New 14′ Hollow Wooden Paddleboard Kit

It has been a hot and smokey summer around Southern Oregon this year and in some ways I’m glad to see the rains come.  But this change of seasons is the classical double edge sword.  On one hand, the hot days and the smoke from nearby forest fires has gone away for the year, but so has the beautiful summer weather and the great flatwater paddling we have on the local lakes.  On the plus side is that the newest hollow wooden paddleboard kit I have designed, a 14’er that should be fast and fun to paddle, is sitting out on the assembly table with the framework all glued up and ready to start stripping.  That’s where the season change comes into play; the lakes just aren’t as inviting when the temps barely get out of the 60’s and the sun is looking pitifully low in the sky even at mid day so it’s easier to be in the shop working on a new shape! Don’t get me wrong here; I really do like to design and build these prototype boards but the reality is that it’s hard to put in the kind of shop time required to do the job right when it’s also the time to be on the road going to races and other events that are  mecca’s for the sup paddling community.  

The new 14’er has been cut out via cad/cam cnc routing production methods, and although there are some very minor issues that need addressing  in the next production run, this should be a fun board to assemble.  A couple of things that make this board an easy build are the rocker tabs and the rail shape.  The rocker tabs make for a quick assembly of the framework and the rail shape should make the rails easy to strip.  This new 14′ board is designed for minimal surface area and a rail shape that keeps side chop off of the deck.  I’m really looking forward to getting serious into this build and getting it into the water for a trial run by the end of the year!