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
Like many surfers, I am a fan of the Endless Summer films, but the original holds special value. To travel around the world and spread the joy of surf in a time when America was changing and foreign countries were really unknown landscapes to the average surfer is hands down amazing. When I watched the film, one remote exotic location stood out to me and its gentle peeling point wave has been in my mind ever since. I am not huge on the idea of conquests, and try to enjoy surfing and improving my water related abilities through fun more than goal setting, but I have always wanted to make it to Ahipara. The draw of Shipwreck Bay was huge and as we aren't horribly likely to be on this side of the Pacific for a while, I got to fulfill a thirteen year old dream and surf the spot. To get there, we had to visit the Far North, an area which has a reputation for being wild and even lawless. Leaving your car unattended is mostly out of the question. Given that this reputation had come from other surfers we had met who had their own possessions stolen, we were a bit nervous. This is the backcountry, with high poverty, biker gangs and some tourist destinations that are a two hour drive from the nearest hospital. Pulling off the highway, we quickly learned that the village was divided in two, with the local, mostly Maori population living somewhat separately from the stretch of vacant beach houses. Even in such a famous surf spot, road sections were unpaved and steep, including a drive down a riverbed to get to the beach. We parked, walked out and were greeted by the local pig, taking a stroll down the beach. When we got down to the beach, we discovered that the waves were only about 2 feet tall. No matter, they were beautiful! Even at such a size, the point broke perfectly over a smooth sand bottom. The ride was a miniature ball of cruizy fun and the tiny waves had a fantastic wall to sling across. I wish I had an Alaia there at the time, it would have been a fantastic proving ground. As the day's sets were sometimes far between, I had the opportunity to strike up a conversation with a true local, born and raised right on the hill above the break. Jade is a local surfer, Maori and all around great guy. Like many who live there, he lives off the land and sea, surfs as often as he can (he primarily stays over the sand bottom Shippies rather than rocks out of consideration for his young family, a choice I find honorable), and was truly hard. Busted a hole in your knee? Big ugly looking scar? Why go to the hospital, it'll heal. When he found out we were living out of our van, he didn't hesitate to invite us to stay in his yard and make use of his home. We stayed for three days and had an amazing time. Our host shared his quality life with us and made a hallowed, intimidating at first glance place grow into an area familiar and full of depth. Before we left, we exchanged gifts from what we had with us, expressing our gratitude and our hope to have left a mark on each other. As he had mentioned wanting to do more body surfing, I left him my first hand plane, and hope he enjoys it on the smaller days. More than any time on this trip, I felt the spirit of the place I was in. I am thankful for my host and his sharing with me the life of Tangata Whenua, the people of the land, with a great love for the place and the sea that that surrounds it.
