One of the first questions I am asked about the boards is always "what kind of wood do you use?" For the sake of full company transparency, I'm going to delve into the materials and wood types I use and even their current and future sources. My first board was made of Spanish Cedar, which i found out later is a hardwood from Central America usually used in cigar humidors. It is heavy and does not float the best, especially compared to Western Red Cedar, but has a gorgeous finish. With the shipping and the slow growth and high CO2 absorption that is more typical to hardwoods, this is not a sustainable source of wood and I doubt I'll use it again. I worked a board in Sitka Spruce, which is a lovely shade of white and very strong and flexible. Although Spruce is traditionally used in boat building (and instrument making), it comes out on the heavy side and is difficult to work with a hand plane. Native stands in the Northwest have been thoroughly affected by logging, so this wood type will more likely be used sparingly. I have not yet used Fir, though it is native. I can't comment on it thus far except to say that it is supposed to be workable if not the lightest option. Finally, we come to our northwest champion of board material: Western Red Cedar. Native, relatively abundant, light, super flexible while maintaining its strength, this wood type is praised for its rot resistance and has a long lush history with Northwest tribes and was the material of choice for their canoes, homes and fibers. The majority of my boards are and probably will continue to be made of Cedar. The only health risk I know of is that sanding Cedar produces extraordinarily fine dust particles, linked to emphysema-like symptoms, so breathing protection is definitely a must. Thus far, I have sourced my wood from local lumber and tool specialists
Woodcrafters, using some FSC timber, but am locating greener, guaranteed local sources. A friend of mine runs a sawmill on sustainably managed forest land about an hour from my shop and will likely be the future source of wood for Selkie. There is a possibility that sustainable wood may increase the cost of surfboard construction. So far, the boards I have produced have been priced under four hundred dollars, making them very cost competitive with a new foam/glass board, especially considering their durability. I believe increased sustainability can still be competitive and is an absolute duty to the future of our planet and industry, and I don't want to be doing business any other way. Look forward to future blogs about sustainable wood sources in Oregon and the northwest, hopefully some of my readers will be able to patronize our local green loggers! To lay up my blanks, I use Titebond 3, the best wood glue you can buy, it is waterproof and retains flex when dry. You can find the product information and MSDS
here. Titebond claims to be non-toxic and solvent-free. The company also has a line of green products, mostly for industrial uses, some of which may be applicable to future products. I seal the boards with linseed oil and a layer of beeswax thinned with turpenoid. I am using boiled linseed oil but will probably switched to raw linseed oil, as it has less chemical additives (the additives give off fumes for a few days while drying, leading to headaches and nausea, as I learned the hard way). I get the beeswax from art stores and use
Turpenoid Natural, a turpentine substitute that is non-toxic, safer (non-flammable), has less (or no?) fumes and even claims to not harm the ozone layer. In hopes of providing color tinting to my boards, I have experimented some with artists waxes but this process is unfinished and involves subjecting my lungs to more fumes. My tools are mostly inherited or bought used and i try to do as much hand work as possible to lower energy consumption and keep me in touch with the board as it takes shape. Woodburning and small amounts of standard woodstain (currently being saved from becoming trash) round out the process by adding decoration. My goal is to soon make the greenest boards on the planet, nothing less. Please share your comments, ideas and resources as you feel compelled. If you have any questions about materials, construction or would like to stop by my woodshop/shaping bay, please contact me at thegreatselkie@gmail.com
-All the Best
For several years now, I have been enthusiastically following the adventures of a surfer/sailor who is literally living a dream life in the south pacific. Liz Clark, 28, is the captain of the good ship Swell and is a collegiate champion surfer currently sponsored by Patagonia. Liz chose to leave behind a world whose systems of consumption and goals of acquisition have become so damaging to the larger environment, and live closer to her ideals and closer to nature. Recently, I wrote to liz to tell her the impact her journey has made on me and to begin a discussion about our beliefs in environmentalism and the state of the world. I also offered to make her a surfboard. She accepted the offer and I finished the board only days before I left for New Zealand, with help with the woodburning and waxing from my good friend Sean. What resulted was a board I named Mandala, which was held by Patagonia while I flew to Aotearoa, and put on display there before being shipped to Liz while she was recently in California. Liz’s journey has also clearly taken on spiritual aspects and I felt like the ties to the Buddhist artwork expressing both beauty and impermanence, was relevant to the wonder and struggle in our natural world. Whether the board will make it to the reefs of the southern Pacific has yet to be seen, but I am honored to have a work of my hands in the possession of a talented and conscientious surfer. Liz blogs about her adventures, and many of the amazing people and causes in her life at www.swellvoyage.com. She has a segment in the woman made and woman focused flick Dear and Yonder and you can catch an interview she did with Korduroy.tv here.
