Boards • How To • Frame Kits • Classes • Q & A • Links
Building a Hollow Wood Surfboard is significantly more complex than building a foam board. It is more like building the wing of an airplane. The method I teach results in a hollow board that is stronger and more durable than a foam board, with a ride “feel” that is unique…resonant like a wood musical instrument.
The finished boards are museum quality gorgeous, but that is secondary to their ride quality. Wood boards typically feel heavier on land, but feel like a lighter board in the water. The slightly heavier weight of a hollow wood board results in a board with more drive and momentum that catches waves easily and rides well down the line, through flat spots. The design of the lightweight inner frame and the thin tensioned wood skins allow for an efficient energy transfer between the wave and the rider. These boards are not intended to be wall hangers unless the wall is six feet of moving water.
During a workshop under my guidance you will build a hollow wood board starting with the assembly of a supplied frame kit. After that you will create the deck and bottom “skins” from very thin solid wood strips, fiberglass and epoxy. Next the skins are attached and tensioned to the wood frame. You will then build the outer rails onto the board with bending plywood and cork. Finally the rails are hand shaped and the board is given a light final sanding. At the end of the class the board you have built will ready to take home to be glassed. I will also show you how to apply those epoxy and fiberglass layers when you get home. There are three surfboards to choose from: a 5'10" Fish, a 7'5" Hybrid or a 9'0" Longboard.
My qualifications: I started shaping foam and fiberglass boards in 1977, and twenty five years later in 2001 I independently pioneered a completely radical new method of building Hollow Wood Surfboards. The Jensen Method of creating hollow boards has resulted in surfboards being built on every continent on Earth including Antarctica...!!!... I have taught workshops in Australia, France, Ireland, Holland, The Isle of Jersey, Portugal and the United States...The Surfers Path magazine (issue #67)credits me with being " ...the consummate craftsman of the hollow wood board genre. Jensen's boards are quite literally 'works of art' and certainly the most gorgeous surfboards that are actually made to be ridden, anywhere..."...Finally, Surfing Magazine’s 2009 Shaper of the Year, Tom Wegener has honored me by calling me "the Godfather of the Hollow Surfboard renaissance". Nice words and all, but it simply boils down to this, I know my stuff...
The three surfboards to choose from: a 5'10" Fish, a 6'9" Yater Replica, a 7'5" Hybrid or a 9'0" Longboard.
5'10" Fish 6'9" Yater Replica 7'5" Hybrid 9'0" Longboard
Paul Jensen - Sept. '09
Two kinds of workshops are offered...
Five day -Build Your Own Board workshops
will have up to ten participant build their own board ready for glassing.
Tuition will be $700 USD per person, with materials extra, typically around $50 per foot of board length.
The actual cost of materials will vary, depending on location. Someplaces things cost less than others.
Be assured I do not make any profit on the materials, the cost you pay is what it costs...No more, no less.
A "How To" CD ($100 value) and a Frame Kit ($200 value) will be included in the cost of the class.
The board choices are: the 5'10" Fish, a 6'9" Yater Replica, a 7'5" Hybrid, and a 9'0" Longboard and maybe an 11'6" SUP.
Booking deposits of $100 will be required.
Three day - Collaborative Board workshops
will have up to twenty participant building two collaborative boards, ready for glassing.
Tuition is$350 USDper person.
Again, the "How To" CD ($100 value) will be included, as will a Template Kit ($75 value) .
Booking deposits of $100 will be required.
The finished collaborative boards will be offered for sale (for the cost of the materials)
to selected class participants, chosen by a random drawing .
If you are interested in being a part of these workshops, or have suggestions, contact me at: hollowsurfboards@comcast.net
Upcoming 2010Workshops
The actual cost of materials will vary, depending on location. Someplaces things cost less than others.
Be assured I do not make any profit on the materials, the cost you pay is what it costs...No more, no less.
Click the PayPal button to register for the Chiba, Japan Workshop...
The actual cost of materials will vary, depending on location. Someplaces things cost less than others.
Be assured I do not make any profit on the materials, the cost you pay is what it costs...No more, no less.
Click the PayPal button to register for the Albany, Australia Workshop...
The actual cost of materials will vary, depending on location. Someplaces things cost less than others.
Be assured I do not make any profit on the materials, the cost you pay is what it costs...No more, no less.
Click the PayPal button to register for the Mana Park, Australia Workshop...
Also...
Spain in Spring or Summer ???
France in Spring or Summer ???
Marin County, California ???
Dates to be announced when more is known...Stay tuned...
Planning A Workshop In Your Area
I have a way to have up to ten people do a five day workshop with everyone
going home with a board they built, ready to glass...
I offer three different boards and supply the frame parts, the wood for
the deck and rails and all that it takes to get one to the point of
fiberglassing...All in five days...
The board choices are the 5'10" fish, a 6'9" Yater replica, a mid-length 7'5"hybrid, and a 9'er...
The $$$ details...$700 tuition per person plus materials @ about $50 per foot of
length...
The actual cost of materials will vary, depending on location. Someplaces things cost less than others.
Be assured I do not make any profit on the materials, the cost you pay is what it costs...No more, no less.
You help me find the space, advertise it, set up tables, find a few tools
get $100 per person from my $700...And do the class for free (excluding
materials)...
I need five or six people minimum to make it worthwhile...The maximum number of
students I’m comfortable doing a workshop like this is ten…
Interested...???...
It’s really pretty simple…I just need someone there to find a location, help me
to together some tools and materials and maybe get some fliers out…
Three day - Collaborative Board workshops will have up to twenty participant building at least two collaborative boards...
The $$$ details...$350 tuition per person. The finished collaborative boards will be offered for sale (for the cost of the materials) to selected class participants, chosen by a random drawing .
You help me find the space, advertise it, set up tables, find a few tools
and you get $50 per person from my $350...And you do the class for free ... Again I need seven or eight people minimum to make it worthwhile...
If you want a workshop in your area, contact me at: hollowsurfboards@comcast.net
Trip Reports
Trip Reports are the full journey story of some of my most memorable travels and workshops...
These are my day to day, photo rich journals that are captured, edited, and e-mailed each day to family and friends...
From my driveway to the destination and back again...
Each Trip Report is a compilation of those daily e-mails...
Click on a Trip Report to open...
2009 Australia - Gold CoastTrip Report
2009 Australia - Perth & MelbourneTrip Report
2009 Isle of Jersey Trip Report
Click for> More from the Port Townsend Workshop
Euros
Australian Dollars
US Dollars
Japan Yen
If you are interested in being a part of these workshops, or have suggestions, contact me at: hollowsurfboards@comcast.net
Page updated: 2-22-10
Copyright © 2008 - Paul Jensen