Motorized surfboards are not exactly new inventions. In fact, they date back as early as 1935. Even iconic surfboard pioneer Hobart “Hobie” Alter screwed an outboard motor to one of his surfboards. So when we spotted this fun video from the Speed Society Facebook page – the short edit showing an elongated wakeboard or stubby surfboard brapping across a lake, we were both impressed and not terribly surprised. In fact, we’ve introduced you to the Jetsurf before.
This particular Jetsurf board – the Factory – has a thruster fin setup, which we found fascinating since wakeboards are usually flat bottomed. The fins give a rider more hold when riding waves and this board was ridden on flat water and the wakeboarder was able to pull some killer hand drag cutbacks with the three fins helping him hold his edge, just like a surfer riding waves.
Of course, since the Jetsurf board is powered by a tiny 100cc 2-stroke plant developed by MSR Engines, the Factory board was operated via a hand-held throttle/starter combination mounted to the blunt-nosed board. That’s what was used to crank the 2-stroke engine to a maximum 8,000rpm. All in all, it was a crafty set up and looked reasonably easy to ride.
The clip showed the rider cranking the board with the hand held throttle on the dock after dunking it in the water. It’s fast on the take off and appeared to hold a fast pace while being ridden. Even though it looks fun, it’s still not something many might question seeing in the lineup while surfing.
