Skimboard Guide

When skimboarding, sometimes referred to as skimboarding or just skimming, you glide with a special skimboard on a thin film of water. In order for the sliding condition to be achieved, a certain minimum speed of the board is required, which is achieved by a corresponding start-up. How long the glide, or the ride lasts, depends essentially on the initial speed, the water level and the weight of the user and the size of the skimboard.

There are two types of ski-boarding. The so-called Flatlandskimboarding is practiced in shallow water, for example, in the shores of waters or even in larger puddles. Skilled skimmers combine flatland skimboarding with skateboarding tricks.

The second type of skimboarding is wave or shorebreakskimboarding. The goal here is to surf back to the shore on waves. However, this type of ski-boarding is quite difficult and not very common in our area. For beginners, flatland skimboarding is easier to learn and more suitable.

Suitable for beginners and advanced alike is the JUCKER HAWAII skimboard OHANA made of wood. Especially for beginners, the Idena is suitable skimboard made of wood with a length of 104 cm.

The right thing skimboard for flatland and waveskimboarding

On skimboard is usually between 90 and about 130 inches long. The width ranges from 40 to 60 centimeters. As a rule of thumb, the heavier and bigger the skimboard user is, the larger the board must be.

Waveskimboarding recommends longer and more voluminous boards. Due to the larger buoyancy, the „ride“ in and on a wave is easier. Skimboards for this type of skimming usually have a foam core and are relatively light in relation to their size.

For flatland skimboarding smaller skimboards with a length of about 100 cm are used. Due to the wood core often used on these boards, they are comparatively heavy. Very simple boards even consist entirely of compressed and glued plywood. On more expensive boards, the core is made of wood, which is additionally covered with fiber-reinforced plastic. These boards are much more durable and offer the user better driving characteristics.

An advanced skimboard is the Skim One Skimboard Pro 37 “ made of wood. Almost designed for specialists and suitable is the Surf Quest Skimboard 93cm with kicktail straight from the USA.

If the outer lining of a skimboard wears off over time, the board may be damaged. Often, however, the dealers or manufacturers offered a relatively inexpensive repair service, which can be worthwhile especially for high-quality boards. Before use, the skimboard is rubbed with a special wax, which makes the surface less slippery and thus provides the feet with a better grip. Because of the small size and low weight, all skimboards are very good for taking on vacation.