What are Wakesurf boards made of?

What are Wakesurf Boards made of?

There are a handful of different materials that Wakesurf boards can be produced from. The most common boards you see on the market are EPS foam, or Carbon Fiber. They comprise of over 98% of the market share to date. We here at Shore Boards have a more sustainable, eco-friendly option that will perform better than those mainstream options.

It’s called PAULOWNIA wood. Most prevalent in Southeast Asia, there are some plantations that grow it here in the USA. It’s not quite as light as Balsa wood (9lbs per cubic ft), but Paulownia is very close coming in at 18lbs per cubic feet. Most woods like Cedar or Aspen are in the high 20’s low 30’s for lbs per cubic ft. There are a couple characteristics that I LOVE about Paulownia. It is extremely easy to work with, shape, and apply finishes to. The fact  it doesn’t absorb water, and it relatively stable makes it an obvious choice for our Wakesurf application.

Paulownia Raw Material

Before using Paulownia we built our first iterations of our Wakesurf boards out of Western Red Cedar. They had the beautiful aesthetic, but came in heavier than ideally requested. Since we’ve brought on Paulownia we’re able to make a hybrid version which comprises of 80% Paulownia, and 20% Cedar which brings our total weight to 5-6 lb range.

Cedar & Paulownia Wakesurf Board

In 2024 we plan to produce Wakesurf Boards with a composition of 90-95% Paulownia, to attain an end weight in the high 4’s, low 5’s. This is unheard of in the wooden Wakesurf realm. If you’re in the market for a new Wakesurf board, and you like the aesthetic and performance a wooden Wakesurf board will get you, then be sure to ask the retailer if they carry Shore Boards!