This Sunday (the 12th of Feb) the BBC are broadcasting an episode from the Isle of Wight, featuring a story on one of the original members of the Isle of Wight Surf Club & his homemade boards and suits.

It was on Paul Blackley’s Wight Surf History Site that the story of Archie Trickett and his home made surf equipment that the BBC found their story. Archie was a pretty smart chap by all accounts and made himself a surfboard and wetsuit by hand - you couldn’t buy them back then. With his wife, Betty, they built a wooden house and spent weekends surfing at Compton, driving their by motorbike with the surfboard on the sidecar.

The best part is that Archie never threw his old stuff away, and Betty was enthusiastic to share his story with others. So the Isle of Wight Surfclub & Rapanui helped put together a day for Countryfile: Ellie Harrison (presenter) gives surfing a go at our most popular West-coast beach, Compton and the Island's best surfers took Archie's old board out in the waves again. It was really quite a special day to not just have some living history there, but to try it out first hand and bring it back to life.

The Episode is on this Sunday at 7PM, BBC 1 - definitely worth a watch.

See below for more images of Archie’s homemade Surfboard and Wetsuit.

Read more and comment: http://www.rapanuiclothing.com/blog/countryfile-isle-of-wight-rapanui.html

About the Isle of Wight Surf club

The Isle of Wight Surf Club is one of the oldest surf clubs in Europe - the Island has been surfed since the sixties - and thanks to Paul Blackley, a local surfer, all of the Island's surfing heritage has been recovered and collated in one place - the Wight Surf History Project.

The Isle of Wight Surf Club had been disbanded for years by the time this came along but with Surfing becoming more and more popular, Rapanui decided to reinvest some profits in it as a community project. Now with a solid membership, a series of competitions and tournaments plus a learner-programme that took 90 beginners surfing for free last year, the Surf Club resurgence is going strong.  There are a handful of surf businesses and a dedicated bunch of individuals involved in running the club now and we're stoked to have been able to help get it back on its feet.

www.iowsurfclub.com

Rapanui was founded in 2008 by Rob and Martin Drake-Knight, now aged 24 and 26, with £200 savings. They feature on the Future 100 list of Top Young Entrepreneurs, whilst Rapanui featured on the Top 100 Start-ups list of 2008. They have sought no investment and make every effort to encourage other young people to believe in their ability to create successful, sustainable businesses.

In just 3 years of trading, this exciting new brand has already made a substantial contribution to sustainable fashion and created real change in an industry plagued with bad ethics. Mart Drake-Knight, designer, sums up Rapanui.

“Fashion is like no other medium, in that you literally dress yourself in what you believe in. Rapanui gives people a choice to vote with their wallet for ethical fashion. We want to use the power of fashion to make eco cool, and design traceable, transparent products that let you shop quickly with a conscience.”

For further information please contact Rob Drake-Knight, on 01983 409790 or email rob@rapanuiclothing.com

Great to see these young guys giving back to save a piece of history and I would love to see this sometime. So if you are able to dial up the BBC on the telly this weekend , check it out. Hopefully we get to see it some time don the track here in Australia.

Freshly tested

James Osborne just sent through some pics of a board he has just finished and tested. It's inspired by Bob Simmons, Dan Thompson and Tom Wegener's thumb... " I'm just starting out as a wooden board builder and looking to launch my brand (Kiri Surfcraft) with a website etc.
 
" First thing you will notice about this board is that its made out of wood, the next thing you will notice when you pick it up, is that its on the heavy side. This is a chambered surfboard, each of the 5 pieces of timber that make this board have been lightly hollowed out. The brass vent is to allow the board to breath, unscrew it when you are not in the water and screw it in tight just before a surf (a 5c coin works well in place of a screw driver(!))."

" The light coloured timber is Paulownia – an amazing, fast growing timber originating in South East Asia and now sustainably grown and harvested in plantations throughout eastern Australia. The Japanese word for Paulownia is KIRI, which is where the brand name comes from. The unique thing about this wood is that it is almost as light as balsa wood, but it is much more durable and is resistant to water logging. This enables these surfboards to be made without fibreglass or resin. This board is sealed with a plant based varnish, which will last many years if it cared for. If the varnish wears off or if the board is scratched or dinged, it can be easily sanded back and re-varnished and will look almost new again."

 " The dark red timber is Victorian Red Gum. This timber is used because it looks great and it is rock solid and heavy. Again it is resistant to weathering, many of the old red gum railway sleepers laid in the early 1900’s are still around today unsealed and going strong after a century of heavy use."

" The weight of timber board is often a turn off for many surfers, however this is based on the misconception that a lighter board is faster and more responsive. In fact this board’s weight gives the board more speed and glide that allows you to surf a much greater area of the wave than your
regular board. The low entry rocker, planning hull and chined rails are also all designed to give the board more speed down the line. You will also notice the rails of this board are quite sharp, combine this with small twin keel fins and the board’s responsiveness is greatly improved. A chambered timber board is much more lively underfoot than foam and fiberglass boards (especially when the surf has a bit of power), it will flex a bit and bounce in and out of turns, the resonance of timber means
you will “feel” the way the wave and the board interact. The feeling is hard to explain, suffice to say it’s a great ride!
This board will require you to modify your surfing. You will need to surf rail to rail, as the rails are what gives the board it’s control and speed and hold in the steep sections of the wave. You will need to keep a rail ‘engaged’ in the wave at all times, this will largely prevent you from going completely vertical, but you will be rewarded with an ability to do huge arcing cut backs and long drawn out top-to -bottom ‘figure 8’ turns. This board feels slow to paddle, but from as soon as you catch the wave this board will have almost instant speed, you can relax and just enjoy the speed and energy of the surf, you will be able to make sections that you once thought were impossible, you can nose ride when it takes your fancy and land huge long floaters with ease."

"This board is made to bring the fun back into your surfing, no matter what the conditions are like, all the test surfs have been in very poor conditions, but the board has still performed well and the surfers have had a blast. This board is designed for a surfer from 65kgs and up to 90kgs (can be heavier, but need to paddle harder) and to be surfed in anything up to overhead and a half, onshore, off shore, cross shore it doesn’t matter. This board is the first of its model and has been tested by myself and
other interested surfers, as you can see in the photos. The ideal wave for this board is a long peeling break with a variety of fast hollow sections and slow shoulders that break anywhere from knee high to a couple of feet overhead. Since surfing my first timber surfboard, I have only gone back to my regular PU thruster for two sessions (when the swell was 6-8ft+).
Surfing wood is addictive."

" If you know anyone looking for a cheap wooden board thats a blast to ride, get them to give me a call  (0417106480) - Cheers James "

Your big chance for free...

So what is this all about you might well ask. Essentially, it's a call for people who would like to learn some board building skills to submit their idea for a board, sketches, written, whatever...  The best entry, chosen by Classic Malibu, get to work with Peter White to refine the design, and produce the board, being introduced to all the skills along the way, and obviously be the proud owner of their own new board...

What a great opportunity to learn your skills from one of the great masters of the industry. Peter has helped many young guys into the industry that I know.

Noosa is not a bad place to hone your skills and test your board. So come on get off your arse , it is being handed to you on a plate.

For information, terms and conditions and to submit your design , email the guys at Smorgasboarder :

shapersappentice@smorgasboarder.com.au

A big thanks to the guys at Smorgasboarder Magazine and Peter White of Classic Malibu for this great offer and a once in a lifetime experience.

www.smorgasboarder.com.au

www.classicmalibu.com

Wooden Kite Boards

Matt Ma makes kite boards and he only started a about a year or so ago and does it in his spare time.

" There lots of cross over in the techniques and I think the strength /weight and look of the wood has the same appeal for both.
I’ve been blogging my efforts to date and wanted to share a couple of photo’s and my blog incase its of interest."

http://myvirtualshed.blogspot.com

His blog has plenty of pictures , details and background on what he is doing and learning as he goes.It is very informative and well worth a look. Vac bagging and set ups that could well be used to build wooden surfboards.
Thanks Matt for sharing your knowledge and projects.

Little Gems ...

Pete Davis has made a few wooden longboards over the years and just thought he'd have a go at making some fun little cheap ones. Both boards cost under $200 dollars each to make, on the darker board he has used Fijian ply and Paulownia rails and syrinia balsa nose. The lighter board has hoop pine top , Paulownia rails and laminated nose blocks with just spare wood from home. His wife and daughter had free rain on the bottom to do some artwork. Just goes to show making a board doesn't have to be hard or expensive it can be enjoyable and still a lot of fun.

Hollow wooden board

I have received an email from a lady who has this board and would like to find out more about it.

" Hi Grant,   just wondering if it would be worth coming to the Gold Coast at your meetings all about boards, as I have an old board that I would like some information on , this one could be 1930's Hollow 3 metres x 500 and in good condition it is only now taking on water so we retired it, but was going to fix it until the surf guy said if I were you find more information, my son was given the board 7 years ago by a good old (94year old) neighbour, she used it to collect crabs in the peel inlet near Mandurah W.A. for many years. We currently live in S.A and its too big to bring to the meeting. Have attached photos   Regards  Ann and Byron Bruce.   email  annbyron@adam.com.au "

So if you have any info you could contribute to this board or type of board could you help Ann and Byron out by contacting them.

" The Kala "

 This is Charlie Loiselle's latest board the "Kala"

 " Bookmatched redwood top and a lauan bottom (ripped and alternated at the stringer and glassed on both faces). All in all I still prefer a properly planked bottom but the lauan is quick and easy to work with, and looks good. I went with a bonzer fin setup with an FCS trailer rather than the regular large single fin – I intend to surf this one as a slippery twin as well as the bonzer setup.  The smaller side fins are glassed on and made of meranti marine plywood."

 "Artwork is a Kala I shot a while back (hence the name) and printed up myself. I wanted to see how the heavy rice paper would glass, and it came out nice. The blue highlights cover the deck-rail joint, which due to the heavy dome of the deck came out uneven. The lizard on the bottom was heat-transferred directly on to the wood."

" Rails are strip-planked with alternating white fir and mahogany. The leash plug is stacked ply, cut and worked by hand with a stainless bolt as the anchor."   Check out other shots at :
http://islanddreamssurf.blogspot.com/2012/01/kala-ii-electric-bugaloo.html

Grain Board building class in Oregon

For all the details check out their site : http://www.grainsurfboards.com/classes/traveling-class/

The unglassed Simmons

I had some time over Christmas between some great long surf sessions to build a board I had been thinking of for some time .What I have tried to achieve here is a simple way of making a wooden board with less time , materials , weight and cost involve. Not necessarily a greener board in any way , but it is probably a long way towards that as well. My theory is that the materials used are far more compatible flex wise so that if they need to move they will all go together. Where as if you were to use resin whether epoxy or urethane which is hard and not as compatible flex wise. So it may be more likely to come away from the foam as it is the softer material. The other thing is the Paulownia , the Polyurathane glue and the Styrene blank are all waterproof. The proof will be in pudding as they say when she gets waxed up and surfed. It feels good and the weight is great .You will also notice I have not used a breather as the blank is very hard and there is very little air between the styrene beads.

I started with one of my foam boards that I have designed in AKU Shaper and took 7mm off the thickness and 20mm off the rails all round. This was then cut from a hard Core Fusion EPS blank.

After sanding the blank I glued a 3mm Paulownia rail band / parabolic stringer round the outside of the blank.

The stringer is there to hold the rocker in the board and to aid in some following processes. It also seals the blank on one face.After the glue has gone off I trimmed the timber down to the blank and shaped it to the foil of the blank as well.

The polyurethane glue is spread over the foam blank and I sprayed a mist of water on the timber as the glue goes off with moisture.The 4mm deck and 3mm bottom skins are cut to approx 5mm oversize all round , taped together and placed in the bag. The glue has a 30 minute working time , so plenty of time to set things up.

A piece of shade cloth give the air some space to be sucked out without sucking straight onto the wooden.

The glues takes 2 hours to go off so the pump is left on for that time.It pulls down very well and very evenly. Best to gather up the excess bag on one side prior to pumping the air out. That way the bag is tight to the board on the edges and when the air comes out it pulls straight down on the skins rather than being able to get sucked in between the skins and rail bands. Which can happen. The masking tape also helps to keep it out during this time.

Then when it is all set , slide it out of the bag and trim the excess 5mm all round. This is also where the parabolic stringer comes in handy. Make sure to keep the face square as this is important.

There are 6 x 3mm laminates to make up the nose as it is easier to bend these thinner strips , although you may be able to steam or heat them to make it easier. I have not tried that yet.

All 6 nose laminates on and then trimmed with the Japanese saw at a slight angle which will help hold or key the next rail bands in position. I have also rough trimmed them down to the deck and bottom skins.

Not a big mess yet.

3 x 6mm thick rail bands glued on and tail block laminated as well.

Here I have planned the rail bands down to the foil of the board prior to rough shaping the rails. So the outer edge of the rail band is still square at this point.

I used a small hand plane to bring the rails down rather than the electric planner just to get more feeling for the wood and what was happening. I felt better doing it this way . A bit slower and hard work but you only get one shot at this.

All shaped and leash plug epoxied in.

I used Futures fin boxes and took extra foam out right through to the deck timber to key it all together as there is no glass over the boxes as you would do in a glass board.

These are the new Rasta Bamboo quad set from Futures Fins.

I have finished the board with 4 coats on Lanotec which is lanolin or the waterproof oil / grease from sheep's wool. It is not to waterproof the wood but to condition it in the first instance. The waterproofing properties can't hurt as well.

Looking forward to some feedback once it gets in the water. I will keep you posted.

If you have any questions email me : grantnewby@bigpond.com

Flama Mini Simmons

 Sergi  from Flama Surfboards in Barcelona , Spain has just sent me an update on their new factory and one of their new models. The Mini Simmons.

 They use Paulownia to make blanks that have solid rails.

 Here is one rough shaped , ready for fine tuning and sanding.

 Here you can see from the paper template the outline of where the solid rails are so as to know how far into the blank they can take away when shaping the rails.

 

For more on their boards and what they are up to , check them out at : www.flamasurf.com

John Sutcliffe from Mangawhai on his home built wooden twin keel fish surfboard enjoys a small peeling wave at Ruakaka beach.

John is a regular support of the wooden board day each year and loves his wooden boards.Great to see them out in the surf where they are supposed to be.
Nice one Johnny.

We kick off the New Year with a couple of boards from Florida

Just got these shots from Edward Hamilton 111 , Jacksonville Florida. He has built a few and is about to launch his website. Great to see guys out there everywhere building boards and look forward to another year and more innovative , creative and exotic wooden surfboards. Guys send in your shots and lets share them. All of us who have ever built a wooden board know there are no easy ways to build one so, if you have you know we are just as stoked as you are.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you all . Thanks for your support and I hope that the coming year treats you well.

First every British surfer takes to waves in 1929

 Homemade: Lewis Rosenberg entered the water in Newquay, Cornwall, with a primitive homemade 8ft board he carved out of balsa wood.

Riding the waves: Some of the earliest ever video of surfing which shows Lewis Rosenberg on a surfboard at Holywell Bay in Newquay, Cornwall.

Check out the full story and some great video : Here