Nobuhito Ohkawa from Japan has been very busy trying to finish his board to get it down to the Gold Coast next weekend. He flies in next Saturday with his wife and a couple of boards. All Paulownia , all from the same tree. He has a very detailed approach to building his boards.Come and check them out next weekend if you are able.
John Sutcliffe from New Zealand has just finished this great looking New Zealand Kauri board to bring with him next week . He is looking forward to some warm water at The Alley and to slide a few waves at the point.
David from Paulownia Paradise in Melbourne just sent these pics and the following story to share.
" We were often asked how a solid Paulownia surf board would perform so we used 3 lengths of 2”Paulownia timber that were quite bowed and just glued them together then shaped a 9’10” long board from solid timber with no holes drilled not chambered at all and weighed in at 12.5 KG and just a linseed oil finish."
" We laminated a D fin out of 6mm Paulownia and gave the end result to Ken Reimers of KR surf to test it with an honest result ."
The result - "Not enough rocker , not enough buoyancy and the fin buzzed so we have proved that this is not the way to go."
Nobby and Paul Jensen at last years Wooden Board day in the Gold Cost Sun newspaper.
The Gold Coast Surf Museum is not far from the Alley right opposite the entry to The Currumbin Wild Life Sanctuary in Tomewin Street. Look for the big surfboard.Saturday night at the Surf Museum to meet a few people and a few beers , put faces to names and all that.Great venue and some great boards and memorabilia to check out as well.
Bobby Crisp from Deluxe Industries in New Zealand has been busy building more beautifully detailed balsa boards. He loves fine inlays and wood details. He used to be in windy wet Wellington , but has moved as far south in the even colder South Island as you can go before dropping off the end of the world. The cold hasn't cooled his passion for these great boards.
Nathan Grey from Sydney has just finished building this great looking wooden Mini Simmons.
5ft 6" Jet Tail 18" , 21" , 18" x 2 5/8" with a hull entry which blends into a subtle rolled V then blends into the channels.
Nathan says that the board is glassed with epoxy 6oz on the top and 4oz bottom.Then sprayed with satin auto acrylic.
Mike Connor has finished the "Bush Pig" and headed for the Gold Coast for glassing. The board is all made from Paulownia , frame, skins and rails. A classic shape that is well suited to this construction method and should be a great ride. Mike will be one of the speakers at the Gold Coast Surf Museum on Saturday night 7th of August. The board will be there as well for sure.
Robert just sent me these pics of a couple of boards he will bring along to the Wooden Board Day.
Winter is a great time for a wave here on the Gold Coast. The swell is more consistent and the offshore wind funnels down the river mouth from the inland valley.Less people and the keen ones hit it early like this morning. Yes we are lucky and that is why we live here.
Last summer Mike Connor and I shaped and glassed a board each to test out some design ideas.
Mike went with the classic pig shape of the 60's. He loves the feel of it and decided it was the ideal test board to then build in wood. 9ft 6" x 23 1/2" x 3 1/8".
Here she is nearly ready to head off to the glasser next week to be ready for the wooden board day.
All Paulownia and a touch of Cedar.
Ready to be trimmed up and shaped.
Plastic wrap is a great for holding things with odd angles and shapes that you can't clamp real easy.
Tail blocks on the same way.
All hands on deck to get the rails glued on and in place.
Karl lives in Cornwall the hub of surfing in the UK some might say and this is his story.
" I went traveling in 2009 and ended my trip in Noosa Heads, While staying with a friend I met a Noosa local called Parish Watts (vintagepacificsurfcraft.blogspot.com), an established board builder of the vintage tooth pick and handplane. I returned to Cornwall, UK full of ideas and inspired to make a wooden surfboard using materials from my local area, the plan was to build a wooden surfboard as eco friendly and cost effective as possible. "
" The board has been made almost entirely from Ply, apart from the rails where I have used pine strips. The top and bottom of the board is from a whole piece of 2mm ply, I would have loved to have used strips of good quality wood, however in the UK the cost would have run away with me. The tail is made from Balsa and the rails from cork. "
" Handplaning in the the UK is hardly recognized, certainly in Cornwall its still very new, i have been a bodysurfer for years now and I wanted to take what I had learnt in Noosa and apply it here, My Handplanes are made from boat builders high quality Gaboon Marine Ply, there are 4 boards in the line up, based on the aesthetics of the fish, the rounded Pin, the mal and for smaller hands the Mini, each board is hand crafted with channels, concave and hard/soft rails, I finish them untreated or coated in Raw Linseed oil. "
" By far the most exciting time in surfing for me has been the shift into wooden board building, the possibilities and the stoke from building from nothing is a wonderful thing to treasure."
It is a small world we live in. Parish Watts was at the Wooden Board Day last year with a great display of his wooden tooth picks. It is a shame Karl can't be here this year as well. But you will be able to check out Parish and many other great boards for sure.