SurfPoel: Europe's first indoor wave pool is about to open in The Hague, Netherlands | Illustration: SurfPoel

SurfPoel, the first wave pool developed by 24/7Waves, will open in The Hague, Netherlands, by 2019.

The world's first crowdfunded wave pool will produce 149 waves per hour and will allow a maximum of ten surfers in the water at the same time.

According to the team behind SurfPoel, there will be waves of up to three feet (one meter) for all levels of surfing. Each ride will last approximately nine seconds.

The engineer behind SurfPoel's wave pool concept is Steven Schmied, from the University of Tasmania.

He created a fully transportable artificial surf pool that uses specialized ship hulls to produce large, smooth waves.

SurfPoel: the Dutch pool will produce 149 waves per hour

An Indoor Wave Pool to Beat Low Temperatures

Unlike the majority of artificial wave pools currently being constructed around the world, the Dutch concept is of an indoor surfing facility built in Binckhorst, an industrial area of The Hague.

The wave pool will be 230 feet (72 meters) long, 60 feet (18 meters) wide, and will feature a depth of 8 feet (2.5 meters).

The water temperature will be of between 55-60 °F (12-15 °C), well above the local ocean temperatures.

24/7Waves was able to raise over €100,000 through crowdfunding, which is by now the only way to buy surfing time at the structure and become part of the SurfPoel community.

The new Dutch indoor surf pool occupies 7,800 square feet (2,400 square meters). Users are welcome to ride shortboards, longboards, stand-up paddleboards, bodyboards, and even handplanes.

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