| Many surfing aficionados often wonder exactly how | | | | may use as many as five or even ten different |
| the board they are riding was built. The process of | | | | boards for different surf styles and beaches. |
| surfboard design and construction is surprisingly | | | | Although there are certainly many brands offering |
| complicated today, especially when you consider that | | | | standardized and mass-produced boards, the highest |
| the surfboards used a century or two ago were | | | | quality surfboards are individually crafted by talented |
| literally boards cut from a single tree trunk. | | | | surfboard makers. Although techniques vary from |
| While for centuries surfboards were solid wood, the | | | | one builder to another, most surfboards are built one |
| modern era of surfboard design began in 1946, a | | | | at a time starting with the formation of the foam |
| date which marks the first fiberglass surfboard | | | | core. Known as a blank, most surfboard builders form |
| design. This early style consisted of two hollow, | | | | this core in a large mold that is roughly the shape of |
| molded pieces with a piece of redwood running down | | | | the finished surfboard. Liquid polyurethane is poured |
| the center for stability. In 1949, the first board with a | | | | into the mold in order to form a dense foam. Once |
| Styrofoam core was built. This buoyant center was | | | | cooled, the surfboard core is removed from the |
| enclosed not by fiberglass but by thin sheets of | | | | mold. |
| plywood sealed with resin. The first truly modern | | | | Now, the core is cut in half, from the nose all of the |
| boards were built beginning in 1958. These surfboards, | | | | way to the tail, to allow for the insertion of the |
| designed by Hobie Alter, were produced with a | | | | stringer. The purpose of a stringer is to provide |
| polyurethane foam core and fiberglass shell. Today, | | | | stability, keeping the board from snapping in half. |
| nearly every surfboard design uses this mode of | | | | Glued between the two halves, the core is then |
| construction. | | | | clamped back together. |
| Typical surfboards sold today have a polyurethane | | | | Now, it's time to finish the shaping of the board. The |
| core, surrounded by fiberglass and polyester resins. | | | | outline is cut and then smoothed into its final shape. |
| Often, a redwood stringer, or stabilizer is contained | | | | Some builders use computer-guided machines to do |
| within the core. The fin of the board is made either | | | | this, while many surfboard builders often use only |
| of wood or of laminated fiberglass and resin layers. | | | | their experienced eye to guide the shaping process. |
| While this basic construction has remained the same | | | | The blank is now ready to be covered in a fiberglass |
| for many years, the shapes and styles have certainly | | | | and resin shell. The core of the board is covered with |
| changed. Over the past few decades, boards have | | | | a fiberglass cloth, and then a layer of polyester |
| grown shorter and longer several times, with popular | | | | laminating resin. When done, the leg leash and fin are |
| designs including one fin, two fins, or three fins. | | | | attached to the board. During the final finishing |
| Today, surfboard makers continue to experiment in | | | | process, excess resin is sanded away, leaving a |
| the search for the perfect board. Serious surfers | | | | glossy and perfectly smooth coating. |