If you haven’t heard of P2P Rescue, consider this an introduction. Short version: P2P Rescue is an evolutionary breakthrough in rescue boards, designed and engineered for speed and function. For the longer version, keep reading!
The History
When Australia hosted the Summer Olympics in 1956, a group of volunteer Aussie lifeguards organized an international competition to display their lifesaving skills and athleticism. The U.S. and Hawaiian teams, with legendary members like Duke Kahanamoku, brought Malibu surfboards with them.
Many credit the longboards they left behind as the beginning of a surfboard design revolution in Australia. The Malibu surfboard made from balsa wood and constructed using a new technique of water proof glue and fiberglass resulted in a much lighter board weight.
The Future
While the board building process and construction of surfboards has evolved since then, today’s lifeguard rescue board remains nearly identical to that from 30 years ago, which isn’t ideal. Coastlines are diverse, with unique challenges and parameters, and a single longboard design can’t serve all lifeguard equally. Until P2P.
By using Shape3D software and a 3DM shaping machine, we set out to design and build surf rescue boards based on local surf conditions and coastline terrain.
The Difference
P2P is currently the only board builder in the U.S. using typical surfboard construction (EPS and fiberglass) to manufacture lifesaving surf rescue boards. Given the demanding environments of their training and work, ocean safety and lifeguards are quite harsh on their equipment. P2P uses very specific glassing schedules, integrating standard cloth with Innegra fiberglass to enhance durability and reduce weight. Because P2P longboards are built using solely EPS and fiberglass, ocean safety can perform a simple ding repair while on duty, and the board never loses service.
Rail designs, rocker profiles, bottom contour transitions and varying volumes are design variables that change for each respective region’s rescue board. Through a joint venture with the Honolulu Ocean Safety, a 12’0 version has been built to withstand their rugged coastlines, larger surf and multiple victim rescues.
After working with lifeguards from North Carolina to New York the 11’0 East Coast version was designed for smaller swell and more benign coastlines. P2P recently launched a West Coast version in Santa Cruz based on feedback received from lifeguards in California. Because of our geographically tailored design process and lighter weight construction, the P2P SURF RESCUE’s appeal is quickly spreading worldwide.
Check out our designs, follow our Instagram and Facebook accounts, and witness the future of ocean rescue for yourself. We guarantee you’ll like what you see!
