Paper Proposal: My Surfboard

Description:

This isn’t just any surfboard this is my surfboard. Every rider has an attachment to his or her board and the one I have decided to describe I have named “Sunny.” Sunny is a long narrow shaped board that comes to a pointed beak at the top and is rounded off in the back. Sunny got its name due to its coloring, it is orange and yellow striped a long the edges but actually looks as though they have been mixed together due to the thick layer of surf wax spread over the top and side of the board that gives the effect that the two colors have been swirled together. On the bottom, there are three fins along with 20 carefully placed surf stickers that go along with the yellow and orange theme of the board. On the top and the bottom the logo JN, which the maker of my board has been branded in fantasy lettering. This board is 7 feet 6 inches long, 20 inches wide and about 3 inches thick. It has a lightweight, buoyant core covered with a hard shell that makes surfing with Sunny a surfers dream. The long black and yellow tail like object that is attached to the back of the board is my leash, that keeps Sunny and I tied together when we are out in the water.

Central Questions:

- What makes my not only my surfboard but other people’s boards so important to them? What is the attachment?
- Why is it that having a surfboard leads people to think that one is cool? So many kids out there get surfboards to put on the top of their cars yet have no clue how to ride them.
- What is the cultural significance of a surfboard?
- What assumptions might people make about people with a short board rider than a long board rider? How have these thoughts changed over the years?
- When did the surfboard become mainstream and really explode its way into today’s culture?


Research:

I have to develop this part more but these are a couple of the websites that I have been using for some references.
- http://www.clubofthewaves.com/culture_surfboard.php
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfboard
- http://blackmagic.com/ses/book/his-c.html
- http://www.answers.com/topic/surfboard


**I know I still need some academic sources…**

Argument:

The surfboards we ride today have undergone many innovative transformations that have made them the sleek, high performance, water rockets they are. Advances in surfboard design have ranged from size, weight and shape, to fins, to the materials used, and even different boards designed for different waves. Surfboard design has always been something very personal and special to the shapers and then to the buyer and this board design is as much as an engineering feat as it is a love for surfing.

My surfboard is something that I will have forever. It was the first board I ever bought at the age of 14. I saved up all of my babysitting and allowance money to get it. This board is my most prized possessions and has really shaped my lifestyle. It has thrown me into a social category of being a “beach bum,” one that I have fully embraced. Surfboards are a cultural icon that signifies a “way of being” for many surfers and leading many to adapt this mentality into their day-to-day lives.

** I still have a lot of work to do with this but any pointers that you could give me to help better this project would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!**