BUILDING SKIMBOARDING RAILS

Since the start of creating rails for skimboarding there has been a lot of progression in the
way they are made. We have been building rails and ramps for the last six years in which time we have made almost every variation of rail and have used almost every material under the sun. Since the release of photos and videos, I have received countless emails over the years from people all over the skimboarding world asking how they should go about building a ramp or rail for skimboarding. I am usually lost as to how to explain the process as it has been something that just sort of came with the progression of the sport. Most of our rails have no blueprint other than some scratched notes the back of a napkin so it makes it very difficult for me to explain each individual ramp or rail.

The early stages of rail building was very straight forward involving many night prowls to construction sites to obtain a long pvc pipe to drag out to the beach.  The pvc was then proped up by a log or various other objects in order to acheive the disired height.  Before pvc or any other polymer based materials were incorporated into skimboarding there was the classic driftwood rails.  Logs made for great rails for the convenience of not having to bring them to the spot and after sitting in the water for long enought they generally would be quite slick so they could be slid with ease.  Knots and splinters could make for some interesting bails and the trueness of the new age skim rails put a limit on what tricks could be performed while sliding on a log.

While the idea of having a diagram of every obstacle we've built would definitely add to the content of this website it would also effect the creativity of rails and the methods of building. If you have a novel concept on building a rail we will be more than happy to take your diagrams and post them on our site. We hope this resource helps to assist in the development of our sport in all areas of the world.

Enjoy