Being a keen surfer and always up for a challenge, I decided after a great deal of research, to attempt to build my own wooden hollow surfboard.

I contacted Paul Jensen, who lives in the USA, for advice and I purchased a set of plans along with a CD to help me with my project. For anyone that maybe thinking of attempting to build a board, they should refer to the CD as

in my opinion, it is the equivalent to the bible for builders of hollow wooden surfboards.

My pictures show a 6ft Fish, which is based upon the Steve Liss design from the early 1970’s. The original board was designed to be 5ft 6”, other than that, it is virtually the same.

The board is similar to the construction of a model aeroplane i.e. it has a central stringer and ribs that run 90 degrees to the stringer. The top and bottom decks are made from 3mm Italian poplar plywood. The rails are constructed from cork and bendy plywood and the fins are also made from plywood.

The top and bottom decks are formed from 6oz fibreglass matting and topped with a 6oz deck patch. It is important to use epoxy resin; do not use polyester resin as this reacts with certain oils that are present in certain woods. The

finished weight of the board is 6.74 kilos.

This is the fourth board that I have made, the others being a 9ft long board, 11ft long board and a 7ft 6” retro type board based upon an old Inner Vision surfboard from circa 1976, which I still own.

I would like to thank Panni from the company Seabase, which is based in Newquay, Cornwall. He gave me sound advice on the type of materials and quantities required to fibreglass the boards and they also supplied me with

the materials. I also received help and advice from Mark and Steve at Fluid Concept, Scarborough.

I recommend that anyone that may be thinking of attempting the same type of project as I have done, should refer to Paul Jensen’s website.

If anyone is in my area, i.e. Loughborough, Leicestershire, they are more than welcome to contact me for advice and have a look at the boards or email me: michael.lee60@ntlworld.com.

Michael Lee – alias ‘Barney Rubble’ – Rubble Surfboards.