
A jetboard is a motorized surfboard, where the rider controls the speed using a handheld remote control (wireless ot tethered) and uses the bodyweight transfer to maneuver the board. The driveline typically consists of a water jet module (similar to what is found in a
PWC
PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...
), and either a combustion engine or a battery powered electrical motor.
Use
Jetboards remove the difficulties of conventional surfboards as they can be ridden without wind or waves. There is also no need for paddling, as the boards can be ridden at the touch of a button. Compared to traditional surfing, jetboarding can be easily learned and allows the user to become proficient in a short time. This makes this water sport suitable for a large audience of different physical conditions, ages, experience levels and riding styles. In addition, jetboarding can take place on lakes, rivers, canals, seas and oceans alike, making it further accessible to larger groups of people. In addition to private ownership, rental operations are becoming available at places resorts and boating hotspots. In addition, jetboards are also becoming a popular choice as toys for yachts, sailing boats and catamarans.
Alongside other electrically powered board embodiments, such as
efoils, jetboards are gaining in popularity worldwide and are poised to become a permanent addition to traditional
water sports
Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
.
History
Motorized surfboards have existed as hobbyist projects in various designs since at least the 1930’s, originally in the shape of regular wooden surfboards with small engines attached. In the 1960’s, the first commercially marketed jetboards were launched. The
Jet Board
Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to:
Aerospace
* Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines
** Jet airliner
** Jet engine
** Jet fuel
* Jet Airways, an Indian airline
* Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline
* Journey to Enceladu ...
, developed by Alfred Bloomingdale, is perhaps the most well-known. While it contains several features prominent in today’s keyboards (such as a magnet leash kill-switch), it can be discussed whether the product was in fact a jetboard, seeing as its main purpose was to relieve a surfer of the paddling part of wave surfing. Another inventor, George Carter, introduced his product
Surfjet
In hydroflight sports, a jetboard is a device that uses water propulsion as its means of flying above the surface of any body of water. In jetboarding, the athlete is standing in wakeboard
Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, st ...
in the same year.
Development of various motorized surfboards continued throughout the twentieth century, but it wasn’t until electrification was introduced in the 2010’s, that jetboards started to become relatively widespread. By means of electrical
DC motors
A DC motor is any of a class of rotary electrical motors that converts direct current (DC) electrical energy into mechanical energy. The most common types rely on the forces produced by induced magnetic fields due to flowing current in the coi ...
and rechargeable
lithium-ion batteries
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also see ...
, companies like Radinn, Lampuga, Jetsurf and Onean have been developing jetboards that are much easier to maintain and use, compared to their combustion engine ancestors, in addition to becoming very powerful and fast
Competition
Since 2012, jetboarding races has been organized by the MotoSurf World Cup, based in
Czechia
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...
. In the competitions, petrol powered and electric jetboards compete in separate classes.
Current Jetboard Brands
*Radinn
*Awake
*Jetsurf
*Onean
*Mako
*Esurf
*Lampuga
*Torque
*Ewave
*YuJet
*Waveshark
[https://www.waveshark.com/us/]
Historical Jetboard Brands
*Surf-Jet
*
Jet Board
Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to:
Aerospace
* Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines
** Jet airliner
** Jet engine
** Jet fuel
* Jet Airways, an Indian airline
* Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline
* Journey to Enceladu ...
(draft)
*PowerSki
*Magic Surf
See also
*
Personal watercraft
A personal watercraft (PWC), also called water scooter or jet ski, is a recreational watercraft that a rider sits or stands on, not within, as in a boat. PWCs have two style categories, first and most popular being a runabout or "sit down" whe ...
*
Efoil
*
Electric skateboard
An electric skateboard is a personal transporter based on a skateboard. The speed is usually controlled by a wireless hand-held throttle remote or rider body weight-shifting between front of the board for forward motion and rear for braking. As f ...
References
{{reflist
Surfing equipment