Father and Son(s) – James and Michael’s Wooden Surfboard Workshop Experience

The week got off to an excellent start with Micheal and James joining us before the workshop doors opened, for Monday Morning Surf Club at Porthtowan Beach; a few fun waves were had and it was nice to catch up with Michael, who we knew from 2017 when he joined us to make a surfboard with his eldest son Peter.

This time around Michal and James had decided to make a surfboard between them instead of one each and they chose to make a Woodburner fish, which is the same shape Peter made a few years back. Since the last visit to Cornwall Michael had managed a few sneaky surfs on his son’s board and liked it so much he provided us with a glowing ride report, which we were humbled to read.

The Woodburner is one of our favourite shapes to surf with its high volume lending itself to an increased wave count and its low rocker and flat bottom helping to generate a lot of speed. This particular Woodburner would be slightly different however due to its unique wood layup which had been requested specially by the father/son team. A chevron of poplar streaking up the centre of the board from the tips of the tail narrowing to a point at the nose, would be sandwiched between two diagonal stringers of teak. This would then be engulfed by cedar all the way around the rails, with the deck’s beautiful design being mirrored on the bottom skin.

During the week Micheal and James were able to surf most mornings or evenings, either side of the making process in the workshop, which made for a really immersive 5 days for the pair, and it was great to see them both embrace the whole experience. Energy levels were stoked throughout the week with multiple packets of biscuits and piles of brownies and flapjacks from the cafe next door, which helped James and Michael get really stuck in to the making process, still somehow finding time for a fair bit of banter and play fighting, which was great to be a part of.

As far as family traditions go this one seems pretty unbeatable, James and Michael were clearly stoked to spend so much time together, and we hope the experience of making the board together encourages even more quality father/son time spent floating around in the waves.

We have new dates up for our make your own wooden surfboard courses, check them out here!