Wooden Surfboards Are Where It All Started

Wooden surfboards are the original surfboard design, as the earliest surfboards were made from various types of solid wood.

In ancient Hawaii, surfing wasn’t just fun but part of Hawaian culture and hierarchy. They even had designations for the sizes of the boards.

The first wooden surfboards ranging up to 16 feet in length, with commoners and peasants surfboards on the short end, and the surfboards of chiefs and noblemen on the longer end.

As you can imagine, a 16 foot surfboard made from solid wood was extremely heavy, and far removed from today’s modern boards!

In the early 20th century, wooden surfboards were hollowed out and people started building boards from redwood and balsa wood.  These were much lighter woods than those used before. These became the forerunners for today’s modern surfboards.

While there are still wooden boards made today, many manufactured materials have taken the place of wood.  These include the very popular polyurethrane foam and the now common epoxy.  With the addition of fiberglass, resin and carbon fiber to these materials the modern day surfboard has evolved.

Even though foam has become widely used in surfboards anyone who’s surfed with wood and modern materials knows that there’s not only a huge difference in the way the wood surfboards look, but also the way they ride the waves, too.

Wooden surfboards are a little heavier than those made from other materials. But this slight added weight gives you more momentum, both when you’re just paddling out and when you’re riding the wave.

You can build more speed with a wooden board because of this momentum, and because you can build more speed, you can perform smooth carving maneuvers better.

If you’ve never tried a wooden surfboard before, you should. You’ll see that it helps you feel more natural in the water, and provides a surprising amount of cushion that you can’t get on a foam board.

A wooden surfboard is also much more environmentally friendly than other types of boards, especially foam-based boards. In 2005, the company that created most of the world’s foam surfboard blanks was shut down by the EPA because of a toxic chemical used in the creation of their foam!

While foam might sound like it can help you surf better, remember that the first surfboards were solid wood with no foam or modern materials in sight. Many believe that foam is used in surfboards today because it’s cheaper to produce foam boards, not because foam boards are better or easier for you to surf with.

Every surfer also eventually takes a certain amount of pride in the appearance of his or her surfboards, so a beautiful wooden surfboard appeals on a visual level, too. Wooden surfboards can last for years and years, unlike most foam boards which will start to develop lines and cracks in the surface and yellow within a few years.

You do have to be diligent about removing the vent plug after each session to make sure the air inside a hollow wooden surfboard doesn’t expand and ruin the surface.  This is also important if the surfboard is left in the sun or in storage, causing hot air to build up inside the board. However many lovers of wood surfboards find this to be a minor issued.

Wooden surfboards do costs more than other types of surfboards, but because they’ll will last several times longer than other boards if they’re cared for properly, they’re a worthwhile investment.

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