Blue Bell Couple Invent 'Wooder Board' Toy Driving Home From Ocean City

BLUE BELL, PA — Sitting in traffic on the Atlantic City expressway is as iconic a Philadelphia-area experience as cheesesteaks, water ice, or holding the door at Wawa for the person you nearly just ran over.

But one Montgomery County couple, on their way home from Ocean City to Blue Bell, found something productive to do with their time: invent.

Steve and Megan Holland were thinking back to their weekend on the beach with their children when the idea for the "Wooder Board" came to them.

They describe it as a "a wooden skim-style board with handles and a reinforced tow rope that lets young kids sit and glide over shallow shoreline water."

Parents or older siblings can more easily pull along a youngster over the "wooder," and even swim themselves, while the child floats.

A Kickstarter had already raised nearly $8,000 for the project as of Friday, from 74 different backers. Their stated goal of $6,000 has been met.

The Hollands say that due to the early support, the product is already in pre-production and will begin shipping out in the coming weeks.

They aim to have it widely available in time for the 2026 beach season.

"That's something that I had dreamed about since I built the first board, but it's hard to believe that it's now becoming a reality," Steve Holland shared on their Kickstarter page. "The outpouring of support and enthusiasm means so much to me, and I can't thank you enough."

The board is designed specifically for children ages 3 to 8, up to 70 to 80 pounds. It's comprised of seven layers of poplar wood and stainless steel hardware.

To preorder or learn more, see their Kickstarter here.