Softtops are the boards most surf schools use, because they are easy to learn on. They break often, existing repairs work poorly and there is no plan for their end of life, so within a surf school they last only two to three years before they are resold and eventually incinerated.
Co-designed with surf schools, Tides takes ownership of the boards away from the schools and uses their subscription fees to maintain them. During the season, from April to October, schools fix damage themselves with repair patches; after the season the boards are repaired professionally in a dry workshop. The patches became working prototypes, tested at three surf schools for two months. Tides was Merlijn’s graduation project at TU Delft, and funding from Sportinnovator and ZonMw lets him continue it.
