Journal
The latest news and stories from our workshop, and beyond.
The latest news and stories from our workshop, and beyond.
The maxim "Measure Twice and Cut Once" is heard so often in the Otter Surfboards workshop that we thought we'd go ahead and paint it on the wall (at least, the latter part of it) underneath an old two-man saw that we found in an antique store recently. It's a nice reminder to consider and check everything that we're about to do before committing, and has been a motto of craftsmen for centuries.
Kurt arrived at the workshop on Monday morning, having driven his pick-up truck half way across Europe from Switzerland to come and spend a week...
It’s lovely catching up with friends who have built surfboards with us in the past – that’s why we throw our “AGM” celebration every...
Earlier this year the guys over at Wavelength Magazine sat James down in their "Hot Seat" to ask him some questions about how Otter Surfboards came...
Every surfer around here is worn out at the moment, and in a really good way. April has been a bumper month for waves, with back-to-back swells,...
This week we've had Alan and a whole lot of sunshine in the workshop with us. Whilst the beach at the bottom of the hill has been intermittently cloaked in a thick layer of sea mist over the last few days, our workshop up above it has been enjoying glorious sunshine and we've had the doors wide open every day. Alan has travelled down from North Wales to shape himself a 7'4" Island Hopper with us over the course of this week, finishing up and...
On one of the walls of our workshop, between the rack that holds wooden surfboards in various stages of completion (from half-done to old-faithfuls...
We feel very fortunate that our workshop is located where it is, not only because of its proximity to the beach and our homes, but because of the...
Last weekend saw the 2015 Approaching Lines International Festival of Surf (presented by Reef) go down just up the road from us in Newquay....
This time next week it will officially be summer; Cornwall is decorated yellow with daffodils lining the lanes and gorse flowers covering the...
The 6’10” Jetty was one of the first shapes that we developed here at Otter Surfboards, and it's one of the most recognisable surfboards in our range. A classic "egg" style surfboard, the Jetty borrows some of the the best characteristics of longboard design such as a wider plan shape and higher volume, and transplants them onto a shorter board for easier manoeuvrability.
One of the really special things about sharing what we do through our workshop courses is the fact that we almost inevitably form new...
This winter we’ve been investing some time in materials research and development. With our backgrounds in design it’s important to all of us...
Every now and then we introduce a member of the Otter Surfboards team to you, so that should you happen to stop-by and visit the workshop one day...
The first workshop week of our 2015 programme ran this week, and it was wonderful to welcome a friend from just down the coast into the workshop....
Last September, just as the last of the summer warmth was preparing to give way to autumn, James managed to sneak in one final surf in boardshorts at our local beach for the year. The boardshorts that he wore are produced by our good friends at Riz; a British brand dedicated to creating classically styled surf shorts with minimal impact upon our environment. To that end, they currently have a crowdfunding campaign entering it's final...
At this time of year, living around here as a surfer, you’ve got to believe. If you don’t, then you might as well not bother investing in a...
Thomas Edward Blake is one of the most important figures in surfing, and probably the most important single person in the history of wooden...
This deep into winter many of us rely on the woodburner in our front rooms to provide warmth through cold evenings. At Otter Surfboards we also rely...
