Theory: build a river rapid

**garebear** · 06-27-2007, 01:49 PM

This surfaced in my head today and I was wondering if anyone else had tried it or given it thought.
Since it's been proven river rapids can be ridden with a surfboard, I was wondering if it was possible to create your own rapid by hand in a small river. If the natural river was big + fast enough, and you dug a ditch perpendicular to the river flow and built a mound up behind it... I wonder...
Any ideas on how to go about constructing something like this?

**pbjef99** · 06-27-2007, 02:30 PM

sounds cool

**MattSkimz** · 06-27-2007, 02:50 PM

re-route the river, then make wat u want out of rock or whatever, then let the water flow. make the bottom in a way so it makes a standing wave

**joemotocross06** · 06-27-2007, 03:20 PM

make a dirtbike jump under the water so youll have a 20ft wave haha.. but kinda make a miniture one maybe 3-5' and then reroute some of the water

**beachbum** · 06-27-2007, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by joemotocross06

make a dirtbike jump under the water so youll have a 20ft wave haha.. but kinda make a miniture one maybe 3-5' and then reroute some of the water

good idea...NOT. this isnt motorcross noob. dirt wouldnt work, but if you can get rocks to work right, it seems possible with some effort.

**joemotocross06** · 06-27-2007, 04:24 PM

rocks would hurt

**kyle447** · 06-27-2007, 04:44 PM

like a standing wave

**beachbum** · 06-27-2007, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by joemotocross06

rocks would hurt

well thats what rapids are. of course natural ones are eroded smooth...but rushing water + dirt doesnt work...it gets washed away in a minute.

**joemotocross06** · 06-27-2007, 04:53 PM

tarp?

**SDSkim** · 06-27-2007, 04:57 PM

no

**mikal calvino** · 06-27-2007, 05:00 PM

build a dam to re-route the river, dig a ditch and pile up rocks behind it, cover with a padded mat somehow, and remove the dam. might work.

if its not powerful enough to keep you afloat, you can tie a rope to a tree almost like a wake board... and just skim against the current, ive seen it done before if the waters fast enough.

**pboon** · 06-27-2007, 05:10 PM

joemotocross06 = many noob comments in this thread

**joemotocross06** · 06-27-2007, 06:45 PM

at least i try and answer the question instead of saying ppl are noobs

**LiveToSkim** · 06-27-2007, 06:46 PM

seems like too much work in my opinion and it may take a long time to get the result you want,
but if you were to make one, that would be sickkk

**Chrith** · 06-27-2007, 07:01 PM

Originally Posted by joemotocross06

at least i try and answer the question instead of saying ppl are noobs

so answering questions without real answers is helping

**bhassan** · 06-27-2007, 07:06 PM

I don't think damming up the river is a good idea. I don't think the village or city reps would like it too much, and by the way of the river current is strong enought to make waves, it would be strong enough to sweep away whatever you put in its path. If you really wanted to, get one of those current pools, that you swim against, and put a plank infront of it so it would make waves.

**idrathrbskimmin** · 06-27-2007, 07:07 PM

you should try it

**Duffskim** · 06-27-2007, 07:25 PM

this sounds like one of those things where:

if you fail, you will look like the biggest dumbass
if you succeed, you will be concidered a god. Good luck though. i do hope it works out for you

as far as construction, i think the way you would make a wave is by sending the moving water up an incline and into a sudden drop off. if the the water speed is right and the incline is right , then you may get a wave at the top. thats just my guess

**bhassan** · 06-27-2007, 07:29 PM

Just get a bunch of bags of cement and dump them in the river. Eventually they will dam up the river. Maybe

**MC372** · 06-27-2007, 07:43 PM

that would be sick post if it works

**GHskim16** · 06-27-2007, 11:12 PM

omg im stoked to see some one do this in the future. hope it turns out.

**MattSkimz** · 06-28-2007, 12:16 AM

haha. so pretty much everyone said what i said in the first place. lovin it ^_^

oh and about the dam, thats y i said RE ROUTE it, instead od blocking it. plus u couldnt rly block acurrent that stong yurself anyways..

**goofyboots** · 06-28-2007, 12:31 AM

**noah lane** · 06-28-2007, 02:28 AM

that looks fun.

and a stand wave would not be that hard to build. but good luck finding a river where you can construct it.

**beachbum** · 06-28-2007, 05:35 AM

yeh thats another big issue. you cant have some insanely wide river...and it needs to have a really strong flow. more along the lines of a stream or a river with rushing rapids.

i believe this thread was inspired because of that video you saw (one posted above). those currents are really strong and it looks like the river flows thru some dam like structure.

**Kuhnsey** · 06-28-2007, 08:18 AM

can anyone else name more standing wave spots, besides the one in Germany?

**BDirty** · 06-28-2007, 08:21 AM

Major project....need big equipment.

**$ilky $kim** · 06-28-2007, 08:26 AM

Unless you are both a geologist and an engineer I wouldn't waste my time. There are so many reasons this seems like an impossible dream. One has been said, if the river is strong enough to make a standing wave it will take all the shit you put in it's path downstream. Or it could just dig channels in the earth around the artifical dam you made over night, since water takes the path of least resistance and all. So two most likely scenarios are bags of cement being pushed downstream, or bags of cement with a new wider river around them.

**DrM08** · 06-28-2007, 09:05 AM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TRJ5gfzWKks

on the beach at Waimea

**garebear** · 06-28-2007, 09:58 AM

yah i'll see what happens. it'll definitely take a lot of planning and tests, but i'm out of school so i have a lot of time on my hands. if it works ill def post pics and maybe vid. if i fail then ill just keep driving 2.5 hours to dewey.