GoPro Floating Platform

[zkmat]

Was wondering what you guys and gals out there use for filming your sessions? In particular floating platforms that you can put on water and then film yourself? Is there anyone or any company that make these sort of things? Any advise much appreciated!

 

[Inmotion]

I've thought about making something a few times but have never gotten around to it. Interested to hear what others thoughts are also

 

[Glassgirlw]

We have the floaty handle on ours but haven't tried it while jet skiing. We used it when we were just playing in the ocean in Destin and water was pretty rough....worked fine there so not sure why it wouldn't work in the lake too. May have to try it next time I go out

 

[Spimothy Leary]

Usually we just have the guy with the camera sit there in the water as we fly by if we want that kind of video.

we've mounted it on land as we drove by, my buddy once hung one from a tree limb to get drive-by shots as well, never tried any kind of floating platform, but I think a 1x1 piece of plywood and a cut down swim noodle might do the trick...

granted it will probably only work for one good shot of a drive by, then it will get rocky, and/or spin around unless you secure it somehow. so if its a shallow area, a small platform and a retractable stick (like a modified golf ball retriever?) might do the trick to stabilize it. <basicaly i'm trying to describe a $3 mud/sand tripod... does that make sense?

 

[Glassgirlw]

Usually we just have the guy with the camera sit there in the water as we fly by if we want that kind of video.

we've mounted it on land as we drove by, my buddy once hung one from a tree limb to get drive-by shots as well, never tried any kind of floating platform, but I think a 1x1 piece of plywood and a cut down swim noodle might do the trick...

granted it will probably only work for one good shot of a drive by, then it will get rocky, and/or spin around unless you secure it somehow. so if its a shallow area, a small platform and a retractable stick (like a modified golf ball retriever?) might do the trick to stabilize it. <basicaly i'm trying to describe a $3 mud/sand tripod... does that make sense?

Creative.....I like that! We are trying to come up with a mount for our ski itself. Makes me nervous to just use a suction mount with all the bouncing that happens on the water....hate to end up with a Go Pro at the bottom of the lake. We have the floaty backdoor but I still don't 100% trust it. Do y'all ever mount directly on the ski? What do you use?

 

[Spimothy Leary]

On my xp I used the standard go-pro sticky mount with the 3M backing It was really stuck on there, and I suspect it is still stuck on there 4 years since I sold the ski. However, if the camera was mounted and you gave it a good slap, its likely coming off, you can buy aluminum mounts (slightly curved, for helmets and such) that bolt onto the hood (or wherever) but I didn't like the idea of drilling holes into the plastic.

The 3M was much more solid than the suction cup IMO.

on my next ski, GP1300R I used a handlebar RAM mount from gpscity, it's bolted on there solid as concrete, AND it doubled as a gps/phone holder if you purchase the correct adapters, so 80% of the time I mounted my etrex gps there, and 20% mounted my gopro.

I'd poke around and look at the RAM mounts If I was looking again, I sold my gopro after about a year.

Why? I had collected over 50GB of video, hours and hours.... but realized that I had neither the patience, the right software or the right computer to properly edit footage. Most of my final footage was simple 30 second clips I pulled out of 20 minute long video's, the rest just sat on an external hard drive. I found editing video to be ridiculously cumbersome and I didn't have the right mindset.. perhaps you are different in that manner.

I only mention that to make sure you don't overspend on go-pro and accessories only to end up realizing 6 months later that you really DO anything with the video.

my ram mount side view with the gps on it, as you can see (I hope) you can move it up/down to adjust for whatever your doing and you can pop the mount on/off the ski while idling in about 10 seconds and toss it in the glovebox.

front view

hope that helps.

ps.. downside to handlebar mount, you can only see stuff in front of you, and the view moves left and right as you move your bar's, so technically the hood is a better choice for keeping things in view, but still kinda tricky to view your buddies on the water. I actually only used that bar mount for river twisty runs, most of the time I held onto it and panned left and right for a few minutes then shut er down and tossed it back onto the bars.

 

[Inmotion]

I've been using the GoPro strap. Basically a cel row strap going around the steering column. It works great in calm water but if ya ride in any chop it gets to bouncy to use. I like the head mount also but it leaves one wonky tan line. In other note the sticky pads work ok but loose their stickiness after a few wet rides.

I tried my float handle today however the GoPro with the lid mount attached just got me some underwater footage lol. Instantly the GoPro went under and the handle was pointing up out the water.

I'm liking the idea of the noodle to make the platform. Cheap and effective!

 

[Glassgirlw]

On my xp I used the standard go-pro sticky mount with the 3M backing It was really stuck on there, and I suspect it is still stuck on there 4 years since I sold the ski. However, if the camera was mounted and you gave it a good slap, its likely coming off, you can buy aluminum mounts (slightly curved, for helmets and such) that bolt onto the hood (or wherever) but I didn't like the idea of drilling holes into the plastic.

The 3M was much more solid than the suction cup IMO.

on my next ski, GP1300R I used a handlebar RAM mount from gpscity, it's bolted on there solid as concrete, AND it doubled as a gps/phone holder if you purchase the correct adapters, so 80% of the time I mounted my etrex gps there, and 20% mounted my gopro.

I'd poke around and look at the RAM mounts If I was looking again, I sold my gopro after about a year.

Why? I had collected over 50GB of video, hours and hours.... but realized that I had neither the patience, the right software or the right computer to properly edit footage. Most of my final footage was simple 30 second clips I pulled out of 20 minute long video's, the rest just sat on an external hard drive. I found editing video to be ridiculously cumbersome and I didn't have the right mindset.. perhaps you are different in that manner.

I only mention that to make sure you don't overspend on go-pro and accessories only to end up realizing 6 months later that you really DO anything with the video.

my ram mount side view with the gps on it, as you can see (I hope) you can move it up/down to adjust for whatever your doing and you can pop the mount on/off the ski while idling in about 10 seconds and toss it in the glovebox.

front view

hope that helps.

ps.. downside to handlebar mount, you can only see stuff in front of you, and the view moves left and right as you move your bar's, so technically the hood is a better choice for keeping things in view, but still kinda tricky to view your buddies on the water. I actually only used that bar mount for river twisty runs, most of the time I held onto it and panned left and right for a few minutes then shut er down and tossed it back onto the bars.

Those are great tips -- thank you! My husband is big into go pro video editing but I am not...so yes I completely understand what you are saying about being cumbersome. I like the handlebar mount for straight on footage. I will have to look into that.

 

[Glassgirlw]

I've been using the GoPro strap. Basically a cel row strap going around the steering column. It works great in calm water but if ya ride in any chop it gets to bouncy to use. I like the head mount also but it leaves one wonky tan line. In other note the sticky pads work ok but loose their stickiness after a few wet rides.

I tried my float handle today however the GoPro with the lid mount attached just got me some underwater footage lol. Instantly the GoPro went under and the handle was pointing up out the water.

I'm liking the idea of the noodle to make the platform. Cheap and effective!

Haha yeah ours got some underwater footage too in FL. It does seem topheavy. Be interested to see how the platform idea works though!

 

[Hawk388]

I've thought of this myself. I will use a Foam Kneeling Pad. Then, bond a foam noodle around the outside of that pad. Use proper hardware drilled through the middle of the pad to mount the Go Pro. I will use large plastic, homemade fender washers, to ensure the GoPro mount is stable.

I got the idea from the small pad I bought at WalMart for working on my cars. That pad has been lifesaving for my legs, knees and lower back while doing brakes and other things.

I've not actually done this yet. But I know from setting up prior watersports cameras using the same method, and those cameras were much heavier than a GoPro, that this will work out nicely. When I do the foam noodle placement, I will make the noodle go on the long side of the rectangular mat and then, set out the sides with 36" legs for stability.