When was the surfboard made

But they always evolve in a never ending process of refinement and improvement. The surfboard is no exception. Here, we present a chronology of the key moments in the history of surfboard design, as the foundation article for a series examining key designs and developments in the wave riding tool that makes this whole undertaking possible.

Surfers and surfboards through the ages illustrated by Clara Jonas. Email: info surfsimply. Ancient Origins The earliest recognisable evidence of wave-riding craft is from archaeological sites in Peru that date back as far as years BC. Ancient South American civilizations made long, high-prowed crafts by binding together local totora reed Californian Bullrush that fishermen could paddle out to sea through the surf and then ride waves back to shore on their return.

Records describe the local fishermen riding the craft either by laying face down and paddling with their hands, or kneeling and using a horizontally-cut bamboo stick as a paddle.

By the time the Spanish arrived almost years later, the art of riding waves with these crafts had developed and they were formally named Caballitos de Totora little reed horses. Surfboards from this period fall into one of three categories: the enormous regal Olo , the Alaia , and the commoners Paipo , all made from Ula , Koa , WilliWilli and sometimes even breadfruit trees. These flat, solid planks of wood were part of the code of kapu taboos that structured early Hawaiian society and were used in rituals, recreational activities, training for Hawaiian chiefs and as a means of conflict resolution.

The Alaia was the most versatile and widely used surfboard and they were thought to have been ridden sideways across the unbroken face of the wave. The foot long by 18 inch wide design features a round nose and a square tail. When Captain Cook arrived in Hawaii in July he was the first westerner to witness a person paddling a surfboard; that surfboard was an Alaia. In contrast, the Olo were exclusive to royalty and measured between 3 to 6 meters 10 to 20ft in length by almost 1 meter 3ft wide and weighed up to 90kg pounds.

They were used to catch and ride unbroken waves in a straight line to shore. Surfboard design in the first two decades of the 20 th century was characterised by the deviation from local hardwoods and an experimentation with the different types of wood especially redwood , that were being shipped to Hawaii from the mainland primarily for use in construction. George Freeth, who is largely credited as spreading surfing to the U. One of these was George Freeth , who through his surfing, experimented with board design, and cut his 16 foot Hawaiian board in half.

Making the typical solid redwood Hawaiian board of the time to around 6 to 10 foot long. George took his shorter board to California and became the first professional surfer, promoting a railway company in Los Angeles, California. The next major change in surfboard design was in when one of the most famous names in surf history; Tom Blake designed the first hollow surfboard. The board was constructed of redwood, it had hundreds of holes drilled in it and was encased with a thin board of wood on top and below the board.

This was a small fin attached to the bottom of the surfboard at the tail to allow surfers to manoeuvre better and give the boards more stability. The next major step in surfboard design came in This gave the surfboard more manoeuvrability, allowing more radical surf manoeuvres. In Balsa wood from South America became a popular material for building surfboards. The new balsa wood boards only weighed around 30 to 40 pounds as opposed to the 90 to pound redwood boards.

The boards had several coats of varnish applied to waterproof them. Such a reduction in weight was a major step forward in board design and became more and more in demand. The problem at that time was that balsa wood was hard to get hold of in large quantities, and so boards were constructed from both balsa and redwood, thanks to the recently contrived waterproof glue. And so the centre of the boards was constructed of balsa and the rails of the tougher redwood to strengthen the boards.

Plywood was also later used around the time of World War One. The end of World War Two opened up new possibilities in surfboard design. Many new materials had become available through advances in technology during the war. Fibreglass was the most significant of these, also there was plastics and styrofoam.

The first fibreglass board was built by a man named Pete Peterson in , this surfboard was a hollow plastic mould, with a redwood stringer a piece of wood running down the centre of the surfboard and sealed with fibreglass tape. Other pioneering modern surfboard shapers of this era were Joe Quigg and Matt Kivlin.

Around this time a very significant man in surf history called Bob Simmons was building balsa wood surfboards and travelling up and down the Californian coast to surf and sell his boards. This board had a styrofoam core, encased in a thin layer of plywood, with balsa wood rails and was coated in fibreglass.

It was a man named Dale Velzy that took surfing a further step forward. Velzy was a well-liked character in California, a talented surfer, and a skilled shaper.

He opened up his own surf shop and designed and built surfboards. Balsa wood boards were still around for a while experimentations with foam continued. I just did an informative essay with a speech based on the history of surfboards.

I couldnt find anything i needed till i found this bomb ass site. Not only did it have shit loads of info on old boards it got into modern to. I ended up doing really well on both the essay and speech so thanks. Its totally interesting. You dont think about this kinda stuff when your surfing. Are any surboards so mass produced that they just slap 2 pieces together and call it a board.

Is there another way? Trying to compare technigues for a project. There is a growing movement out there for more sustainable surfboard building materials to cut down on the pollution generated by the traditional board building methods. In short, people are going back to wooden boards, but made by modern methods.

Some builders are using balsa, cedar, red wood, pine, and paulownia woods built around a ribbed frame and then oiled or fiber-glassed over. Ive read on wikipedia tha the first boards were made by three logs tied together…whats the passage from this rudimental board to the ones made from only one piece of tree…sorry for my english, im italian thank you. What a flash back! I was the Malibu trash guy from to Also, remember the Auzies coming with their V-bottoms.

In those days I Knee boarded the 3rd pt. Everyone was pretty cool… I was the guy who kept the beach clean. We had to do a research project on an invintion in school, so I chose the surfboard!! Thanks to this site, my project was a success!!! My Name is ryan doherty and i recon that i am the best surfer in australia and really think this is a helpful website, though my dad greg doherty said that our ansestor Archy doherty created the fist surf board in , he was the first englishmen to discover hawaii before Captin james cook, though he didnt get any of the credit, he was sent to dicover places and sail back home to tell Captin James Cook that was he discovered was worth discovering, this website is a load of shit i personally think that all you kooks dont have a clue what your talking about.

Yours sincerly Ryan Doherty ;D. That is really cool! He was also an editor and photographer for Surfer Magazine. He and my father cut, pieced and glued together the first ever neoprene sport wet suit in our garage in about , which I witnessed and remember vividly. If there is more to this story, I am not aware of it. Hi Glenn, thank you for that input! I have added a section about your uncle to the article that covers the invention of the first wetsuit.

Does anyone know who the person is in the picture and when it was taken? It obviously was taken at Waikiki beach. Your email address will not be published.

The Ultimate Wetsuit Guide long. Necessities for Van Life. Read on… Table of Contents. Foam, or soft top, surfboards are a modern evolution and made out of the same materials as a bodyboard; polypropylene deck, foam core with stringer and hard bottom.

Their popularity has been on the rise in recent years, while they have been used by beginners in the past few decades they are now becoming popular among intermediate and pro riders as a fun alternative to the hard shortboard. Due to their rise in popularity and demand there are many new companies producing these boards and no shortage in quality options to choose from in the market today.

Tags from the story. Next article A Guide to Surfboards for Beginners. Join the Conversation 28 Comments. Put a Frog board on the website Byrne Board very useful site thenks Bra! Would be interesting to know, I agree. Leave a comment Leave a comment Cancel comment.