PRESS RELEASE: 1st October 2019
Marine-i helps cutting-edge sailboard carve a new market
Waveblades, a Cornish company specialising in racing
sailboards, is planning to launch an innovative new product which should
outperform all other boards on the market. This venture is being supported by
Marine-i in the form of a £2,000 Rapid Innovation Grant.
Part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Marine-i is designed to help the marine tech sector in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly grow through harnessing the full potential of research and innovation.
Waveblades was founded by Bruce Keeping, who has been designing and building racing sailboards for more than 30 years. Bruce says:
“My racing sailboards have won world and national titles. To make a step change in the quality of manufactured boards, I plan to go into production using a moulded vacuum infusion system, based on the very latest technology, as well as a new, patented centreboard system.
“To construct these boards, we will use a production process that was developed for the aerospace industry, and adopted by the marine technology sector. We will be creating a raceboard, which is a type of sailboard for course racing, which has to be 3.8metres long that we hope is faster than anything yet seen around a course. I have already had expressions of interest from all around the world, including from former world champions and the UK champions.”
Matt Hodson of Marine-i says: “No racing sailboards have been manufactured in the UK for over 30 years. This exciting breakthrough by Waveblades has the potential to change that and create a dynamic new growth market for Cornwall’s marinetech sector, together with important new jobs.”
Bruce Keeping adds:
“We have had fantastic support from the Marine-i team. Their grant will enable us to proceed with the vital CAD drawings and 3D rendering we need to create a working prototype for testing.
“Our vision is to revolutionise the way that racing sailboards are manufactured, with a technology that could then be extended to other forms of marine craft – and beyond.”