Electric Tow Boogie

Cool project by a friend of @pacificmeister
Anyone can tell which motor he’s using?

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A small potted outrunner, something like a 63xx. I was surprised it had the power… and even more surprised that this motor has been exposed to salt water for 1.5 years without post-flushing and still works even though the can and magnets are pretty corroded.

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Thanks for sharing!
Yeah, that motor definitely seemed a bit too corroded to me, I guess I’m going for a potted outrunner on my build because of the price and simplicity, however I’m not too sure about the safety aspect…

I have seen this for waterskiers too.

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Cool idea! Could be a lot of fun

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Awesome!

The water here is always super choppy so that would make it hard to use. But, really cool idea!

Love it.

:call_me_hand:

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Wicked ! Correct me if I’m wrong, as the 20usd remote is too simplistic, it’s with the handle connected to the long tail by two yellow cords that he can change direction, right ?
Another way could be using a two-line kiteboarding bar and a harness.

Could go in waves/shop with some ballast down the mast in the pod…

We remember Freefly drone surfing as early as summer 2016, and Casey Neilstat as a Santa snowsurfer-flyer during Xmas 2016 :wink:
Amazon pretends in 2020 to have patended the drone surfing activity for water and snow as early as 2016.

[Edit] Following PM explanation about how a foilboarder controls its direction, we won’t need a remote with joystick, just a 0-100% linear trigger :wink:
u-safe

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Just a single cord. Steering is done by riding to the outside of the curve you want to take and therefore pivoting the tow boogie with the extended pole in back. Cool idea and Mike has precise control over steering.

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So to turn right you have to make the board turn left first. Very logical but that’s a few things to unlearn !
Was thinking that to preserve your head, two such devices cannot use the same stretch of water or cords must be kept to a minimum. How low can that be, has he tested different cord lengths in 18 month time ?

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This is an awesome project! It looks much easier to build than the efoil, and it looks like I can use my large kite-wing. Is it possible to get some more design details? I would totally like to build this. Thanks!!

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Reminds me of this:

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Please more details!

Awesome project !!! Any idea of how much power was used ?

You do not need any fancy remote.
Just a thumb gas on the handle, wired or wireless.
Both hands on the handle and you can enjoy the ride, like towed by a (manned) boat.

Keep it simple.

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Published: 11:44 BST, 18 May 2014
Boarder glides across lake at 25mph using hand-held electric jet engine

There was also this multi fan attempt which would have worked better on a foil. A picture that obvioulsy inspired Marc Lagarde with his SuperNova project (battery in a back pack).

image

Used with a harness in the patent:

JET ENGINE ELECTRIC THRUSTER

  • Energy: Converts 30kw electrical energy into a combination of heat and thrust
  • Efficiency: 78 per cent energy efficiency, compared to 15% in a normal jet engine
  • Engines: Four with 10hpw, each turning at 30,000rpm
  • Top speed: 50mph, with 200mph exit wind velocity
  • Battery life: Ten minutes
  • Thrust: 110lbs
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what a great simple idea. would adding a rudder slow this down too much for the tow?

That seems like a pretty poor idea for a surfboard propulsion system. Several pretty huge issues that make this a no go for me:

  1. I don’t want to be anywhere near that thing when the impellers spinning in the air make contact with the water!
  2. Crashing into the water with a 30lbs battery anchor (and/or enough flotation added to it to keep me bouyant) strapped to my back sounds like a pretty rough way to enjoy the spin cycle of an overhead wave.
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I do agree with you on both points. Complicated, dangerous, heavy and… inefficient.
Just to illustrate another way to create a traction.
We have to keep in mind that this idea was developed 10 years ago.

Are there any STL files for the mount/mini-mast around?

I made a motor mount for the 80100 motor a while back that is very similar. You print it in 2 parts; the main body and motor mount plate. You put the socket head Allen bolts (to hold the motor) into the motor mount plate, without attaching the motor. Then bolt the plate onto the main body with M6 bolts and tighten. Then put on the motor and put an Allen key through the holes at the front to tighten the motor. There is room inside to route the cables up to the board too.

You have to route the wires through both parts before bolting the motor mount plate to the main body.

You could also adjust it for other motors.

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