In this much anticipated video, I finally demonstrate how I make my precision engineered concrete skipping stones. With no suitable rocks around where I live in New Zealand, I've been designing and casting custom concrete rocks for perfect skipping. Enriched with high density sand, precision stamped, and hand ground to shape, these are some advanced rocks.
Camera: Sony A6300
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My name is Chris Magoon, and I like to skip rocks. I grew up in New England, where perfect flat stones are reasonably easy to find. Now, living in the volcanic region of Rotorua, New Zealand I've been making my own custom made skipping stones from cement and local sand, trying to engineer the perfect rock.
In my videos I'll be on missions to find the best stones in the country, discussing the design of my concrete rocks and the physics of skipping, practicing my skips at local lakes and estuaries, and just having a good time skipping stones.
I'm by no means a professional skipper, but I think that with a little bit of engineering and a lot of practice I should be able to get close to the world records for skip count and distance. When I started this project, Dougie Issacs 121.8 meter distance record seemed like a lofty goal, but I’ve now been getting very close with skips coming in around 110 to 115 meters already. Kurt Steiner’s 89 skip record remains a significant challenge. I have been designing rocks with a focus on distance, though it is clear that tuning stone design for high skip count is also possible.
My mission to find the best skipping stones and skip on perfect flat water have taken me all around New Zealand. I’ve collected and skipped natural stones on the beautiful South Island lakes of Hawea and Wanaka, the Clutha river, Diamond Lake, Moke Lake, and just about any body of water large and flat enough to glide a stone across. Home on the North Island, I spend most of my time practicing with my concrete rocks in the shallows of Lake Rotorua and Blue Lake, with lunchtime skips at work on the Te Puna Estuary.
Its going to be a long journey, so follow along to see it all unfold.
I'll skip you next time!
Great video! Your filming has gone up a level. I also liked the baking references.
Damn such a well made video, you deserve so many more views because this is really well shot and made and well voice overs.
Thanks! Yeah, this one took a long time to put together, but it was well worth it
This channel and this video need more views. This concept could be an shark tank investment if done properly
Thanks for the thorough explanation Skipper Chris!
Fascinating !
This is really cool. I'm interested in purchasing a mold with a more aggressive grip. Is that something you'd be up for? I'd prefer 4 sides, with round corners, and one corner with a protruding trigger for a more aggressive application of spin. I'd play with grind tapering the bottom surface to avoid drag interference, and attempt to counter the weight imbalance with an angled press. Not sure if that makes sense.
I think I know roughly what you're picturing. I'd definitely be willing to work with you to design and print a mold for you to experiment with. I'll also be returning to the US soon, so am looking forward to hopefully meeting up for some skips this coming year! You can find my email contact info on my website at chrismagoon.com.
Do you have any links to your STL files for the molds?
Do you retrieve the stones after you skip them? Are those materials good for the environment?
Obviously not. He's throwing toxic paint into the lakes and I don't believe he recovers every single one of them. Not like the rocks always go where you intend.
Hi Chris, I'd really love to make my own flat rocks though I'm not sure where I'd collect Iron sand or really just get the cement powder or clay... Can I substitute any sand I'd find along a waterside or should I be looking for specific things like particular things such as clam living in the soil? Also if I don't have a mold or a 3d printer, do you have another recommendation to create a densely packed rock? Thanks for the awesome vid, hoping to get to make some of these rocks.
You can use any sand you find, you'll just have lighter weight rocks. They won't skip as far, but they will still work fine. You will need to find portland cement or possibly plaster of paris, any hardware store or home improvement store should have it. You don't need the clay, it just improves the workability slightly. Without a mold, you can just squish a ball of the mixture flat and smooth out the edges.
Yeah can you only use ironsand? Or can you use normal sand or what other things?
Regular sand works fine, you just wind up with a lighter stone. Making them a bit thicker can help get them to the optimum mass, though that varies for every skipper. I've wanted to try stone dust as another option as it is super fine, haven't done any experiments with that yet though.
Nice video! It would be awesome if you could upload your molds on thingiverse or printables, so that we can also try making our own stones :)
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The fact that you throw these into pristine NZ lakes makes it worse than it already is. It's illegal as well.
That would be pretty bad. Good thing I retrieve my man made rocks after skipping, otherwise that would be a huge waste of all the time I put into making them. Even when I've had to swim in 50 degree water, sink into stinking mud flats, or walk through cyanobacteria blooms, I’d get my rocks back to skip again. But yes, despite my best efforts I occasionally lose a rock. A piece of concrete, left on the bottom of a pond or estuary. Think of a concrete buoy anchor, or abridge abutment, or a dam. There’s lots of man made objects in the water making much more of an impact. Also, not to disappoint, but the lakes I’m doing skipping practice on are not the pristine New Zealand water you’re probably picturing. Blue lake, despite having somewhat clear water, is basically a tiny motorboat and jet ski park. Rotorua is fed by some pristine natural springs…and also a few toxic geothermal streams as well as the wastewater treatment plant. I wouldn't dream of throwing one of these man made rocks out into the pristine lakes of the south island. Luckily down there, natural stones are easy to find.
😅I always use natural stones and that wasted a lot of my time