Wave Loch
 Company Logo |
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| Industry | Water attraction manufacturer |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1981 |
| Founder(s) | Tom Lochtefeld |
| Headquarters | 210 Westbourne Street, La Jolla, California, 92037, United States |
| Area served | Product Installations Worldwide |
| Products | FlowBarrel, FlowRider |
| Website | Official Website |
Wave Loch Inc. is a water ride manufacturing company responsible for such water rides as the FlowBarrel and FlowRider in addition to Wave House franchises. The company also founded the increasingly popular board sport flowboarding.
Contents |
[edit] History
During the 1980s, Tom Lochtefeld was a partner in the development of Raging Waters water parks in the United States. Here he discovered his ambition to build a water park attraction to simulate the riding of waves in the ocean. In 1988, a patent was taken out on the concept of a sheet wave - the basis of most of Wave Loch's rides. After several years trying to model the perfect wave, the first FlowRider opened in 1991 at the Schlitterbahn in Texas. This was followed by the first FlowBarrel at the Summerland Resort in Norway two years later. Throughout the 1990s Lochtefeld then worked with several skateboarders, surfers and snowboarders to develop the best boards and techniques to ride the sheet wave attraction. In 1999, Wave Loch built the first portable FlowBarrel unit which has since travelled around the world.[1]
[edit] Products
[edit] FlowBarrel
[edit] Description
The FlowBarrel is designed to be a perfect tubing wave. There are three different varieties available for different budgets and different capacities: FlowBarrel Five, FlowBarrel Ten, FlowBarrel Ten Double. The main difference between the versions is the theoretical capacity ranging from 160 to 480 riders per hour. Both the FlowBarrel Ten and FlowBarrel Ten Double are only sold as part of a Wave House venture.[2] Despite what model is chosen, a 2-inch (5 cm)-thick wave is pumped at a speed of 30 mph (48 km/h) over the fixed, foam-padded surface.[3][4][5]
[edit] Installations
- Wave House Durban
- Wave House San Diego
- Wave House Santiago
- Wave House Sentosa (Singapore)
- Wave House Zaragoza[6]
[edit] FlowRider
[edit] Description
The FlowRider was Wave Loch's original venture. It features a slightly sloped wave surface that generates a smooth "barrel-less" wave. Like the FlowBarrel, the FlowRider comes in various models: FlowRider Junior, FlowRider Single, FlowRider Double, FlowRider Mobile and FlowRider Wave-in-a-Box. Again, the main differences are capacity and space requirements.[7][8][9][10][11]
[edit] Installations
There are currently more than 100 FlowRider installations around the globe, including seven units on Royal Caribbean cruise ships. A full list of installations can be found on the Wave Loch website.[6][12] Wave Loch also has a truck-based mobile unit that can be moved.
[edit] Equipment
[edit] Bodyboard
Both the FlowBarrel and the FlowRiders use slightly modified bodyboards. The edges have been rounded to enhance manoeuvrability.[13]
[edit] FlowBoard
Stand up flowboards are constructed like wakeboards: A foam core wrapped with fiberglass, but with a soft Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) edge to offer protection. Some flowboards come with footstraps, while some flowboarders prefer to ride unstrapped. Flowboards range in length from: 38 to 47 inches (970–1,200 mm)[14][15][16]; and in width from 280 to 356 millimetres (11–14 in)[citation needed]. They weigh between 1.4 and 2.8 kilograms (3.1 and 6.2 lb)[citation needed].
[edit] References
- ^ Wave Loch (June 23, 2010). "Wave Loch - A short history of Wave Loch and Wave House & Surfing Machines". Wave Loch. http://www.waveloch.com/history. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
- ^ Wave House
- ^ Wave Loch (June 23, 2010). "FlowBarrel Five". Wave Loch. http://www.waveloch.com/attraction/flowbarrel-five. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
- ^ Wave Loch (June 23, 2010). "FlowBarrel Ten". Wave Loch. http://www.waveloch.com/attraction/flowbarrel-ten. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
- ^ Wave Loch (June 23, 2010). "FlowBarrel Ten Double". Wave Loch. http://www.waveloch.com/attraction/flowbarrel-ten-double. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
- ^ a b Wave Loch (September 10, 2009). "FlowRiders of the globe". Image. Wave Loch. http://www.waveloch.com/sites/default/files/FlowRiderMap.jpg. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
- ^ Wave Loch (June 23, 2010). "FlowRider Junior - a compact version of the single flow rider". Wave Loch. http://www.waveloch.com/attraction/flowrider-junior. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
- ^ Wave Loch (June 23, 2010). "FlowRider Single - a compact version of the double flow rider". Wave Loch. http://www.waveloch.com/attraction/flowrider-single. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
- ^ Wave Loch (June 23, 2010). "FlowRider Double - the ultimate surf machine". Wave Loch. http://www.waveloch.com/attraction/flowrider-double. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
- ^ Wave Loch (June 23, 2010). "The Mobile FlowRider - Wave Loch's mobile wave machine". Wave Loch. http://www.waveloch.com/attraction/flowrider-mobile. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
- ^ Wave Loch (June 23, 2010). "FlowRider Wave-in-a-Box". Wave Loch. http://www.waveloch.com/attraction/flowrider-wave-box. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
- ^ FlowRider (February 8, 2008). "FlowRider Installations". FlowRider. http://www.flowrider.com/english/installations.html. Retrieved June 27, 2010.[dead link]
- ^ Wave Loch. "Waveloch Flowboard Catalog - page 4". Issuu. http://issuu.com/waveloch/docs/2010_flowboard_catalog/4?mode=a_p. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ Wave Loch. "Waveloch Flowboard Catalog - page 1". Issuu. http://issuu.com/waveloch/docs/2010_flowboard_catalog/1?mode=a_p. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ Wave Loch. "Waveloch Flowboard Catalog - page 2". Issuu. http://issuu.com/waveloch/docs/2010_flowboard_catalog/2?mode=a_p. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ Wave Loch. "Waveloch Flowboard Catalog - page 3". Issuu. http://issuu.com/waveloch/docs/2010_flowboard_catalog/3?mode=a_p. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
