First boards of 2024!

If you keep up to date on our @bywatersurf Instagram, you may have seen glimpses of our recent wooden surfboard-making course that took place over the weekend. The first one of 2024….and the stoke was high. Three amazing surfboards were created by some epic legends, where the atmosphere of the workshop was all about learning, creativity and craftsmanship. 

On the first day, our trusty bucket of pegs come out to assist in our frame glue-up. Using an epoxy glue to secure the rails and ribs together for ultimate board strength, No foam is used in any of our boards! The internal rib structure allows for a hollow, light but super strong board. The paulownia and cedar panels are glued together to form the deck and bottom skins for each board, where the deck patterns are picked by each individual, adding in cedar stripes or cambia pinstripes in singles, twos or threes - depending on their desired aesthetic. 

Day two, our frames are ready to be cleaned up and shaped, with nose and tail shapes determined and executed through precision shaping. The dried skins are cut to shape using our frames as a template. 

The workshop floor is cleared on day three, ready for us to make our rocker bed for the boards to lay on during the vacuum bag process. The skins are laminated with fibreglass and the frame is sandwiched between the skins, tapped secured then into the vacuum bags they go for a good night’s sleep.  

The last day we excitedly take out the boards from the vac bags to see an almost complete board. Day 4 is focused on tiding up the board, shaping and sanding to perfection. The better the sanding finish, the better the resin coat will be. 

Lastly a scribble on the board to make it your own. A fantastic 4 days spent, resulting in 3 stunning boards. 

Our 4 day wooden surfboard-making course starts on a Thursday and finishes on a Sunday, treat yourself to a long weekend a build a board! 

If you’re only just hearing about our classes but aren’t quite sure what to expect, have a look at our Youtube channel for more insight…but expect a casual, relaxed adventure full of learning, challenges and satisfaction of a job well done. 

We’ve got two more surfboard-making classes scheduled for this year:
July 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st - spots available!
October 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th - spots available!