In the beginning...
Cornish Panda Surfboards came about from a number of
influences; a passion for surfing, a real respect for true craftsmanship of
board designers/shapers and a few too many glasses of Portuguese wine on a surf
trip, made me decide that wooden surfboard construction was something I needed
to do.
I decided to create this blog to capture the highs and lows
of a novice surfboard shaper, who is on a mission to create handmade wooden
surfboards having no previous experience and no definite plans, what possibly
could go wrong!?
The first board I aimed to create had one aim, to allow
myself to catch one wave on it before it broke, sank or fell apart (or all
three). This boards name as all surfboards have one, was branded ‘The
Prototype’ and in the winter of 2011 with a large piece of plywood, and a
jigsaw work began to create the first Cornish Panda Board.
With no set plans and working on experimental ideas and a
small budget I decided to create a board using perhaps not the most suitable
wood choice, plywood. Although it is easy to work with and very easy to get
hold of plywood is not the best option, however with the all the wood needed to
build the board costing no more than £35 I could not complain.
The construction took place over a long and very cold winter
in my mother’s garage which was basically like working outside with a roof over
my head which meant hypothermia was an issue! I attempted to construct the
board in a sort of adapted process of methods that I had researched on the
Internet, giving my unique spin on ideas which was most exciting as it meant it
could either be the making of a revolutionary design concept or my downfall.
The board took a long time to complete through one reason or another but in the
beginning of May 2012 ‘The Prototype’ was complete and a huge sense of pride
rained over me.
So on a picture perfect evening at my local beach, waves in
the knee high range, ‘The Prototype’ went for its maiden ride, and I can safely
say I don’t believe I have had a bigger grin on my face from possibly the worst
wave of my life! A small 1ft clean line picked me up, the handmade wooden fin
dug in and for a split second I was up and riding along the line on my first
ever wooden board, the wave closed out and I was as content as the first time I
had ever stood on a surfboard to ride the white water as far as I could. This
moment was what the cold winter evenings, where I could not feel my fingers to
hold the jigsaw had boiled down to, and for that moment it was in all honesty
worth it.
Seeing a concept come together, from a few sheets of plywood
bought from a local building supplier, to an object that looked remarkably
similar to a surfboard, has further ignited a passion to create surfboards. The
Cornish Panda Surfboards brand, although not official, has in my eyes begun.
