Bodyboards

The bodyboard differs from a surfboard in that it is much shorter and made of foam. The board consists of a foam 'core' encapsulated by a plastic bottom and a softer foam top known as the deck. The core is made up from dow/polyethylene, arcel or, more recently, polypropylene. Each type of foam gives the bodyboard a different amount of flex and control for the rider. Dow/polyethelene cores are best suited to cooler waters as they can be too flexible in warm water and the board does not flex properly. Most boards these days contain a wood stringer, to prevent flex in all water conditions. somestringers are made of carbon to prevent heavy weighted boards.Some bodyboards add one or two rods (usually of carbon) called stringers to strengthen the board, reduce deformation, and add stiffness and recoil to the core, giving greater speed from bottom turns. If a single stringer is used, it is placed in the center of the board running parallel to the rails. If two are used, they are placed symmetrically about the y-axis. Knowing the number of stringers and their placements is important to prevent damage to the board when punching a hole for a leash plug. Adding a stringer to a polypropylene/arcel core can make it too stiff for cool water. Speed is created when a bodyboarder bottom turns and the board flexes and recoils, releasing energy. If the board flexes too little or too easily, speed is lost.BodyboardingLike the surfboard, a bodyboard can be made with a stringer or two (usually constructed with carbon fiber and graphite in a hollow cylindrical shape) to further increase its stiffness. If one so desires, a skeg can be purchased and installed in about 1 minute. A skeg can minimize the looseness that is required for many tricks and this has led to a large decrease in the presence of skegs which are very rarely and almost exclusively used by drop-knee or stand-up bodyboarders.The top of the bodyboard (the deck) is made from a softer foam to give grip and cushioning to the rider, you put wax on the board to stay on it.Unlike a surfboard, bodyboards have no fin or skegs but most modern boards are equipped with channels that increase surface area in the critical parts of the board which, in turn allow it to have greater wave hold and control, the use of these channels also means that the tail of the board is free to move. Circa 2006 concave bottoms were being tested. These concave slicks are now available on boogieboard such as the NMD Winchester Ltd. '08, and appear to have been a great innovation.The shape of the bodyboard greatly affects how it works. If the wide point of the board is near the nose, the board is best suited to prone riding as the riders weight is further up on the bodyboarding. A board with a wide point near the middle of the board and a narrow nose is ideal for dropknee riding as the rider is further back when dropkneeing and a narrow nose makes the board behave more like a surfboard, making dropknee moves easier.