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“Surfboard Grade” paulownia planks
Surfboard Grade Paulownia Planks
What is “surfboard grade” paulownia?
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Surfboard grade paulownia is the currently available grade of clear, dry paulownia wood available from China. This is the grade I use for all of the …
Building a Lightweight Board
Building a Lightweight Board
Building a lightweight hollow wood board of any style can be a challenge but, in the end, not that hard if you choose the “right” materials. The very best wood for building hollow wood boards is a species of wood called paulownia tomentosa. Pauownia t. has the perfect blend of weig…
Tool Requirements for Strip Planking
Tool Requirements for Strip Planking
Tool requirements for strip planking a paddleboard are simple; a basic set of hand tools and a few basic power tools are all that is required. The enhancement of our woodshops with a more diverse set of tools is something most woodworkers strive for, but strip planking is s…
Board Construction
Semi-monocoqueHollow Wood Paddleboard Construction Techniques
Hollow wood paddleboard construction techniques are common to many different hull shapes. The build method for all the boards I design is strip planking. Strip planking, for those not familiar with the process, is the application of strips of wood t…
Sustainability in SUP and surfboard production
Sustainable SUP and Surfboard Production
Building a hollow wood SUP can be a great way to build a board with a low carbon footprint. Tom Blake started building hollow wood paddleboards in California the 1930’s and they were the standard surf rescue craft for several decades. The good news is that hollow wood S…
Hollow Wooden Boards?
Why do we build hollow surf and sup boards? Certainly not because it’s a quick or inexpensive way to get on the water! So, why? Since the first time I experienced sailing our garage-built sailing dingy as a kid, there has been a kind of magic in the process of building “homemade” watercraft, then going out and …
Why build with paulownia wood?
Why build with paulownia wood?
Ok, I will admit upfront that I sell paulownia wood. That being said, the reason I do is that I want to make it available to my customers and also individuals that design and build their own hollow wood SUP’s, surfboards and kayaks. This wood is mostly unknown to the woodworkin…
“Tunnel 13” Redwood Pin Lines for Hollow Paddle and Surfboards
“Tunnel 13” redwood pin lines
I was telling the story of the redwood pin lines material in the boards I build and my brother-in-law said, “Bro, you need to tell that story!” So, here goes. It’s really a story about the part of Oregon I live in and the railroad tunnels that connect Southern Oregon to Northern…
Rocker Tabs for Building HWS
Using Rocker Tabs for Building in the Rocker Profile If you have ever built a hollow wood standup paddleboard (SUP) or hollow wood surfboard you have probably built it using some variation of a rocker table. When I started building hollow wood boards I did as well. I built my firs…
Text of Article for http://www.supboardermag.com/2014/02/11/clearwood-make-you-own-wooden-paddleboard/Wood paddleboards and surfboards have a long history and they have been common in Hawaii for many centuries. The modern version of “woodies” however, is something altogether different than what ancient Ha…