Balsa Surfboards

Kun tiqi manufacture balsa boards in Northern Spain. They have quite a range of boards and go to great lengths to create boards in the most ecological ways possible.

Check them out at :  www.kuntiqi.com

Every Board Has A Story

Every Board Has A Story is a multifaceted feature length documentary about the evolution of surf boards and the current efforts to produce environmentally friendly boards. The projects mission is to honor the past while creating an opportunity, an inspiration, and a call to action for environmentally conscious alternatives.

Thread 1: The film follows the 1st Annual Green Surf Board Challenge as board designers race to develop their innovative boards in time for the international trials held at one of the world’s choice surf locations. The project will document five notable participants’ setbacks and triumphs as they risk their reputations on their visions of the future of surfing.

Thread 2: The documentary explores the history and evolution of surfboard design from the original hand-made Hawaiian wooden boards to the manufacturing of modern synthetic boards. Segments include interviews with master board shapers asking them about their craft and ideas for the future.

Thread 3: Interview surf icons about the glory (and the contradictions) of their boards of choice, their assessments of green boards, and would going green take the joy out of surfing?

 David Whitney and Andrew Rice of Kenai Productions are excited to announce their latest video
project, EVERY BOARD HAS A STORY, a feature length documentary about the evolution of surf boards and the current efforts to develop environmentally friendly boards.

Kenai Productions, a Maui-based production company and member of the Maui Film Alliance, has over 20 years experience in all aspects of video production. EVERY BOARD HAS A STORY is Kenai's debut feature-length production, and has already garnered the support of many industry veterans.

Kenai is seeking pre-production funding through Kickstarter.com, a crowd funding website that facilitates investment pledges from the public for all kinds of great projects. "Investors" can pledge $10 to $5,000 toward EBHS, and will not be charged until the full amount of $12,950 is raised in the specified amount of time. With less than 60 days to reach their goal, every pledge counts, and you can help.
Where does the money go, you ask?

PHASE I
1. Develop production plan and pitch materials in order to attach sponsors, professional surfers,
and 5 ground-breaking shapers.

2. Write Treatment/Script - researched and written by David Whitney

3. Produce the 5 Minute Teaser- shot and edited by Andrew Rice

4. Kickstart the Green Surf Board Expression Sessions Challenge - coordinated by Ken
“Woozer” Goring

Their mission is to develop the materials necessary to acquire complete funding for the
documentary from sponsors, like QuickSilver, Billabong, Dakine, and other big surfing
companies. We will also be approaching green organizations and private investors.



If you or someone you know is involved in the next generation of surfboard design, and is a
candidate for the Green Surf Board Expression Sessions Challenge please contact Andrew at

andrew@kenaiproductions.com.

Mahalo for your support!

Find the Glide

Mathew Pearson from the UK has just sent me a link to his site to check out his new approach to building a more natural surfboard. Great looking boards on the outside , but quite different inside in that he uses natural Loofah instead of a foam core. Light weight natural product that is very rigid and strong. Vacuum bagged Paulownia and finished in Bio Resin. Very cool.

Check it out in detail at : www.findtheglide.com

Holiday Party & Art Show

                                    For more info :  timberlinesurf.com

Building the wooden fish

I just got this video from Aitor in Spain showing his building process.
" I recently finished my last board, a 6.6-21-2 3/4 fish, its a copy of the Surftech Soul Fish.
It has a good bouyancy, and surfs really smooth, as its my first glassing work it is a little bit heavy, but in the water it is not a problem if you are looking for a soul and calm surf.
It is made of paulownia for the stringer, ribs and rails and paulownia red cedar for the deck and bottom, and 6 oz fiber glass with bamboo fins."

www.woodsurfboard.org

The ultimate board test

Great looking wave.... check out the story below.

" A few weeks back we were visited by two really great guys, Tyler Fox and Jon Free. They run a local website called “Santa Cruz Waves” which is a really cool site geared toward the Santa Cruz surf scene as well as local restaurants, music, and so on. They stopped in to do a short article on their website about our boards, and to share what they are working towards with their website. Fox was really eager to try out a board, so we told him to stop by anytime and we would go for a surf. A few days later the swell picked up to 16′ on the buoy. Fox showed up at our shop in the afternoon, straight from an early morning surf at Mavericks, and suggested that we go catch a few. I gave him my personal board, a 9’0″ Redwood glider, and I took out my 7′ Birch hull. He surfed the board amazingly and gave some great feedback on the design. It was the best day we’ve had in town all year, no wind, 80 degree weather, and pumping surf."

Now I think you are convinced that wooden boards can perform.

The Glider is built for forward trim surfing, quick turning, and down-the-line effortless speed. It can be ridden in two foot soup, or overhead surf.

The deck is built from scrap poplar, and some very special redwood. The redwood was given to us by our good friend Alberto (aka Birdo). Alberto cleared a small grove of trees up in Bonny Doon some 30 years ago to help his godfather build a workshop. The leftover wood was milled, stacked, and left to cure until now.

www.ventanasurfco.com

9ft 4" Balsa Deluxe

Fine tuning prior to glassing

Fin boxes routed and ready

Fine veneer glued up to go around the fin boxes to minimise the non wood outcome on the finished board.It is such attention to detail and the execution of such things that sets the great board builders apart. Roger hall is one such builder of fine craft.

Master class all the way.

Great turnout at the Ukulele demo @ Patagonia Burleigh Heads

All sorts a people a drawn to the ukulele

They had a great turnout on a hot old day.

Local Corndale wood worker and wooden board builder among other things Mike Connor also makes a great ukulele.

www.michealconnorwoodwork.com.au

Limited Edition pigs

Balsa Collector Series

9'4" x 22 1/2" x 3"

'The late 50's heralded great change in surfboard construction, as boards went from being hollow or solid timber to the foam/fibreglass build that we are all familiar with these days. The final era of solid timber construction featured a board known as the 'pig'. The template was distinctive with its narrow width (often less than 22"!), huge wide tail, and over-hanging D-fin. To celebrate the beauty of the pig we've released a Limited Edition solid balsa replica. These are some of the most beautiful boards we've ever had come through our factory - solid balsa construction, double glossed for that deep shine, laminated timber D fin with a beer tinted halo, and a numbered copper plaque, that we can mount on the deck or on the bottom depending on how the board will be displayed. There will be just 12 made, all hand finished and signed by Bob'

www.mctavish.com.au

Grain Surfboards want you to be part of the revolution

" For thousands of years, surfers have surfed. For all but sixty of those years, their boards were of wood, almost always built with their own hands, for their own enjoyment. Life was good.

But somehow, as civilization advanced, a professional class rose above the rest of us – with great and growing skill, they built our boards for us, tirelessly experimenting and testing, discovering little by little the hidden secrets of how sculpted shapes ride waves.

Now, benefiting from the trove of knowledge collected by our shapers – our oracles of surf – the rest of us are discovering that we too can share the thrill not only of riding waves, but of riding waves on wooden boards that we have built with our own hands – returning to surfing’s roots in a quiet revolution that’s stirring in garages, barns and basements across the land.

Modern shapes, traditional construction, hand-built with care and quality… Welcome to the Revolution.

So if you’ve built a kit, ordered a custom board built here in Maine, or attended any of our classes, we’d like you to meet… everyone else. With a universally interesting group of surfers like yourselves drifting through the shop year after year, it seems only right that you should all have a way to meet up with each other.

That’s why we’re helping to set up Surf Roots Revolution, whose members will be all of you that we’ve gotten to know since we set up shop. Let’s face it – if you’re building your own board, or even surfing on wood, you’re just a little bit different than the rest. And the kind of people we’ve gotten to know through Grain have been so totally cool that we’re sure you’ll all get along great.

We will set up the Surf Roots Swap Shop where you can share info, tools, clamps, rocker tables – whatever. There’ll be places to have discussions about board building, and to log details or techniques that go beyond the board builder’s manual. We’ll also set up discounts on event admissions and products, and figure out other ways to give you all the special treatment you deserve. You’re already part of a revolutionary way of thinking about surfing – one that respects the roots of a noble sport, more sustainable, more handcrafted. So, welcome to the revolution."

Guys I think this is a great idea and yes if you are a wooden board builder you are a different breed in some ways. Sign me up to.


Check out more details on their site : www.grainsurfboards.com

School project

Last week I took a few days off and camped down at Broken Head just south of Byron Bay. I ran into Peter McIntosh from Marist College in Ashgrove who was on the last days of a week long surf camp with the boys from the school. We got talking and he said they were just starting to build a wooden board that they had found some plans for on the net. This is Matt with his project so far.

Building a wooden board is a great experience for anyone and ideal for a school project with the right setup like they have here.

Matt it certainly looks like you are a proud builder and we are looking forward to future progress shots. Nice job.

Nathaniel Grey from Sydney is a busy man.

" This board is a 4’ft 20” by 3/4” Piapo, made from Paulownia and finished with Tung oil. It has a 3/8” hull bottom running from nose to tail."

" This one is a 4' 8” Mini Simmons I’m making for my daughter (in the process of finishing at the moment).
I have built it from a 10 year old battered styrofoam cool lite, that I chopped and re profiled and shaped , then laminated a 5mm skin of balsa and Paulownia I had left over.
The rails are 30mm solid balsa, with a 4oz epoxy glass job to keep it light.
Bottom contours are a subtle hull upfront blending into a slight concave through the fins.
It weighs bugger all. "

" The hand planes are made from a variety of woods from Balsa, Paulownia and red cedar and western red cedar, some are also laminated with 6oz carbon fibre.
The 2 laminated with carbon fibre are only 7 to 8 mm thick hence the carbon for strength.
All the hand planes have 3/4 to 1 inch of concave running straight through them.
And I have finished them with an auto acrylic clear finish."

Check out Nathans skills and other ventures : www.nathanielgrey.com.au