Grain Surfboards is shaping incredible surfboards - so we paid a visit | Cool sh!t

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Grain Surfboards is shaping incredible surfboards - so we paid a visit

By Garage Shaper · January 22, 2009

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As I follow my GPS through winding back roads I question if it might be wrong. Could there really be a surfboard company out here in the middle of all this farmland? I was on my way to visit Grain Surfboards in York, Maine. Grain Surfboards produces what I call “rideable art”; hollow wooden surfboards constructed from locally-grown, sustainably harvested northern white cedar. Other cedars, woods and materials are used for accents but all come from recycled, reclaimed and eco-friendly sources.

Simply put, they are incredible surfboards…

When I arrived I was greeted by Mike LaVecchia and Brad Anderson, the two owners of Grain Surfboards. In typical New England fashion, we had to shovel out the entrance of the shop before entering! The inside was everything I had imagined; the perfect mix of a surfboard factory with an old school boat building feel. Internal framing from some of the boards hangs from the ceiling and make it look like the Smithsonian Museum. Both Mike and Brad have a history with traditional boat building practices and have maintained the same level of quality as was demanded by mariners of the past. These guys know their stuff.

The shop is where the real magic happens and it is quite the set up; super efficient, very eco-friendly, and enough tools to keep any woodworker happy. All of the wood is milled and prepped on-site and great care has been taken to make sure that any waste is reused in some way. I was simply blown away by how environmentally-conscious the company is.

Everything Grain Surfboards produces is custom wooden surfboards and one-off, and the craftsman who starts building your board is the same one who sees it through creation to the end. It takes roughly 40-45 (!) man hours to complete one board. And while the prices are not cheap (starting at around $1800 and up), there’s a ton of love that’s going into boards that are going to last forever. The company also offers kits, which have become very popular, which for a 6 oh fish, go for around $700. (That’s probably cheaper than you had expected, right?) They are available direct from Grain Surfboards but are also making their way into surf shops worldwide. Every kit comes with all the things that go into a wooden board including keel and frames, top and bottom planks, rail strips, fin box, glue, epoxy, fiberglass, mixing buckets, gloves and most importantly, the instruction manual.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Grain Surfboards is a brand new class/camp where you can actually go on-site and build your own board under the instruction of the Grain craftsmen. There are a few classes to choose from and they don’t cost much more than new board. They run for seven days and include materials and meals. (Lodging is at an extra cost but you are more than welcome to camp out on the shop grounds for free. What a great vacation that would be!) The surf isn’t far from the shop so you can catch some waves while not working on your board. Best of all, you’ll leave with a new board that will be the envy of your mates and the invaluable knowledge and respect of just how much goes into creating a board for yourself, and one that isn’t shaped out of ESP foam. Students have already come from as far away as France, Sweden, and Japan to learn from the masters. As word catches on, classes are wooden surfboards filling up fast. Check out their schedule and sign up for one before they are all full…I know I’m taking one.

As for the boards themselves, you’ll have to check out their website to see some serious wooden boards. They are all just incredible. And in case you were wondering, the boards are indeed hollow, with an air plug. The inside is untreated, raw wood. Grain Surfboards says their boards are 20% heavier than foam boards (when it comes to shorter surfboards) or 10% heavier when it comes to logs. Given that your log is probably water logged right now, that’s not much of a difference.

As we ended the tour I was shown some surfboards that were recently built for six-time World Champion, Layne Beachley (who we recently interviewed at DailyStoke.com). The pros are quickly gaining interest in Grain Surfboards products as they offer such a unique ride, provide a more eco-friendly footprint than what they lug around on tour, and are just beautiful to look at. The new Dave Rastovich model was being constructed not far away and man do I want one! Rasta recently built one with Brad when the Grain Surfboards crew went to Hawaii. Check out the pics as well as the class schedule on their site (www.grainsurfboards.com).

I took a lot away from my visit and have to say that those boys from Maine are onto something for sure. My thanks to Mike and Brad for the hospitality and inspiration. Do yourself a favor and go check out their stuff at a shop near you or sign up for a class and be one of the lucky ones to learn this craft.

As always, tell a friend and thanks for reading.

- Shaper

[Editor's Note: If you want to see more incredible surfboard p*rn, make sure to visit their site directly, and click on the gallery. It's mouthwatering. Stoked. Stoked. Click here to go there.]

Discussion

One comment for “Grain Surfboards is shaping incredible surfboards - so we paid a visit”

Sick boards! I just checked out the link to Grain and want to sign up for a class ASAP! Thanks for posting the article.

- Dan

Posted by Dan Cross | January 22, 2009, 5:46 am

Cool sh!t