Looks like it came out pretty good. Photo: JD Foil // YouTube
Say what you will about towing, but it will certainly get you into some waves. Ever since Darrick Doerner and crew strapped in during the ’90s, the big wave game has changed completely. Now, with the advent of foil boards, towing is changing the small-wave game, too.
However, one unavoidable problem always persisted: you need someone else to actually drive a ski for you. A skilled ski operator is an incredible boon to a surfer, but in their absence, you’re left with a limp rope in your hand.
Enter the tow boogie. Also known as eTows, they are small, radio-controlled watercraft with just enough oomph to drag a foiler behind them.
ETows haven’t quite hit the mainstream, yet (though they have already raised some eyebrows at various beaches), so the UK surf YouTuber James Dixon (YT handle JDFoiling) decided to get in on the action by making his own DIY version of one. His latest video documents version three of the build.
“I’ve spent quite a few months working on my third tow boogie using the odd hour here and there,” he described in the caption. “This is quite different to my others. It is a hard board. I repurposed and wing foil board. Almost everything is easily customizable. The battery box and motors are on 16-inch tracks. The masts are easy to switch out motors and cabling runs along cable ducts. Multiple mast angles and props are ready to try and this was just a test to check that the basic principle is sound. I’m happy to report it was a success. I will now spend the summer changing one thing at a time until I find the best setting for clean waves.”
