MyPaipoBoards Forums

I live close to lake Michigan and they surf in quite a few locations. I would like to build a Paipo to bodyboard surf. Is there a very big diff in floatation between salt and fresh? How would one compensate and how much? .Thickness, width, Im 6' 220 and hope you can guide me a bit. It would seem that foam and glass would give more float. These would be wind driven waves and at times swell from a approaching storm or a storm leaving waves 2-6' off of a sandbar.thanks there sure is a lot of info here.

As a reference point what size of boogie board suits you ?

Floatability might be 10 percent less but that is only part of the story since you are trying to catch waves and drag becomes more pronounced. People ride a large variety of boards on the paipo forums so it might be challenging to sort out the answers. Generally speaking, woodies are not floaters and foam/fiberglass boards are floaters and boogie boards float even more. I am making wide and deep generalizations here so please, no flame fest!

I ride a 50 inch board with variations in thickness and width. For the more powerful waves I like something around 19-7/8 to 20 inches wide and 2 inches thick. For every day East Coast surf my board of choice is 20-1/2 inches wide and around 2-1/2 inches thick. For riding Great Lakes waves which tend to be shorter period, weaker waves I would probably want a 21 inch wide and 2-3/4 inch thick board. I could also be convinced to try a 22 inch by 20-1/4 inch board.

Several folks are riding much longer and wider boards as you will see when browsing the forums and some of the Paipo Interviews. If you have to paddle out through a lot of white water you might want a less buoyant board. If you have ridden different sized boogie boards then you might have an idea which way you want to proceed.

I surfed in Italy a coule of years ago. What was noticeable was the lack of power on the shoulder once you got away from the peak. I'd agree, more floation and/or wider tail.

Have you launched any new paipo up there in TC yet? I saw yr post a few weeks ago, but due to time and technical difficulties, haven't been able to comment. I'm in Grand Rapids and generally ride anywhere from South Haven to Muskegon depending on swell direction.

Even though flotation is a factor you can still catch waves with about anything. My main paipo is made from a piece of douglas fir plywood coated with spar varnish. It's about 20"w by 46"l off the top of my head. My feet/fins do most of the work catching waves. FYI I usually do a sort of side stroke for paddling out, holding the board with one hand then grabbing on with both to duck dive - all in all a very "refreshing" experience.