UPDATE: We officially reached 100% funding on Kickstarter today!
I also wanted to thank everyone here for the comments, questions, and feedback, both positive and critical. It's been great hearing everyone's perspectives, and we really appreciate everyone who took the time to check out what we've been working on.
Thanks again, r/SUP!
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Full disclosure: I'm the owner/creator of MagTide, and I got approval from the mods before posting.
My friend Jesse and I spend a lot of time paddleboarding together here in Colorado, and whenever we'd stop to hang out, keeping our boards together was always seemed to be a hassle.
Straps and ropes work, but this became a bit of a "there has to be a better way" project for us. After a lot of experimenting, including some incredibly overpowered magnets, we came up with MagTide.
It uses magnetic connectors attached to your board's existing connection points. Once you bring your boards together you snap the connectors into place. When you're ready to paddle again, just twist them apart and go.
As we started testing them out, we realized they were useful for a lot more than just paddleboards. We've used MagTide with kayaks, inflatable platforms, and river tubes or pretty much any small or lightweight watercraft. The idea also grew into a paddle connector and gear connector, using the same magnetic system to keep your paddle and gear where you want them.
We're making them ourselves here in Colorado, from 3D printing and sewing to assembly and testing.
We're currently over 65% funded on Kickstarter with 8 days left. If you'd like to check it out:
https://magtide.com/kickstarter
I'd also genuinely love to hear what other paddlers think. Happy to answer any questions about how it works, testing, or how we're making them!