How To
The
tools needed to build a hollow are what a small wood shop usually has…Table saw,
stationary planer, router, belt sander, drill…etc.. An understanding of wood’s
properties and its tendencies to
move are also required…Also, there is a need to be open to materials not
specifically designed for surfboards…
The number of steps to make a hollow board are many…Foremost is the planning of how to create a blank from thin flat wood…It requires a vision, and a plan with flexibility to make the complex form take shape…It requires getting the right materials for the specific task … understanding the differences in selecting the right adhesives for specific tasks…It requires cutting the rough parts to precise pieces…A hollow board might have over 300 pieces…It requires sensitivity with the tools, where one mistake can and will ruin weeks of work…It requires patience beyond belief…It requires a mastery of the process…With the ability to adapt to minor crisis’s and be mentally open to new ideas and materials...
"There
are few original ideas in surfing.”
True and not so
true…
What I've done has been to take the basic Tom Blake idea of a skinned, stringer and
ribbed paddleboard, and brings it forward to contemporary…
Contemporary rocker,
templates and rails, strength and weight…A no compromises accepted mission….
“Originality”…
I was inspired by the basic stringer and rib internal structure of a boat or
airplane wing, but from there forward was all-original for me, at least as it
applies to surfboards…
I start with a planshape idea...Then transfer that one dimensional shape to
become a gluing jig ...Something similar to what boat builders might use…
Next, I needed a way to be able to get the interior rails to match the
stringer’s rocker… I came up with router guides between the ribs…
With the basic frame complete, I needed to "skin" the frame...I figured out a way to laminate
multiple individual strips
of thin wood together using something as simple as masking tape to hold it all
together when it’s being laminated with carbon fiber…
Carbon fiber reinforced interiors, that’s original thinking…
Gluing the exterior skins to the framework with "construction adhesive", not as
original…
Then the really hard part was figuring out how to laminate the exterior finished
rails to the skinned frame… With nothing but my nearly 30 years of carpentry experience as a guide,
I tried three separate times with three different methods each taking a week, to
get the exterior finished rails to stay attached and look acceptable, until I
found a way for it to work… How frustrating do you think that was….???...
Though the successes and failures I learned…Learned about the materials and the
process, and more importantly, I learned about myself, and my ability to push on
through the difficult situations where the only future that you see at the time
is failure…
Back to the boards… Shaping the rails with a belt-sander was different, maybe
not original, but it turned out to be the best way to it, at least for me…
Glassing wood with epoxy was at the time, not something as mainstream as it
is now…Where do you find out how to do that…This was pre-Swaylocks...A lot of time
, money and energy went into
finding out what works and what doesn’t… All part of the process…More than once
I was forced to strip off a layer of glass and epoxy, because the whole thing
delaminated… Hard lessons learned...
The results from each of these minor epiphanies was so rewarding, because it
felt so original…
I hope each of you gets to experience the emotional high
when the creative process is fresh and it feels like you are heading down a
path, no one has ever been on… There’s nothing else like it…Intoxicating….
Finally, after I get the first board done, I think I have a “wall – hanger” but I need to
ride at least one wave with it…but the ride quality of that first wave, changed
forever what I’ll ride…
The quest for a better hollow board moved on…
With what I learned, I wanted to share it…Not sell it…
Surfing has given me a lot…This web site is a way for me to give back to
surfing…Nothing more, nothing less…
With no web building skills, (I’m a carpenter) I struggled to create this
web site…Oh, how I struggled… Finally, after so many long evenings and weekends
it was up and running…If you look at how much content is here and you might
understand the time commitment involved…
Again why...???...All as
my way to give back to surfing…
You probably know that web-sites aren’t free….You have to pay a fee to register
an name…Then there is a monthly charge to keep the web-site up on the net…Again
not free…NEVER have I asked for money to keep the site up and running… Never
have / never will…So too, never has anyone offered me money for what I was
doing… That’s the way it was / is and I’m ok with that…
All I wanted to do was
inspire others to build their own boards, learn about themselves and help
others…
Altruistic, yes…
Naive, now it appears so…
So far, I’ve made thirteen hollow boards…Two I donated to charitable auctions,
three
I’ve given away away as gifts, and three have been sold...The remaining boards I
have and ride…In all the years my site has been up, I have built boards for no
one other than myself…It’s not about the money…
With the web-site up and running, I was getting a half dozen questions a week
about the process…Mostly the same questions over and over, and most of those
issues already covered in the web site, if it was read thoroughly…I can count an
a few fingers on one hand the number of tips others gave back to me…
Getting back to originality, when I started Hollow Surfboards, there were no web
sites like it…
As far as I know, there still are not…
The reason I pulled the
free
“How To” off the web was over an incident in September '05:
I did my typical "be at the beach while it’s still dark" start...
Very foggy, no
idea of wave size or quality, but I'm here: I'm surfing...
I suit up, take down the board, and an old acquaintance stops by we talk...
He mentions that D---- and J----, the two Seattle guys making their own hollow
boards were here yesterday...
For several months, J---
has been e-mailing me with questions...And I've been guiding him through some
rough spots...Helping him avoid some pitfalls...Fine, I do it all the time, no
problem...
About then D--- shows up...Pulls out his first board and it's just ok...Rails as
boxy as a desktop...
Decent woodwork skills, but a white plastic leash cup and a white "Future" fin
boxes disturb the visual of the board...
Soon J---- shows up with his nearly identical board...Twins...How cute...They
worked on their boards together…
We talk boards a bit, I give them some new ideas on how to improve their next
boards and they mention that some of their friends want them to
make them boards...Great...I excuse myself and hit the waves...
After my surf session, the sun is out and I'm back at my van getting dressed and racking my board...
D--- comes over again, this time with his girlfriend...He asks to see my 7'4
which I briefly had out earlier...He's holding it, examining the rails real good,
and I'm answering
his questions again...
Next, a couple of guys walk by in wetsuits heading to surf...They stop, "ooh and aah", ask
what kind of boards they are, etc...I give them the same short story about the
boards that always
happens when I have them out...
Then unexpectedly, D--- starts up with how "Me and My Company (him and J---) are taking orders
and selling exactly the same kind of boards"...Whoa, easy there fella...
He goes on with a full on sales pitch about how their boards are "like fine
jewelry", and boards like these are "investments” and how what they're making is
like "investing in fine art"... Huh...???...
He's saying all this while holding MY BOARD...!!!...
The surfers ask D--- "How much...???.."
D--- rolls out " Five Thousand"...
WHAT...???...
Then he goes into another barrage of "investment - jewelry - art"...
PUHLEEASE...
By now there are about six other people looking at my two boards while D---
just keeps on rolling...
I interrupt D--- to tell everyone, that what D--- is trying to sell, is all
available for FREE on my web-site...
Someone asks me what I think a board like this should sell for…I say based
upon my experience and understanding of high-end boards, $2,500…
But, I’m quick
to add, that I’m not really interested in making boards for others, but glad to help them make their own boards…That’s why I made the web site…
That just doesn't slow down D--- one bit...Now he's talking about CNC machined
parts, limited edition boards...And on and on and on...He just won't shut up...
I'm staying pleasant enough about it all, but I'm dumbfounded at this guy’s blindfully
arrogant approach...
As he was leaving, I said to him "So when can I expect the royalty checks for
you guys using "The Paul Jensen Method"...???...He laughed and said his “partner
J---deals with the money...”
On the drive home, I thought about it and what to do...
So, I sought out the advice of some trusted friends and business acquaintances, whose opinions I value...
After much thought and consultation, I've decided to take the free "How To" process off the internet...
My original intent when I created this web site, was for it to be a place where individuals to go to for information on how to build their own boards...A resource...
I didn't design this web-site to be a source for others to use my designs, detailed construction process and ideas for profit...
To be face to face, as I was, with someone looking at these boards, not for their ride quality and aesthetic purity , but as a means to make a buck, was like being covered in vomit…
Maybe if you’ve ever worked as hard and selflessly as I have to make something
of pure obsessive passion as I have, then freely give it to the world, you might
understand how and why I feel like I do…
If you do, great you get it…
If not, maybe someday you will…
To those of you who still think it’s about the money, you’re wrong…
To those of you who built boards and “found yourself” in the process, you are the ones I did
it for…
You and you alone…
Paul - October 2005
The new bottom line on the "How To " is this...
is a complete step-by-step guide through the process...
Available as a Word doc. on a CD...
The "How To" CD has been updated (March ’08) to
Twenty-Seven sections fully describing the process with photos detailing every step...
It now prints out to 130 pages...
Additionally, there is another six sections of bonus material on "Design and Construction" that print out to 231 pages...
Also on the CD, are more than 700 pictures of every Hollow Surfboard I have made, and more...
Finally, I’ve included 75 of the Best Songs (wma) to listen to, while building a board…!!!...
The "How To" CD is $100 ...
Templates Kits are available for any of these boards, and more...
A Template Kit will include:
For Custom templates, contact me...
I'm not able to send out the "How To " CD info via e-mail...
I burn the content onto a CD and mail them out via U.S. Mail...
Foreign orders please send a bank draft in US funds...
For my mailing address or for additional information e-mail me at hollowsurfboards@comcast.net
Page updated: 3-23-08
Copyright © 2005 - Paul Jensen