Grain (surfboard company)

Grain Surfboards

Founded	2005
Headquarters	York, Maine
Products	Hollow wooden surfboards
Website	http://www.grainsurfboards.com/

Grain Surfboards is an American company that manufactures custom and originally designed hollow wooden surfboards. The surfboards are made primarily from Northern White Cedar, with some Western Red Cedar added for color accent.

History

The company was founded in 2005 in York, Maine. Claiming boat building influences, Grain describes its first boards as having caulked seams and bronze fastenings like a wooden ship. Construction methods were adopted from common kayak and surfboard building techniques until a lighter board requiring fewer non-renewable resources was developed.

Grain Surfboards collaborated with Channel Islands Surfboards on May 2009 to market a wood version of the Rob Machado model 6′2″ Biscuit originally designed by Kelly Slater's official shaper Al Merrick as a foam surfboard.

Production

New designs are drawn using 3D cad software. From the 3D design, two-dimensional flat sections are created to become the precision-cut frames (internal Rib-like structures perpendicular to the mid-line from nose to tail) and keel (known as stringer in a foam surfboard). Then bookmatched wood is selected that blends together to form a unique pattern on the deck and bottom of the board. The keel and frames are then drilled with holes to further reduce the weight. The constructed frames and keel define the overall shape and size of the board. The installation of fins and fin-boxes (for removable fins) is aided by a builder's laser to ensure that fins are placed, canted and toed-in symmetrically. The hollow and watertight nature of these boards require the installation of a vent plug to equalize internal and external pressure that changes due to temperature variation and to changes in atmospheric pressure which, without the vent, would cause air pressure inside the board to increase.

External links

• Locally Grown, Hand-built in Maine Official website