21 Making a Surfboard

Making a Surfboard written by John Lockyer

Like people, surfboards come in all shapes and sizes. Some surfers like long surfboards. When they ride a wave, they can walk along the board and put their toes over the end. Other surfers like short surfboards. When they ride a wave, they can go up the wave and down the wave. They can go inside the wave, too.

foam blank Most long and short surfboards are made the same way. First, the shaper cuts the surfboard out of a foam blank. There is a wood stringer through the middle of the blank. The stringer makes the surfboard strong. When a surfer is on a wave, the stringer helps to stop the surfboard from bending and twisting.

shaping The shaper draws the surfboard on the blank then cuts it out with a saw. The foam is light and very easy to cut. The shaper uses many tools to get the shape they want. The nose can be round or sharp. The tail can be round or sharp, too. When the shaper has the right shape, they rub the foam lightly with sandpaper until it feels smooth and even.

Then the shaper makes a hole in the bottom of the surfboard for the leg rope. Then they must draw where the shaper wants to put the fin. Some surfboards have one fin and others can have four. The shaper uses some tape to stick the fin box to the surfboard, so it won't move around.

cloth and resin Next, the shaper puts cloth over the surfboard and around the fin box. Sometimes the cloth has a pattern on it. To make sure the cloth sticks to the surfboard, the shaper lightly brushes it with hot resin. Together, the cloth and hot resin make the foam blank hard and strong. The shaper might brush the surfboard with resin many times before it is finished.