Meet Will Brawn, a young surfer from Cornwall who has impressed us all very much. Many will note the emergence of the ‘Alaia’ surfboards produced mainly in Australia but also Hawaii and New Zealand. Normally these were originally produced from Hawaiian ‘Koa’ wood but recently have been produced using paulownia which grows native to Australia.
The surfboard is basically carved out of hard wood and very little is done to the board apart from using a sander, hand tools and then oil to treat the wood in the final stages. Surfing them can be difficult but as most will express, also fun in learning how to ride a solid piece of wood with no fin.
Adding to this renewed form of surfing is the sustainable aspect, made from a tree, little harm is added in producing the surfboard which only adds to the rawness of the experience. Of course importing the board maybe cancels out this aspect but it is still a beautiful piece of craftsmanship that can be enjoyed and up until now it has only been a handful of shapers that have built this style of riding equipment, mainly Australian. The new film by Thomas Campbell ‘The Present’ will probably change this as there is a focus by David Rastavich riding one of these boards at Sunset Beach on quite sizable waves. Also the new film ‘Musica Surfica’ which features Derek Hynd, Tom Carroll, Sage Joske along with others showcases the essence of surfing these wooden pieces of equipment with the contrast of classical music. All well and good you might say but how does this connect? Well Will has started to produce these surfboards from Cedar wood, flawless and each one taking around 12 hours work with only hand tools and a sander. He has found a sustainable and beautiful way of bringing this stoke to British shores and also focusing on the environment at the same time. The board (picture featured is 7’0 and 2″ thick rather than the standard 1″ which makes it better for British waves) is made from 2 pieces of Cornish Cedar – the tree when felled is replaced by the planting of 20 new trees and even the sawdust is recycled. Adding to this Will has also presented us with some skateboard decks made from Walnut, Beech, Birch & Cedar. There are glue ups and also a resin tinted version, all made in Cornwall in his workshop. We have the samples and anyone is welcome to try the board out should they wish. All made by hand with only hand powered tools. If you are interested in these surfboard please feel free to write to us and we will try and help you feel the ‘aloha’ these ‘alaias’ bring. Most likely the ‘Alaia’ will retail approx £495 and the skateboards ‘£150 complete’
Will, Boards & Tools
The finished Surfboard