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Wood surfboard workshop slots for the rest of 2024: Create your own masterpiece
Imagine working with a beautiful natural material, using your hands to craft and shape a surfboard, channeling your creativity into every stroke, and witnessing a lasting work of art come to life.
Building your own hollow wooden surfboard using age-old crafting techniques is a journey in surfing, passion and craftsmanship.
In the five-day hollow wooden surfboard workshop, which has now been running for 10 years at Burnett Wood Surfboards, you’ll start your journey with raw planks of wood and transform them into a surfboard shape that fills you with pride.
The workshop runs for five consecutive days. There is also a slimmed down one-day workshop that focuses only on the shaping and finishing of your surfboard.
Remaining dates 2024
If you cannot make the dates below please feel free to get in touch and suggest your own dates.
Booking
With limited workshop spaces remaining in 2024, reserve your place now before it’s too late! Book online (once choosing your preferred dates from the online calender you’ll receive an email confirming if these are available) or contact Pat on burnett.patrick@gmail.com
The different surfboard shapes available to build and the associated costs can be found here.
More info and pictures of the boards built by previous workshop participants can be found on the workshops page of this website.
More details
Here are some specifics that you might be wondering about:
- Workshops take place in my workshop on the property of Good Hope Nursery in Scarborough, on the road to Cape Point and bordering the Cape Point Nature Reserve.
- To ensure the creation of the finest surfboards, workshops have a small group size, with a maximum of three participants (but most likely two, and even sometimes one).
- The shape of your surfboard can be customised to your unique preferences, providing you with a personalized masterpiece that suits your individual needs.
- You can choose from a variety of wood combinations that give your board an unmistakable aesthetic, making it truly one-of-a-kind.
- No previous woodworking experience is required and you will be guided through the entire process.
- All the necessary materials and tools are provided. Just bring yourself and your lunch.
- The glassing process for your surfboard, which seals and protects the wood, is not included in the five-day workshop. After completing your workshop, we’ll take care of the glassing to ensure your board reaches its full potential. This is included in the cost. Please note that glass-on fins are included in the cost if you choose them but if you choose box fins, the removable fins are NOT included.
Why wood?
There are many ways to make a surfboard, and making a hollow wooden surfboard is probably the hardest and most labour intensive way of making a surfboard. This begs the question: why would you want to make a wooden surfboard?
Based on 10 years of experience running workshops, and drawing on feedback from people who have done the workshop, here’s a list of common reasons:
- It’s an opportunity to work with your hands and put yourself into something that will last for years;
- It’s a challenge, like running a marathon, or skydiving, or doing something you’ve never done before;
- It’s an experience in woodworking and craftsmanship, to do something outside your comfort zone;
- It’s about working with a natural material to make something sustainable, beautiful and connected to the natural environment;
- It’s an exploration of the design dynamics of surfboards and learning about how rocker, rails, volume and shape effect your surfing experience.
