Surfboard Construction

Wood
           The surfboard has gone through as many changes as the culture of surfing progresses. The ancient Hawaiians constructed either ‘Olo’ (boards reserved for chiefs and royalty) and ‘Alaia’ (rode by commoners) out of wood from the Ula, Wili Wili or Koa trees. The construction of these boards was ceremonial and utmost respect was given to board makers.  The boards ranged from 10-16 feet, depending on the social class of the rider. The longer the board, the higher the ranking of the surf rider. After the Calvinist Christian missionaries succeeded in encouraging the decline of surfing by the late 1800s, a lot of tradition and board construction had ceased.  Redwood boards weighed in at 100 lbs and were replaced with Balsa wood construction that brought the weight of the board down to 30 or 40 lbs. Balsa wood was not readily available and mixed construction of Redwood and Balsa became a new standard in board design.

Foam and Fiberglass
            By the end of WWII, surfboard design benefited from new materials and technologies as a result of wartime manufacturing techniques. Fiberglass, Styrofoam and plastics were used in these new boards. In 1946, Pete Peterson created the first fiberglass surfboard. 1949 saw Bob Simmons’ revolutionary ‘sandwich’ board design. It contained a Styrofoam core, enclosed by thin layers of plywood, balsawood rails and a fiberglass coating. (yeah, it took us 60 years to catch up to him.)

More to come!!!