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Questions and Answers:

Paul Jensen – A Brief Background

In 1970 I started surfing when I was in high school and living in Northern California.  Since 1977, I've made all of my own surfboards.  With the close tolerance surfboard blanks available in the year 2000, I found the skill level needed to create a board to be less than challenging for me.  I’m a restless soul, driven to ever-greater challenges, so I found myself looking back in history for my next goal: a contemporary hollow wooden surfboard.

 I started my first hollow wood surfboard in 2001.  I wanted to create an updated version of a hollow wooden board, using a modified, yet classic method of construction.  With this in mind, I took the basic 1930’s “kook box” method of construction and contemporized it by refining the interior frame design, reducing the thickness of the deck and bottom skins, and, most notably, adding curving shapeable rails.

I had initially intended to build only one board, which after one wave would become a wall-hanger.  It would be my conversation piece—something that looked really cool, got wet once, and then collected dust.  I was sure I would then return to the mainstream and go back to shaping foam.  But after the first wave on it I knew I was onto something.  The ride QUALITY was different—resonant—more alive in feel than anything I’d ridden in thirty years of surfing.  It was a personal epiphany.

As I made that first board, I took pictures of the construction process.  Using those pictures as a foundation, I wrote out a simple “How To” set of instructions.  With this process of designing and building boards, I start with air and wood, and created a sculpture around the air to make a functional tool for riding waves.  I eventually elaborated on the process and built a website about hollow surfboards.  I wanted to share with the world what I was discovering.  These boards are more than just eye candy; I’d found a way to build one of the most advanced boards to be found anywhere.  They are state-of-the-art in ride, composite construction, appearance, and are also made from materials not specific to surfboards.  I also found a way to re-introduce an aesthetic long missing from surfboards that was rooted in history and connected to region.  I primarily use local woods indigenous to the Pacific Northwest where I live. 

The surfing experience has given me a lot.  I want to give something back and feel that freely sharing my hollow wood surfboard discoveries is the best way for me to do that. 

As I created the website and wrote my “How To” manual, I recognized that my passion is not in making and selling boards for others to buy, but rather, in sharing with others what I know and showing them how to build their own boards.  I still make boards for myself, and occasionally others, but my commitment these days is primarily to help others make their own hollow wood boards in better, easier, more cost effective and environmentally conscious ways.  I regularly refine my process and update my "How To” CD, by sharing the discoveries that time and experience have granted me.  I'm not stagnant or resting on my past achievements, but instead always looking forward to designing, building, testing, learning and educating.  Building hollow boards has stretched my skill levels, built my confidence, taught me to trust my instincts more and to follow a path less traveled. 

The first thing most people notice about my surfboards is that they are beautiful. However, my philosophy is that wanting a board that simply LOOKS cool is NOT the best reason to build one.  A better reason to build is for the QUALITY of the ride. The MOST IMPORTANT  reason to build a hollow wooden surfboard is that in the process you find out who you are. 

Through this process one experiences more epiphanies and frustrations than building a foam board could offer.  WHAT causes the frustration is not as important as HOW the person gets through it.  Whether it’s laminating wood to make a deck, fighting a handful of clamps, or spending what seems like eternity gluing on the rails, each person will decide if it is important enough for them to succeed, and in this decision they will learn why they are doing it and who they are. It’s a process of self-discovery. I like to ask those who build their own hollow boards what the three best reasons to do so are. Just about everyone tells me that the personal growth factor changes their lives and the boards’ beauty and rides are secondary.

(Above) Permanent display in San Diego - L>R: Lopez, Noll, August, Jensen

While maintaining the visual complexity of the boards, I am continually evolving the process to make it more user- friendly.

 I am always looking for non-surf specific, locally sourced materials to use .

My favorite woods are beached logs that are then locally milled, dried and cut thin enough to use as the deck and bottoms.

In the past few years, I’ve been asked to teach workshops abroad.

(Above) I have taught twice in Ireland.

And once in Portugal.

A weeklong class in Port Townsend, Washington State.

In  2009 l taught three Five Day classes in Australia ( Perth, Melbourne, and the Gold Coast).

Three Day classes  were held in France (Guethary), the U.K. (Isle of Jersey), and Holland. 

2010 looks to have classes again in Australia, Japan, France and Spain...

Part of my hollow surfboard outreach is to young people everywhere.  As a teenager I struggled without any real direction, until I took an Industrial Arts class which showed me I could work with my hands. That sparked the proverbial light bulb and revealed pathways I had not known existed for me.  Eventually I became a carpenter, and now specialize in fine, custom woodworking. 

The epiphanies and struggles to make a hollow board can be life transformative.  Especially in a young person.  With the intention to build a hollow board, the student soon realizes new skills and perserverance, which can lead to confidence and maturity.Last year I reached out to the worldwide community of middle and high school student...I have offered to send, free of charge, my "How To Build A Hollowsurfboard" CD to anyone who asks (printed on school letterhead).  I am happy to be able to give back in small measure a part of what surfing has given me.  My method and designs have reached North and South America, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Antarctica.  Durring my travels I would like to meet as many of those students as possible.

Hopefully, you now have a better sense of who I am.

Paul Jensen - January 2010

Questions and Answers:

How long does it take to build one of your boards?

It takes about a week, working before and after my real job as a carpenter, to get one to the point of the board being ready for glassing...I usually don't start one and power on it till it's done...There are multiple stages of construction which require glue or resin to dry before proceeding...So I do a little in the morning, let things set up, and work on it again after I come home...It works out pretty good... No hurry is more fun...

Most of the framework goes pretty quick (if you know what you're doing), but building the rails can easily take a full day...Count the layers, each one gets glued with contact cement, and that stuff takes at least 15 minutes to dry to the point of adding another layer...After the rails are on, the shaping of the board is faster than a foam board, because there is no deck and bottom work to do, other than some fine sanding...I just use a belt sander with 36 grit and use it as I would a planer... Watching the rails take shape is so very cool... 

You build some of the most beautiful, costly surfboards in the world.  Why should I consider one? 

I can't answer that question for you, maybe you can...I'm not a salesman...I build them for myself...If it's something you might want, there's a price...  And that price starts at $300 per foot of length...

I've built foam boards for myself sine the mid '70's...I was tired of building with the same old materials...I wanted to try something with a touch of history yet with relevant contemporary lines, foil and sensitivities... I wanted to build something that sacrificed nothing in terms of ride and durability...And I wanted to give the finger to the surf industry for limiting exposure to viable alternative surf vehicles...I can build my boards from what I can get at any good hardware store (except for the carbon fiber cloth).. 

The looks of the boards are cool, that's the easy part...The ride was what I was after...And it's different...To me foam boards have a dead core...They feel chattery... Hollow wood boards have an alive feel to them... The resonance of a wood board on a wave is like a fine wood instrument playing music...I'm not gonna get any more drippy with comparisons because it sounds phony, but they have a different feel... A hollow wood board can be tuned to ride like velvet or as alive as an air mat... 

I'm still learning, and getting very close to what I want the boards to be... I am regularly building boards in the sub 15# range...I'm real happy with that...I'm using balsa / cedar for the deck and balsa with a carbon fiber layer inside on the bottom skin...Light/ stiff ...Alive... 

What makes them worth anything more than super-expensive wall-hangers? 

I don't know...I ride mine, and keep them in board bags on the side of my house...I see them when they are under me in the water...My wife has her own decorating scheme for the house and boards aren't part of it, and I like it like that...  

Could you describe how they FEEL in and out of the water?

The feeling of the board out of the water is about the same as a foam board, but if you tap it, it sounds like a tuned drum...Foam feels dead...Also, I make my hollows thinner than I would for a foam board, they are more buoyant...I would typically ride a 2.875" thick foam board, but this hollow is a 1/2" thinner...So underarm the board is smaller...

In the water, this board feels less flexy than foam...This is due to the significant amount of Carbon Fiber that reinforces the stringer and holds the 1/8" Balsa/Cedar deck and bottom skins together...Paddling on it has a tensioned skin feel to it...Like laying upon a super taught trampoline...There is a greater sensitivity to the water under the board, no foam to dampen and deaden the surface waters condition that is transmitted through the board...Subtle but it's there...

The feeling while standing and riding is a tough one to describe...It feels alive, again the transmit ion of surface conditions through the board are heightened...Like standing on a really firm drum...But with the drive and looseness of a conventional and contemporary shape...The board is fast and responsive...Very much so...I was surprised on my first wave with it on it's down the line speed and stability...

Again, I'm not trying to hype what I'm doing...I'm just sharing what might interest some...I've already heard how the cost seems high...It is...It takes a lot of time to build something like this from scratch, using only the absolutely top quality materials to do so...

What qualifications do you have? 

...OK...I'm 53 years old... been surfing since '71... Northern California.Building my own boards since the mid '70's...Currently live in the PNW...I'm a cabinet / stair carpenter, and a damn good husband and father...

Do you surf? How often, and on what? 

...Dawn patrol when it's good ...At least weekly...I live 80 miles from surf...I paddleboard year round...Once I even broke through the ice to access a local lake when it froze over...

...In the winter I try to snowboard once a week...mid-week...Carving and powder... 

Good waves?... 

...If you only knew...Yeah, it gets good...Big thick beach / jetty waves and occasionally perfect cobblestone point surf...Mostly real early by myself before work, heading home when most everyone else is starting their cars for work... 

Your quiver? 

...I'm 6'3 "x 195#...My current quiver (all hollow wood) includes: A  5'6" Bellyboard...A 5'10" Fish...A  7'5" hybrid... A  9' longboard....A 11'6" surf/paddleboard, and a 13'5" foam ultra glide surfboard...

Prior to actually building your own: had you ridden anything hollow?

In the early '70's, when I was learning to stand up, I had a WAVE hollow.Nothing remarkable about it, or maybe I was just such a bad surfer that I couldn't appreciate it.

I'm sure many people are curious about the who.what.why.when.where of any individuals and/or concepts that may have influenced your present ideas?

Good question.I guess I'm like most people.I'm influenced by just about everything we experience.If you were to look at the world through my filters, you would probably be led to where I am now.

I thing a big part of my exploring hollow boards is the fact that I do not live in a major surfing environment.I think by living in Washington State, I'm less influenced by Suring's media and peer pressures or being forced into some little box that surfers are sometimes stereotyped into because of what they ride.I seldom surf with any kind of crowd.I prefer the dawn patrol.Get some waves alone and be heading home by the time most are having their second cup of coffee.

I've shaped my own boards since '77.I'm a competent shaper, but there are better foam mowers out there.I wanted to try to do something different, in a way that really challenged me.In2002 I started the first hollow board.It was going to be primarily a wall hanger.Looks pretty, been wet once type thing.Something that would be a one time ride and then back to foam.But after the first wave on it, I KNEW that I was on to something.So I got better at creating boards that I could look at and ride, and honestly say that when it comes to performance, these are boards that have no compromises.I've exceededthat.

I built my web-site (by myself) with the hopes of showing others how to build something different.If you've seen it, you'll see what I mean.

I offer no apologies and stand by what I present there.Some people find the prices I'm willing to sell my boards for as excessive.As far as I know, we have free will as consumers.99.99% of surfers will look at what I'm doing as arty, or a novelty.And they are right.

Others will look at what I'm doing and see something way beyond what's out there and appreciate that there is creativity going on.Maybe it gives a ray of hope to those who see surf designs as stagnant.They too are right.

As for me, I'm just having fun.I'm looking forward to the next board and the things they teach me and like you I'm looking forward to the next offshore day. 

What sort of bottom/rail contours do your hollow boards have?

The same as a foam board.Concaves are possible.The rails are shaped, so anything goes.I personally like neutral boards.

Rocker and thickness flow? 

...Same as a foam board.

Are they all flat?

Not even.

Any possibility of (removable) fins?

Sure, I do it most of the time...It works great...

Won't your boards swell up and explode on a hot day?

There's a vent in the nose (not a drain).A brass screw with an O-ring seals it while surfing. The rest of the time the vent is open.

How tough are they?

Unlike foam the wood isn't thick enough to dent.and, it has an epoxy glass job.The rails are like built up stingers.More than tough enough.

Is it really, really hard to do or just insanely slow and time consuming if you're not all that familiar with woodworking?  

...The first one was REALLY hard...I was ready to quit when I couldn't get the rails on... It took 3 different attempts to find the right combination...And each attempt took days...So frustrating...But it was all worth it when I started to shape the rails and the beauty just came out...Then after I did the lam, It just glowed...SO BEAUTIFUL...!!!...I knew I couldn't go back to foam...The journey continues... 

How long does it usually take to get one of your hollow boards?

I just walk to the side-yard and grab one. 20 sec. Max.

Send your questions to: hollowsurfboards@comcast.net

Page updated: 6-09-10

Copyright © 2005 - Paul Jensen