How to make your own Skimboard--Carson

 Supplies! 

● One piece of wood that is anywhere from 1.5-2.5 cm thick 

● Belt sander or hand sander 

● Your choice of woodcutting tool 

● Your choice of paint color(s) 

● Paintbrushes 

● A tarp or floor covering

 ● About ½ can of clear coat epoxy 

Making your skimboard 

1. Cut out your piece of wood anywhere from 1.5-2.5 cm thick in a shape large enough to comfortably ride on. Make sure you do not cut it too small. It is a lot easier to cut it big than cut more than it is to regenerate the wood. 

2. Sand the board, which should be cut out in a shape. Use coarse sandpaper to start and as you progress, get finer grade sandpaper. Sand the edges and corners very well to allow the board to have the gliding motion along the sand. Sand the board until there are no more rough edges and the wood is more or less smooth. 

3. (Recommended but optional) Once your board is sanded and smooth, decorate it, make it personal, and paint it with whatever you choose. These will all stay in pristine condition when you put the clear coat on and looks very clean. 

4. After your board is in the desired shape, begin to use the epoxy clear coat on the board by spreading it around with a paintbrush. This gives the board a sleek waterproof seal. The epoxy probably will ruin your paintbrush so do not use your favorite one.

 5. After the front side of your board is covered, make sure it is smooth and sleek. Then set it up against something with a tarp underneath so the epoxy can dry. The epoxy does take a while to dry. (optional - use a hairdryer or fan to dry the epoxy faster. Doing so will also limit the drip marks on your board)

 6. After side 1 is COMPLETELY dry, flip the board to the other side and cover with epoxy like what we did in step 4.

 7. After both sides are dry, grab your trusty sander again and CAREFULLY sand the rough spots of clear coat on your board. If you sand the coat too much, you will sand it all of the ways to the wood, which will make it fragile and volatile to decomposing. 

8. Head to the beach and try it out! (For beginners, see tutorial below) 

Part Two!!! How to skimboard!!!

 Supplies - 

● Your skimboard 

● Yourself

 ● A wave beach (probably a given)

 ● A camera to catch your epic footage!

 Skimboarding 

1. Bring your board to the edge of the beach and stand in the section of the beach where the very shallow water goes in and out with the waves. (Note - skimboarding is generally easier during the high tide) 

2. Once a nice wave comes and covers your standing area with about ankle-deep water, hold your board out in front of you and slowly toss it in front of you. The board should be parallel to the ocean. If you did the clear coat correctly, it should gently glide in front of you. 

3. Once the board is gliding, run up to it and place your feet and (the tricky part) jump gently onto the board and see how far you can get. Skimboarding takes a lot of practice and does hurt. You will fall a couple of times but remember to learn something each time you fall and you will get the hang of it. 

4. The goal for beginners is to be able to stay on the board until you reach the actual waves on the beach. For the skilled ones, you can angle your board straight at the waves and shift your feet when you hit the waves to turn and actually ride it like a surfboard. This is EXTREMELY difficult and yes, you will hurt yourself while learning)

 (Note - Skimboarding is about keeping your center of gravity on the center of the board while maintaining balance. If you are nervous, the best way to try to start is to take a leap of faith. Half jumping onto the board or doing so with one leg will DEFINITELY make you fall and embarrass yourself in front of your family and friends.)