W
s d r a o b e k a Megan Ashley Shagott
Prepared for Professor Peter Fossick
IDUS 431
Winter 2009
What is Wakeboarding? Scope Research Focus Final Solution
? ! ? T A WH
Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water behind a boat.
Scope
Through a research and human factors intensive design process, develop a high performance wakeboard. The wakeboard should fill a gap in the current market and provide product opportunities through mass customization and material choices. The wakeboard must be durable and attractive and must be able to perform up to the standards of professional competitive wakeboarders.
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Competitive Brands
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Whats HOT right now?
Rocker Lines Adjustable Fins New Materials Flex Innovative Edges Width
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Design Oppurtunities After looking at each brand and discovering strengths and weaknesses, I found design opportunities in weight versus rocker line as well as board shaping and branding
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Materials and Manufacturing Currently most boards are produced from a foam “blank� which is CNCed to the correct shape and then fitted with wooden runners. Graphics are then applied to the board and it is glassed and pressed in a mold to obtain correct shape and thickness. Finally holes are drilled for fins and bungs.
Market Opportunity
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Wakeboarding has grown steadily since about 1990. Wakeboarding like most extreme sports in considered as not just an activity but a lifestyle. As riders and equipment improve the sport will continue to expand.
$15.7 billion spent annually in the recreational boating industry
h c r a e s Re While such sports as fishing and skiing have declined 9.4% and 2% respectively in the past ten years, motorboating sports have grown 4.7%.
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Users
Social Boarder
Participates once or twice a year Rents equipment or buys “cheap� board (under $150-250) Wakeboards for the fun on the sport
Weekend Wally
Goes wakeboarding 3-7 times a year Owns mid level board ($250-450) Mostly just participates for fun but occasionally participates in a competition
Professional/Competitive Boarder Wakeboards multiple times a month Owns at least one high level board ($450+) Spends a lot of time participating in competitions
The sport is 87% male but female participation is rapidly increasing
User Bios
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Harley
Age 15 High School Grade 10 Wakeboards for fun but hopes to compete in the future Enticed into the sport after seeing it on television and the internet Interested in going fast, adrenaline rushes, surf shops, surf/wake clothing, girls, fast cars, video games, loud music
Amber
Age 22 College Senior Competes on her collegiate team Dad was a professional waterskier so she grew up on the water but turned to wakeboarding in her early teens and never looked back Interested in marine biology, competing at the X-games, outdoor sports, beating the boys
Shawn
Age 33 World Ranked Professional One of the originals in the sport. An older professional who is looking to be able to keep an edge on the younger athletes Interested in improving the sport of wakeboarding, custom hot rods, the surf lifestyle
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Target Market
Based on research and surveys, my target market is users between the ages of 15 and 30. These users are advanced to professional riders. They know what features they want in their boards and what features work the best for them.
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3D Exploration To better understand the form, function and manufacture of wakeboards, I went straight into 3D development. After researching board size requirements and measuring my test riders, I built a functioning 141 size board out of pink insulation foam, ash wood, fiberglass and epoxy.
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3D Exploration
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Prototype One Glamour Shots
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User Testing After the board was completed, it was put to the test. Three riders of different skill levels, a professional, a mid level rider and a beginner, all tested out the board.
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User Testing
Findings
Focus
V-Hull • • •
Higher ride Smoother ride Faster ride
Light-weight + rolled edges
“The sickest ride I’ve ever had.” -Jono
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extra agility extra speed extra pop
Design Opportunities Post ride interviews revealed that the design features I had chosen were a successful combination. Certain features like the fins could be tweaked to provide the perfect ride.
“The board rides really smooth and high on the water. The fins tracked well, almost too well.” -Randy
There are opportunities in weight reduction, construction, materials as well as board features.
Design Constraints Lightweight for speed and agility Hybrid rocker for pop Durable Flex for shock absorption and pop Customizable
2D Graphic Ideation
Focus
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Product Features • Dual axis V-hull - provides a smoother, higher ride as well as shock absorbency • Hybrid rocker line - superior pop • Rolled edges - higher ride on the water, superior speed • Aggressive fins - provide good tracking and control • Ultra light weight - superior pop and aerial agility • Superior flex
Provides users with the best experience possible through superior performance, features not offered by other brands and customization. • • • •
High performance material choices EVA and ADAM product lines featuring ANGELkore Superior manufacturing (combination of machine and hand processes) High performance features (dual axis V-hull, rocker lines, rolled edges, aggressive fins, ultra light weight, superior flex) Graphic customization
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Product Features ANGELkore • High performance foam and wood (Ash, Hickory, Oak) • Wood choices depend on availability as well as harvest conditions, the best wood choice is applied to every board
EVA and ADAM Product Lines • Range of prices • EVA - ANGELkore wrapped in fiberglass (lower price range) • ADAM - ANGELkore wrapped in Carbon Fiber or Carbon Kevlar or Dacron (higher price range)
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Manufacturing Process ANGELkore • Wood cut and veneered to shape • Foam “blanks” CNCed to desired shape • Foam and wood veneered together Composite Shell • Graphics applied • Composite choice layed up on core • Board vacuum bagged to bring out styling as well as remove extra resin (improves weight, smoothness of hull and flex)
Through a combination of manufacturing, technology and service, the user is provided with the best ride and user experience possible. As wakeboarding is not just a sport, but a lifestyle, the ability to fully customize a board beyond simple stickers is an important selling point in the market. Varying price points as well as proprietary technology will allow the company to corner many different sectors of the market.
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Color Palate
Specs
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2.17
8.14
7.69
54.50
17.51
2.13
8.37
1.37
25.51
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Internal and External Construction
Internal Construction
Wood
Foam blank CNCed to Shape
Externall Construction Option A: Fiberglass and epoxy exterior Option A: Carbon Kevlar and epoxy exterior
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Rhino Models
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Rhino Models
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Rhino Models
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F
Physical Model Rolled Edge Hybrid Rocker
Reduced Weight
Dual Axis V-Hull
Improved Flex
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Physical Model
Physical Model
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Hybrid Rocker Line
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Physical Model
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Physical Model
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Physical Model
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Physical Model
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Physical Model
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Physical Model