Wood is good

Just a sample of some of the boards and brands on show last weekend.There really are some very talented people out there. And they come from all walks of life. In fact full time surfboard shapers were way in the minority , maybe less than 20% of those on show.

Someone asked me “do you get board-envy being surrounded by so many beautiful boards?” My answer is ”there is a great mutual respect for the builder of each and every wooden board, as those of us who have built them know that none of it has come without a lot of time and effort”. There is no quick way of building a board. And it’s not so much envy, but more mutual appreciation and respect.

The difference with this year from last year is that every board on display was hand built by the person themselves and a great vibe was felt as they shared their experience and journey in building what they had on display. Paulownia was definitely the wood of choice for most people as it is strong and light as well as resistant to salt water.

A couple of innovative guys

Dick Van Straalen couldn't make it to the wooden board day this year , but gave me this beautiful solid Balsa Hot Curl he has shaped to bring along . It has the most beautiful lines and simplistic flow. Roger and a couple of others took it out for a few waves on Sunday.

Yesterday (Monday) we headed down to Byron for a Tiki Tour and ran into Bob McTavish, who has to be one of the most energized guys you could meet at any age. Bob and Roger have a lot in common and it was nice to be there to hear their thoughts. Later on Ian Chisham from Victoria and South Coast Surfboards dropped in as well. Earlier over at North Coast Surfboards catching up with Evan Squirrell we were joined by Mick Mackie who was in town on a small surfing break with a mate and building a couple of boards out at his farm.
It turned out to be an interesting day catching up with a bunch of innovative guys in the surf industry. The open minded guys who keep us inspired and bring us new ideas and shapes to enjoy.

Wooden Board Day 2010

We were blessed with great warm winters day weather today for the 2nd Annual Wooden Board Day. Around 24c , offshore winds and waist to chest high waves. A great mix of people and some wonderful boards on display.

Richard Harvey showed off his innovative board and fin system all in Paulownia


Slide in the cut down chop stick and that locks it all in place. Also the board is shape in such a way that it can be surfed up one side or swap ends and surfed the other way round.

Nobby from Japan for the weekend was very excited to meet Tom Wegener who then invited him up to Noosa over the next couple of days before heading back to Japan.

Tony Crimmins with his newly finished all Paulownia board.

Nobuhito ( Nobby ) and his wife Asako with a couple of his boards he brought out from Japan for the day.

This guy had these great art boards if you like that were shaped from rough timber slabs that had surfboard shapes waiting to be uncovered by a creative eye. Something Fred Finstone may have ridden.


Andrew Wells from Grown Surfboards Lennox Heads with a couple of unreal boards.The one on the right has the deck boards made from old hardwood fence palings.

Two great looking all Paulownia chambered boards without glass , just bees wax finish.

Nice timber , classic shape in honour of the past.

An Alaia line up by David from Melbournes Paulownia Plantation timber supplies.

Greg Wheeldon from Brisbane in the throws of building a hollow kite board.

Sunova ( Bert Burger ) Surfboards with some great looking boards

The gentleman on the right is 81 year old Barry Regan from Ballina with boards he still builds.

Gerard Hatton with a range of boards he has built since doing the Paul Jensen course last year.

Some beautifully crafted boards by Manny Oppliger , some of the lightest framed boards around.
An innovative guy new to surfboards but very skilled.

Two likely ladds , Paul Mc Givern and Parrish Watts after a session of belly boarding.

Alaias

All the way from South Australia was Benjamin Wallbridge with balsa over EPS boards he has been working on.

Tom Wegener Paulownia boards what else. Big fins , one glassed one not.

A proud first timer with his board. Just what it is all about. No matter what , there is no easy way to build a wooden board so there is a lot of mutual respect among those that have built a wooden board.

Biggest board of the day was this 12ft SUP that I designed for Peter Milburn , who did a great job of building it.

Bobby Crisp from New Zealand with his collection of boards.

A nice clean looking Woody Jack Alaia. Laser burnt logo is cool.

Frank Kaczmarek on the left a local bus driver and John Suttclife a truck mechanic from New Zealand on the right. Johns board is all NZ Kauri.

Rob Ivers from Victoria had a couple of great looking boards , this one and a nice fish.


Sam Robinson was keen for run on Toms Tuna. The surf was fun most of the day , the sun was out and there were people swapping boards all day. That was the spirit in which the day was meant to be. Thanks to all who turned up and made it the success it was once again.About 120 board on display and 100's through the park all day.

Wooden Surfboard night at Gold Coast Surf Museum

Last night some 100 + people gathered at the Surf Museum at Currumbin to have a beer or two and a BBQ on the deck before Bushy introduced them to our guest speakers.

Left to right , Mike Connor , Tom Wegener and Roger Hall.

Tom was first up and had a few early English belly boards showing flex and how simple surfing has been for many people. Then he moved onto the Alaia and how they came about. He is always a passionate story teller and all round interesting guy.

Mike was his country casual self and covered the building of framed wooden boards and that method of construction.He fielded quite a few questions on Paulownia and tools ,as he is known to have quite a collection in his shed. Mainly focusing on sharp tools.

Roger explained the process of chambering boards and the use of different timbers. The board he is holding has 9 different species . He also covered the question of weight associated with wooden boards and explained it very well. The ride and feel of wooden boards.Even though he hand shapes foam boards all day he is a passionate collector of woods to use in boards.

Thanks to all those who came along and to the Surf Museum for hosting the night. It is a great venue and run by a great group of volunteers . If you haven't been along to check it out , please do. They have a number of wooden boards on display all the time. An enjoyable and informative night had by all I am sure , and now look forward to the day in the park.

5ft 10" Paulownia fish

My experimental all Paulownia fish is finished in time for the wooden board day on Sunday.
5ft 10" x 22" 6mm deck and 5mm bottom over a 6mm frame and 4oz glass top and bottom.Concave deck out through the tail and a rolled soft V in the nose to a flat under the front foot , double concave V out through the tail.It was very strong before glassing and could easily not been glassed and just oiled. Next one will be for sure.You never know until you have a go and that is what this is all about.
Check us out on Sunday at The Alley.

Great looking solid Paulownia " Log "

Here is an email I just received ...

" A recent post about a solid paulownia board - that suggested that they were not so successful - has encouraged me to email you with my board story. That a solid paulownia surfboard can be successful.

Last year I finally plucked up enough courage to get started on making a board for myself. I was inspired by all the wonderful photographs on your web page, and decided that considering my limited woodworking skills that I'd try and build a solid surfboard. I bought some plantation paulownia from here in New Zealand (Paulownia Enterprises), purchased a pdf on how to build a balsa board from Mark Riley's webpage....and then got started (with some help from my young
sons). I copied the shape of my 9' 6" noserider, though reduced the rocker a bit. I made a few mistakes along the way, but finally the board emerged. It has a recycled matai nose and tail, and rimu stringer. I emailed Tom Wegner for oil advice - he suggested linseed oil and gum turps (took 5 coats). I think it looks great (photo attached), and what's more it rides just fine. It's a tad heavy (I'm going to chamber the next one) but it's easy to paddle into waves and keeps a good fast line.
I made a standard fin shape out of plywood to get started with - but it needs something a bit stiffer and with more area. Maybe a D fin will work best - going to make one soon. Because of its weight I've had to master riding without a leash, and prefer to have some room out there in the waves.But boy what a feeling - riding your own wooden beauty.

I'd love to come over to the board day - but too expensive for me to fly at the moment. Hopefully the next one.

Keep up your great work."

Cheers
Ashley Rowden
Island Bay, Wellington, New Zealand.

Great story and a great looking board. This is how it all starts for most of us. We are all experimenting and trying new things to see what works and suits what we are after . By sharing out experiences we can move forward. There are no right and wrong ways of spending your time building something that will give you so much pleasure when you catch that first wave.

Thanks for sharing your story with us.

The Woody "Bush Pig"

Mike Connor has just picked up his all Paulownia Pig. Like myself he built the foam one as a trial horse at Christmas to see how she went. All good and lots of fun so a wood one was next.A classic shape that suits wood for sure.
You can catch up with Mike at the Gold Coast Surf Museum Saturday night as he is one of the guest speakers.Or check his board the next day in the park at the Alley.

Ye Olde Log

Ian Moulton just sent through these shots of his latest project.
" I copied my fathers old 64 stringless Shane which lives in the rafters. All the wooden framework, deck skins and fin has been custom laser cut from 4mm hardwood ply. "


" The rails are laminated cork. As I am a fan of recycled wood, I kept in mind throughout the build that I wanted a rustic looking log. "

" The board is just short of 9'3". "

Cool looking fin Ian.