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About Southport Rigging

Southport Rigging in Kenosha, Wisconsin has been providing products and gear for most all extreme and water sports since 1981. Our friendly staff of experts will help you find what you need and recommend the best products on the market. We always have competitive prices and are proud to serve a large returning customer base. People trust Southport Rigging to provide the best products available for extreme sports and water sports. Most of our products are available in store and online. If you live in or near Kenosha, stop in!
Location: 2926 75th St. Kenosha, WI 53143

We specialize in:

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Why do our customers continue to return, year after year?

Competitive pricing
Friendly and knowledgeable sales staff
Wide selection of in-stock equipment and parts
Unique parts and supplies for water sport equipment
Windsurfers on staff to help choose equipment and provide tips
Full service skateboarding parts and assembly
Popular and unique skateboarding shoes and gear
Full snowboard set up- from the snowboard to the jacket.
Full service bike shop including BMX repair and parts

Windsurfing

Windsurfing is one of our specialties- we are well known for our product selection and knowledgeable sales team who actively uses our windsurfing products. Not only will our staff help you choose the best windsurfing package for you but we will answer all your questions about windsurf equipment assembly, care and maintenance. We even offer windsurfing lessons, for the beginning windsurfer or the expert who wants to learn new skills.

Keep your eyes open in the summer months for our annual Windsurf Kite Swap Sale. This Southport Rigging swap sale gives windsurfers the chance to trade, buy and sell windsurfing equipment and parts.

What is Windsurfing?

Windsurfing is a surface water sport. Like surfing, you use a windsurf board or sailboard, but unlike surfing your windsurf board is powered by a single sail.

The sport combines aspects of sailing and surfing. Windsurfing also combines athletic aspects seen in skateboarding, snowboarding, waterskiing, and wakeboarding. The windsurfer has freedoms and experiences unmatched by any other sailing sport or craft. A windsurfer holds the world speed record for sailing. Windsurfers can perform jumps, inverted loops, spinning maneuvers, and other "freestyle" moves and "tricks". Due to the power and control a windsurfing allows, windsurfers were the first to ride the world's largest waves (tow-in surfing gave surfers the same big-wave ability).

Windsurfing disciplines include:

speed sailing
slalom
course racing
wave sailing
superX freestyle.

Wetsuits and Water Wear

We can help you find and choose a wetsuit or water wear. At Southport you will find water wear favorites like board shorts, wetsuits, wetsuit tops and full wetsuits. We also have important water sport accessories such as swim caps, water boots and water gloves. Don’t forget water fun necessities such as ear plugs, goggles and life vests- safety first! Most of our swim and water gear comes in a large range of sizes from kids to adult.

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Kitesurfing / Kiteboarding

Southport Rigging offers kitesurfing lessons with an IKO (International Kiteboarding Organization - http://www.ikorg.com) Certified Instructor. We can set you up with all your kitesurfing equipment and help you understand kite board assembly and best maintenance practices. Our helpful sales team is dedicated to helping you find what you need and helping you determine what will suit you best.

What is kitesurfing?

Kitesurfing, or kiteboarding, utilizes a power kite which pulls the rider over water on a small surfboard or a kiteboard, also similar to a wakeboard. Kiteboarding can refer to a style of riding (free-style or wakestyle) where as kitesurfing is considered waveriding. The kitesurfer (kiteboarder) uses a board (with or without foot-straps or bindings) and the power of a large controllable kite to glide the board across water.

Each kitesurfing style requires different boards and kites. The Southport Rigging crew can help you decide what style, boards and kites are right for you.

The sport of kitesurfing/kiteboarding is still young but quickly growing in popularity. It is also becoming safer thanks to innovations in kite design, safety release systems, and instruction.

Wakeboarding

Southport Rigging has the wakeboarding equipment you need to have a great time on the water- wakeboards and bindings, ropes, handles and gloves, wakesurfers, kneeboards, tubes, skis and all the accessories you may need. Our sales staff will answer all your questions and help you have a safe wakeboarding experience.

For more information on wakeboarding, wakeboarding lessons, to view wakeboarding videos or get involved in a wakeboarding forum check out http://www.wakeboardingmag.com.

What is Wakeboarding?

Wakeboarding is a surface water sport. While pulled by a boat the wakeboarder rides over the surface of water. Wakeboarding is considered a combination of water skiing, snowboarding and surfing techniques.

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Surfing

Southport Rigging can set you up for surfing success- surf boards, surf board bags, and accessories are available in-store and online. We also have great surf wear, board shorts, rash guards, wetsuits, and sandals. Reef, Keen, Sanuk, DaKine, Roxy, Billabong, O'Neil and more.

For news, videos, photos and more on surfing check out http://www.surfingthemag.com (opens in new window).

Read more on learning to surf, waves, surf reports, surf videos, and more at http://www.surfing-waves.com (opens in new window).

What is surfing?

Surfing is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides along the face of a breaking wave. Surfers most commonly use a surfboard but wave-riding is also done on kneeboards, body boards/boogie boards, kayaks, surf skis, and possibly own bodies.

The two major subdivisions within traditional surfing are mainly determined by surfboard design and riding style- longboarding and shortboarding.

Tow-in surfing, in which a surfer is towed into the wave by a motorized water vehicle, is a substitute for exhaustive paddling when trying to conquer large waves.

Stand-up Paddle Boarding

Stand-up padding boarding is a surf related sport that does not require waves. It is growing in popularity becuase it is easy and fun, and can be done on almost any body of water. Many SUP boards can also be used for surfing and windsurfing.

Lessons and demos available!

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Skateboarding Boards, Gear and more

Southport Rigging has a huge selection of decks and all the fixins’ to make your complete personalized skateboard. We have all your favorite skateboard deck brands. Plenty of wheeles, trucks and hardware too.

Zoo York
Zero
Birdhouse
ATM
Toy Machine
Element
Plan B
DGK
Krooked
Blind
Almost
Antihero
AWS
Baker
Venture
Independent
Spitfire
Bones
and more!

Don’t forget your skateboarding gear- belts, wallets, hats, beanies, pants, shorts, socks, sweatshirts and t-shirts- by manufacturers such as Volcom, Element, Flip, Matix, Etnies and much more. Southport Rigging has a wide selection of skateboard stuff for all ages, online and in-store.

Our skate gear and skate shoe selection includes popular brands and unique styles by industry favorites.

IPath
DC
Etnies
Vans
ES
Emerica
Adio
Habitat
Circa
Lakai
Fallen
DVS
Gravis
Converse

Our skate shoes are available in-store and online (availability may vary). Check out our Close Out Sales on skate shoes where you will find the lowest prices on the popular skater brands.

How To sites

Science of Skateboarding, from Exploratorium.edu

"While it may seem that modern skateboarders are defying the laws of physics, the truth is that they're just using them to their advantage. Let's take a closer look at some fundamental skateboarding moves and the physics principles behind them." Read on...

Longboarding

The basics of Longboarding from About.com

Longboarding is, essentially, skateboarding utilizing a longer and sometimes wider board. A longboard is generally used for either downhill racing or transportation. Depending on the intended ride, a longboard will be shaped in different ways. Due to weight and bulk a longboard isn’t appropriate or suited for many skateboarding tricks. However, longboarding provides a fluid motion and much more speed. Longboarding is often compared to surfing, as the design allows big turns or quick short carves similar to the performance of a surfboard. We sell top brands like Sector 9, Arbor, Land Yachtz, Dregs, Loaded, Santa Cruz. Sliding gloves and helmets too.

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Snowboarding

Info Coming Soon

Cycling

Info Coming Soon

Store Photos

From left: Store front; Owner Ralph Ruffalo at the skate counter; Our friendly staff will help you with all your skate, windsurf, kite board, snowboard and biking needs.