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Final 2025 wooden surfboard building workshops – Book Now
Wooden surfboard building workshops: The last few make-your-own wooden surfboard workshop places for 2025 are up for grabs. If you’ve been thinking about building your own wooden surfboard, now’s the time to secure your spot.
Workshops will run 10-14 November and 8-12 December. Each one is a five-day, hands-on workshop where you’ll make a hollow wooden surfboard from start to finish. No prior experience is needed – just a willingness to put in the work.
Over the week you’ll cut, shape and assemble your board with guidance at every step. By the end you’ll walk away with a board that’s not only surfable but also built by your own hands.
Past participants often say the highlight isn’t just the finished board, but the chance to step away from routine and spend a week fully absorbed in making something lasting. It’s hard work, but the reward is seeing your surfboard take shape each day.
These workshops are small, with limited places available, which means plenty of one-on-one help and the space to learn properly. They’re always popular, and these dates will close off the year.
If you want to end 2025 with a board you’ve built yourself, book now.
What’s Included:
– All materials needed to craft your surfboard
– Access to all the required tools, with step-by-step guidance and assistance
– A wooden surfboard made by you, based on your chosen shape and ready to take to the waves after completion
– All glassing and finishing of your surfboard after the workshop
Workshop Duration and Schedule: The workshop runs over five days, usually from Monday to Friday.
No Experience Necessary: Participants of all skill levels are welcome. If you’ve never worked with wood, this is the perfect place to start. Your workshop will be led by Patrick Burnett, who has 11 years of experience running workshops and is passionate about helping you get the best possible result. Workshops are small (Between 1-3 people), ensuring plenty of one-on-one attention.
Location: Located near Cape Point on the edge of the Cape Point Nature Reserve, you’ll be building your board in a stunning natural environment. The nearby coastal village of Scarborough offers accommodation options for out-of-towners.
More information: More info and pictures of the boards built by previous workshop participants can be found on the workshops page of this website.
How to Sign Up: Ready to get started? Please get in touch as soon as possible, as spaces for 2025 are extremely limited. Contact Patrick on burnett.patrick@gmail.com or 073 232 3043. Or choose your board and book online.
Remaining 2025 dates
If you cannot make the dates below please feel free to get in touch and suggest your own dates.
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.
