Elegant handcrafted canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, rowboats and surfboards...

SURFBOARDS


I opened my boat shop in 1997 and wanted to build wood strip hollow boards that could be
surfed and also used for show in the home. My plans create 9-foot-7-inch or 8-foot-7 boards
that are hollow and can be surfed, although they are quite different from standard fiberglass
boards that are a little lighter and have thicker rails and float higher in the water.

Left photo above shows board under construction. The top plank is being constructed. The blue tape allows the
completed top to be removed after completeion, turned over and sealed with epoxy. The top is then
epoxy glued to the underlying structures. Names and inlays are then added, followed by sheathing
the board in 6-ounce fiberglass and five coats of west system epoxy. Boards are either finished with four
coats of spar varnish or only the epoxy surface. The fin is epoxied to the rail (see photo of fin made of koa
wood from Maui). Boards may be displayed on special wall mounts or placed upright in the corner of a tall room.


The left one is a 9-foot-6 tanker; the other is a 8-foot-6 mini-tanker.


Shell inlay of surfer with yellow mother of pearl and green abalone for shorts and board.