Bringing a new paddle experience
Loeva is a paddle board totally transparente?! A world first, says Laurent Jaurey, director of the company of the same name. It took the Bayonese company 4 years of research and the support of Arkema - a company already well established in the sailing world, particularly through its support for skipper Lalou Roucayrol - to develop this new kind of SUP.
"We bring a new use of the paddle with this transparency. The purpose of the board is to see the seabed. We're selling a new experience that has no equivalent in the world." explains Laurent Jaurey.
If we can think of Plexiglas for the manufacturing material, this is not the case. This patented transparent material was developed by Arkema and won the Innovation Award in 2016 "It is an unalterable material, resistant to chemicals, shocks and hardly scratches or yellows, unlike plexi." laurent explains.
Admire the underwater fauna by day... as well as by night
This board, which allows you to "explore" the seabed, is versatile. It can be used for surfing small waves, yoga, gym, meditation or hiking "It's ultra accessible, very stable, with a very good glide" adds Laurent.
Another advantage is that an electronic box located under the board houses LEDs that illuminate the underwater world at night and can be recharged by induction, without a contactor. Thus, the visibility experience continues even at night. Tests were also carried out in the Biarritz aquarium to validate the lighting depth. " The goal is to generate a halo around the board, a bit like scuba diving lamps. It's a discreet lighting, it goes under the user's feet forward, at 35° between the front and the depth."
As for the impact on fish, the company explains "We're not the first ones to do this. All luxury hotels built on lagoons have a glass space around the bed with lights to attract fish. When you light a lamp in the water, the fish come. Something's going on. If it bothered them, they'd leave."
A luxury item
Loeva was presented for the first time at the Monaco Yacht Show 2018 and is positioned as a top-of-the-range product, aimed more at super and megayacht owners. The price - confidential - will therefore be in correlation with the positioning of the board.
While the company is currently focusing on transparency and lighting, developments are already planned. In the same way, a surf could complete the range, but studies are still in progress, the material not allowing the creation of a surfboard for the moment.
The model presented at MYS was a prototype and the finalized version is expected to be released in 2019 "We're making a pad, more design, smaller and narrower" concludes Laurent. The first models - manufactured in France in the Aquitaine basin - will be delivered in 2019.
Technical information
Weight: 15 kg
Height: 10.8 feet (3.20 m)
Volume: 220 L
