.  


Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.