Board-like sportscraft

Abstract

A board-like sportscraft comprises a core and a metallic skin covering at least a portion of said core.

1 . A board-like sportscraft comprising a core and a metallic skin covering at least a portion of said core.  
     
     
         2 . A board-like sportscraft as claimed in  claim 1  wherein said metallic skin covers at least 75% of the surface of said core.  
     
     
         3 . A board-like sportscraft as claimed in  claim 2  wherein said metallic skin covers substantially all of said core.  
     
     
         4 . A board-like sportscraft as claimed in  claim 1  wherein said core includes two side rail portions and wherein the metallic skin covers at least 75% of each of said side rail portions.  
     
     
         5 . A board-like sportscraft as claimed in  claim 4  wherein said core includes a deck portion, a bottom surface portion and wherein the mean thickness of said metallic skin is greater on said side rail portions than on said deck portion and bottom surface portion.  
     
     
         6 . A board-like sportscraft as claimed in  claim 1  wherein there is provided a surface portion of the core which is not covered by said metallic skin, in order to mitigate or avoid damage to said board-like sportscraft due to differential thermal expansion between said metallic skin and said core.  
     
     
         7 . A board-like sportscraft as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the core includes surface features which are substantially reproduced in the metallic skin, and wherein the surface features are adapted to provide a user with enhanced grip or control.  
     
     
         8 . A board-like sportscraft as claimed in  claim 1  wherein at least some of the outer surface of the metallic skin is highly reflective.  
     
     
         9 . A board-like sportscraft as claimed in  claim 1  wherein there are provided one or more connecting members formed from a material having greater rigidity than the core, and wherein said connecting members pass through the core in order to enhance the rigidity of a connection between a bottom surface of said sportscraft and an upper surface of said sportscraft.  
     
     
         10 . A board-like sportscraft as claimed in  claim 1  wherein at least a portion of the outer surface of the metallic skin provides a high friction surface to facilitate grip by a user.  
     
     
         11 . A board-like sportscraft as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the metallic skin is composed mainly from a metal chosen from the group consisting of: aluminium; stainless steel; aluminium alloys.  
     
     
         12 . A board-like sportscraft as claimed in  claim 1  wherein there is provided an inner coating layer, between the core and the metallic skin, and said inner layer is composed of different material to said metallic skin.  
     
     
         13 . A board-like sportscraft as claimed in  claim 12  wherein said inner layer is provided in order to facilitate or enhance adhesion of said metallic skin to said core.  
     
     
         14 . A board-like sportscraft as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said core is provided with a number of longitudinal grooves therein, and said longitudinal grooves are filled with a metallic substance in order to provide the board-like sportscraft with enhanced longitudinal strength.  
     
     
         15 . A method of manufacturing a board-like sportscraft comprising the steps of: 
 preparing at least a portion of a shaped core for a board-like sportscraft for coating with a metallic skin;    coating at least a portion of said core with a metallic skin.    
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  further including the step of coating said at least a portion of said core with an intermediate coating layer, and wherein said step of coating at least a portion of said core with a metallic skin comprises applying said metallic skin onto at least a portion of said intermediate coating layer.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein said intermediate coating layer is composed entirely or mainly of zinc.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15  wherein said metallic skin is formed from a substance composed entirely or mainly of a metal chosen from the group including: aluminium; aluminium alloy; stainless steel.  
     
     
         19 . The method of any of  claim 15  wherein said step of coating with a metallic skin includes spraying a metallic substance to form the metallic skin.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  wherein the spraying of the metallic substance is performed by a thermal metal spray process.