Belly Board art by Lachlan Leckie

During Nossa festival of surfing 2010, Vintage Pacific surf craft hosted an exhibition of belly boards. Decorated by artists/surfers including, Dane peterson, Jai Lee, Tim Crabtree, Keith Hamlin and Many more. We follow the process from start to finish (with a few distractions) of Gold Coast artist Lachlan Leckie.

Thinking of our friends in Japan as they try to get back on their feet

These photos were taken near the nuclear power plant outskirts in Fukushima in 2010.

They may never be able to surf there again due to contamination

All photos by : Kenyu /On The Board/Marine publishing company Japan

" Dear Friends,

This is the biggest disaster ever seen in JAPAN.
The earthquake of magnitude 9 overcame the wide coastline at 2:26pm on March 11, and the tsunami attacked from Tohoku to North Kanto in the 30 minutes by being generated in the Tohoku coast. The tsunami waves were 14 metres max in front of the nuclear power plant. The tsunami was made momentarily, attacked the long coastline, and destroyed up to ten kilometres or more inland.

A lot of surf points are scattered in this region. A lot of fatal blows were received. Moreover, a lot of surf shops near the beach disappeared too. Several thousand corpses went up to the coastline in the afternoon though it was uncertain whether there was persons who was surfing there. The above-mentioned life of 10,000 people was over in a moment, they were deprived, resulting in several hundred thousand victims. In addition, damage reached the nuclear plant, the radiation began to leak, and the evacuation order went out to the residents in the 20 kilometre radius. The fire fighting of the nuclear plant continues still as of today, March 26. The number of disaster evacuees keeps increasing too and it has became the worst disaster in the history of Japan.

The surf point from the Tohoku region to North Kanto received a huge amount of damage, and the surf point of Fukushima in particular, received a fatal blow. When it comes to restoration for the future, damage will continue to be serious throughout the rescue operation as it is now. I would like you to please lend help for the revival of Japan. Please hold out help to Japan that fights against the earthquake, the tsunami, the radioactivity, and the harmful rumours. The people who lost family, friends, houses, pets and everything are asking for help.

It is not time for tears in Japanese right now, we never give up and we will work hard until the country is revived. "

Please send contributions to: www.redcross.org.au/japan2011
USA - www.redcross.org

Best regards

Tadashi Yaguchi /Japanese surfer who lives in Newport Beach, Sydney Northern beaches since 1998.



A helping handplane from Mike

" Hi Grant, as part of a fundraising effort for the Christchurch Quake Victims, I was asked to make a handplane as a spot prize at the New Zealand premier of 'Stoked and Broke', so here it is, laminated paulownia with poker work, stain and linseed oil, built in handle (like you advised), stoked to do something fun and help raise money for those poor buggers in Christchurch."

Cheers Mike C.

The High Tech approach

We all know that the bee and the honey comb are a dam good team when it comes to building ideas. Well meet Mike Grobelny from New Zealand. He has taken that idea and some technology and lifted the bar for us all.

Old ideas new ideas , it is all out there in front of us we just need to know where to look sometimes.

It helps when you are a computer design major and have a work shop like this to use.

Light , strong and only the beginning for Mike.

Check out this clip and if you would like to meet him he will be one of the speakers at the Gold Coast Surf Museum on the first weekend in August for The Wooden Board Day 2011

A wooden Fish and a time to help out others.

The following is a letter I have received from Jay Jackman in Christchurch , New Zealand.

"Well it has now almost been one month since we felt that devastating shake here in Christchurch.

We have been involved since that day in a City moving forward to heal itself. As a collective there has been incredible personal loss and emotional strain.

Heartbreakingly parts of our City are reduced to rubble on a daily basis.Our ocean and beaches continue to be punished and polluted as a result.

However in the face of all of this, there is the determination and courage to stay positive and carry on.

As part of this movement, we have decided to shape a unique board to donate to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.

I will be shaping a balsa South Island Fish, one of our most popular local models, crafting the stringers and fins from timbers belonging to a demolished factory that once stood right behind our own. The board will be 6’3” to represent the 6.3mag quake that changed a lot of lives. We will show the progress of the construction on Facebook and will finally put this on Trademe to auction. Please feel free to let anyone know that may be interested.

As a shaper I cannot think of a more poignant moment to shape a board. This one is for our home town of Christchurch and to help those who still continue to struggle in the aftermath of the Feb 22nd Earthquake.

At this time also, our hearts and thoughts go out to all those people coming to grips with what is happening in Japan."

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?saved&&note_id=153667688027111#!/notes/sadhana-surfboards/63-balsa-fish-for-christchurch-earthquake-appeal/153667688027111

Jay Jackman Shapes & Designs

www.sadhanasurfboards.co.nz

So guys guys follow Jay's progress on the board and if you can help out I am sure it will be appreciated. Our surfing friends in New Zealand and Japan are having a tough time at the moment.

The extra Mini Simmons from Richard Harvey

Peace brother.

Burned in logos

Concave deck and bottom with a high low rail. Lay down, kneel or stand up.

It's a 4' x 24" wide Mini Simmons style Piapo.

Wooden board building course at Mt Eliza

I have just received this update on the wooden board building course at Mt .Eliza in Victoria which was organised by Robert Ivers.

" The Labour Day Long Weekend in Victoria was the date for the first Two, Tree 2 Sea Workshops in Australia, they were held in my workshop in Mt.Eliza Victoria.

Participants came from as far a field as South Australia,The Gold Coast, Byron Bay and Lakes Entrance."

" Rich Blundell an original founder of Grain Surfboards in the USA and most recently from treetosea.org was the instructor and mastermind behind the workshops, he travelled from the United Kingdom, where he had just completed Workshops in Wales."

" His knowledge and ideas about wooden board building is amazing. Using his specially developed system which allows a wooden surfboard to be built to the final sanding stage in two days, 9 beautiful wooden boards were created and have travelled to their new home with their creators to be sanded and glassed. Everybody had a great time and we all made some new friends.The boards ranged in size from a 4`6” Paipo to a 9' Malibu with the fish being the most popular build. The timber of choice was Australian grown Paulownia from the Coffs Harbor region, it`s an excellent material for board making with interesting grain patterns and very easy to work with."

" The Workshops will become regular events throughout the year and I will continue running them now that Rich has past on his techniques about this system."

" I have had a lot of interest about this program from local schools that would like to add the program into their school curriculum, so I am tailoring the program to suit the kids ability and hope to have it up and running soon."

Written By Robert Ivers

Hollow Wooden Surfboards

www.hwsb.com.au

Simple piece of wood , but lots of fun for all

Chad Waldron's Momentary Film Regarding a Wooden Board from Waldron Bros Production on Vimeo.

Kate's fish

Kate was another to do the Paul Jensen class last year and has just picked up her board. It is a buzz to see all that colour come out and look forward to that first wave. A great experience.

Brett's board all polished up.

Brett Phillips built this board in Paul Jensens class last year and has been enjoying the ride.

Great looking laminated fin.

Paulownia skin and cork and ply rails.

Old school shape but a ton of fun. And that is all that matters. Brett I hope this is the first of many projects that you will share with us.Thanks mate.

Grain reach a milestone...

Grain Surfboards Celebrates 1,000 Surfer-built Boards

Build-it, Surf-it: Grain Surfboards of York, Maine celebrates over 1000 Wooden Surfboards built by their customers and students, as Home Grown Surfboard Kits and during Grain Board-building Classes.

Grain Surfboards was founded when the owners had the inspiration to build their own surfboards rather than buy manufactured boards. Feeling that the fun and challenge of building-your-own was too good to keep to themselves, they began offering DIY kits in 2006, and to hold classes at their shop in Maine in 2008.

You could call it a DIY secret club of sorts. A group of people from all walks of life connected by one thing - the experience of building a wooden surfboard themselves, and the thrill of surfing it for the first time. Grain’s Home Grown Wooden Surfboard Kits are aimed at surfers of all skill levels, ages and backgrounds. “We don't think there is a typical customer,” Co-owner Brad Anderson says. “We've literally had brain surgeons and high-school seniors do it. Seasoned pro-surfers have build these boards and people that have never surfed a day, but love a challenging project that results in a gracefully shaped piece of functional art they can brag about building themselves.”

Each Home Grown Kit is put together by hand in Maine from locally grown, sustainably harvested northern white cedar. The kits come with all the materials you need to build your own board: board frame, cedar planks and rail strips, fin box, leash plug, glue, epoxy, fiberglass, rubber gloves and a very detailed instruction manual. They are available to purchase at online stores, as well as at Grain's headquarters in Maine. Each board takes approximately 50 hours to build, but will be around for a lifetime of waves.

Grain continues to support do-it-yourselfers by adding new surfboard kits and classes every season – all aimed at teaching like-minded others how to give wood its well-deserved place in the lineup.

To view the variety of boards available to build at home or in classes, please visit the U-Build-It section of their website. www.grainsurfboards.com

Tim's new project

This is Tim Staffords new 6’8” x 20 1/4” x 2 5/8” Cleanline EVO5 with oak parabolic rails, epoxy 6oz bottom and a wood/epoxy 4oz sandwich deck. He is aiming to achieve a superlight wood option with a more traditional flex pattern.

" Here we have the EPS core shaped last week… yesterday Jason glassed it in 6oz epoxy on the bottom with 4 oz cut rails all in a pastel olive green… and it looks amazing with its angular rails ready and waiting for next weeks 1.5mm wood deck and some 3/8” parabolic oak rails… then it comes back for a 4 oz clear epoxy deck and rail wrap before it gets its FCS bonzers in an EVO5 set-up. So it is half Glass Tiger half epoxy Cleanline for Indo… The shape has a little more rocker than I normally put in to fit the curvy faces we hope to be surfing, and to help control all that speed. Only reservation I have is I don’t want to get hit by those oak rails!"

6’7” x 20 1/4” x 2 5/8” finished shape


" Big thanks to Mark, Jason, Daz and Nigel for pushing this one through in time for the Mentwais trip, leaving this Thursday. Right now Daz is getting the FCS plugs in and fighting against the clock to have it hard enough to flip over, do the valve, the fin box + drill through, and then sand it before I go."
Well Tim is off on his trip so I hope the board was finished and dry enough to pack as it all seemed to be happening at the last minute.Looks like a pretty tidy package and can't wait to see the trip report Tim.Tim loves his bonzers and inventive hand crafted fins he builds. Check him out at : justbonzers.blogspot.com Also Glass Tiger Surfboards who he has collaborated with on a number of projects.

John Purnell's new project...

"I've used 12 paulownia lengths this time as I found I can get easier access when chambering & less waste, cons - more gluing up ."

" I used Purbond instead of epoxie as its much more user friendly (only time will tell if this was right decision) ."

Close up of the chambering

"It has a bees wax/gum oil finish, keeping in with the whole "Green Board" thing. I noticed a small ding/dint in one rail one day (as the wax doesn't have that hard finish) but continued to surf, then a few days later noticed it had self repaired."

" I used the pro box fin system so I can utilise glass fins (I find timber fins can be a little stiff & I wanted a little bit more flex performance).
Finished weight without fins is 5.1kg, also I am using board wax as its just that more forgiving & easier to surf than using no wax."

Hope you enjoy the shots
cheers John....

John you certainly built a beautiful board and have created a great looking quiver.