SAILPADDLE PEOPLE
Curt Siverts
Curt Siverts is the founder and CEO of Sailpaddle and a lifelong waterman, inventor, and problem-solver. He grew up working with his father in the family business, Undersea Graphics, Inc., building and working around submarines, research vessels, and specialized underwater equipment. Sailpaddle grew out of Curt’s life on the water and his ability to look at a simple problem — paddleboarders needing help when the wind comes up — and turn it into a practical, patented product.
Rick Cates
Rick Cates is our partner and patent attorney. He has helped support the legal and patent side of Sailpaddle’s unique paddle-with-built-in-sail design.
For general Sailpaddle questions, please contact us at info@sailpaddle.com.
Monica Siverts
Monica Siverts helps with Sailpaddle customer questions, orders, and general support. As part of our small family business, she is often the person helping customers learn more about how Sailpaddle works and whether it is a good fit for their paddleboarding needs.
Have a question? Call or text 310-318-1774 or email info@sailpaddle.com.
The Story Behind Sailpaddle
Sailpaddle began with a simple moment on the water.
Curt Siverts has been around boats, invention, and ocean work for most of his life. As a kid, he started helping his father in the family business, Undersea Graphics, Inc., where they built and worked on specialized underwater equipment, including submarines and custom research vessels used for underwater inspection work.
So when Curt sees a problem on the water, his mind naturally starts thinking about how to solve it.Years later, we were living on our boat and watching paddleboarders come down the channel on downwind runs. One day, while watching them catch the wind,
Curt said:“They need a sail in their paddle.
”I asked him, “Can you do that?”
He said, “Yes.”
So I said, “Go make that happen.”
That simple conversation became the beginning of Sailpaddle.
Curt likes to call Sailpaddle our homeschool project. We homeschooled our six kids, and Sailpaddle became one of those real-life lessons that touched everything: invention, design, problem-solving, business, persistence, customer service, and learning what it takes to bring an idea into the world.
Our family had also watched *Avatar: The Last Airbender*, and there is a scene where Aang uses his staff as a sail. That image stuck with us. Curt’s first prototype had more of a fan shape, but as he kept working on the design, he realized a sail shape would work better and fit more naturally inside the paddle shaft.
From there, the idea kept growing. We met with Body Glove and had the product professionally designed. When they later decided they could not move forward with the project, our patent attorney believed in the idea enough to invest.
So here we are.
Today, Sailpaddle Mx is an adjustable SUP paddle with a built-in sail stored inside the paddle shaft. You can use it as a regular paddle, then deploy the sail in seconds for simple downwind paddleboard sailing when the wind is at your back.
Sailpaddle is a small family business built around water, invention, family learning, and the simple idea that windy paddleboard days can be more fun.
Paddle. Then sail.