Why timber and why plywood?

Timber pros and cons

Robbins Elite Marine plywood

A surfboard is typically made from a polyurethane foam or expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam core with a thin central timber stringer and a fibreglass cloth and resin composite skin. With the exception of the timber stringer these materials come from unsustainable sources, many harmful byproducts are created during manufacture and once the product reaches the end of its life it is not recyclable or biodegradable.

I wanted to design and make a timber surfboard because it would have a unique appearance, be more sustainable than a conventional foam cored board and I could put to use my wood working skills.

A basic advantages and disadvantages summary table of surfboard materials is given below:

Surfboard materials summary table

Based on reading forums paulownia seems to be the ideal timber for making a timber surfboard. Living in the UK, paulownia is not readily available unless shipped in large quantities, however there was a stockist of marine plywood nearby.

Marine plywood looked to be a good option because:

1. The cross plies mean that there is little movement of the timber due to change in moisture. A hollow timber surfboard may be subject to high levels of moisture if water were to leak in through a ding or crack and this could lead to a solid timber deck warping. This problem will be much less of an issue with marine ply.

2. Defects are much smaller in plywood than for solid timber.

3. There could be an issue with timber splitting along the grain from a heavy heel strike. The cross plies in plywood provide good resistance to this kind of splitting.

I chose marine plywood because it was easy to source, relatively cheap and would have a unique appearance.

I sourced the marine plywood from Robins Timber (https://www.robbins.co.uk/).