Sustainable Product Design student helps create disability-friendly paddleboards

Sustainable Product Design student Ben Sams has spent the last few months refining the design of an innovative watersport accessory that has the power to make paddleboarding more accessible. The item is one that allows those living with disabilities to engage in the popular watersport, improving the ease of paddleboarding. 

Ben was involved in this innovative design process as part of a micro-internship with Inclusive Paddleboarding, a project that offers custom-built adaptive equipment for people to enjoy paddleboarding with increased comfort, control, and support. As part of the internship, Ben worked closely with founder Will Behenna to prototype a removable paddleboard fin, a piece of equipment that allows wheelchair users to directly transfer themselves onto an adapted seat on the board in shallow water.  

For disabled paddlers like Will, pre-fixed fins can be a barrier to launching a paddleboard independently. This project offers a forward-thinking solution by adding a fin clip, giving users the ability to fasten a fin to the back of the paddleboard once they’re in the water with an integrated fin box.  

Reflecting on his experience working with Inclusive Paddleboarding, Ben told us: “The project tied in incredibly well with my Final Major Project. Both fall within the wider context of ‘design-for-disability’, and their respective nuances really demonstrate the scope of design opportunities that are available in the sector. Having the chance to complete this internship helped me to realise that the ‘design-for-disability’ specialism is an avenue I would like to pursue and explore as my career progresses.” 

He added: “The internship has given me the opportunity to gain valuable experience of real-world problems, and I’ve really enjoyed collaborating with Will on projects that I hope to continue working on after I graduate.”