Surfboard Shaping
Surfing was originally a practice reserved for Hawaiian royalty called 'Alii'. Over time, more people were allowed to take part in the practice, and now surfing has become one of the largest, globally renowned sports in the world.
Barry dives into Hawaii's surfing culture with legendary 'Master Shaper' Pat Rawson, to learn how to craft the perfect surfboard
Pat Rawson has been crafting surfboards ever since he was 12 years old. He is renowned as the 'Master Shaper' amongst the global surfing community, due to his custom designs and ability to create the perfect board by hand
Pat sells surfboards to dozens of countries worldwide from 6 different workshops. This is Pat's home base workshop in Haleiwa, Oahu, where Barry will learn how to craft a board
Most surfboards are held by a stringer, which is a thin piece of timber that runs through the middle of the board
The stringer is held between blocks of foam and is cut into a rough surfboard shape called the 'blank'. The blank is then given to a shaper so they can shave and sand the material into a customised surfboard
It is the shaper's job to customise the surfboard to the customer's needs. They must consider the height, weight, ability and technique of the surfer, as well as the the type of wave they'll be surfing
Barry and Chris take their surfboards out into the Hawaiian ocean to catch some waves
Surfing was originally a practice reserved for Hawaiian royalty called 'Alii'. Over time, more people were allowed to take part in the practice, and now surfing has become one of the largest, globally renowned sports in the world.
Barry dives into Hawaii's surfing culture with legendary 'Master Shaper' Pat Rawson, to learn how to craft the perfect surfboard
Pat Rawson has been crafting surfboards ever since he was 12 years old. He is renowned as the 'Master Shaper' amongst the global surfing community, due to his custom designs and ability to create the perfect board by hand
Pat sells surfboards to dozens of countries worldwide from 6 different workshops. This is Pat's home base workshop in Haleiwa, Oahu, where Barry will learn how to craft a board
Most surfboards are held by a stringer, which is a thin piece of timber that runs through the middle of the board
The stringer is held between blocks of foam and is cut into a rough surfboard shape called the 'blank'. The blank is then given to a shaper so they can shave and sand the material into a customised surfboard
It is the shaper's job to customise the surfboard to the customer's needs. They must consider the height, weight, ability and technique of the surfer, as well as the the type of wave they'll be surfing
Barry and Chris take their surfboards out into the Hawaiian ocean to catch some waves
Surfing was originally a practice reserved for Hawaiian royalty called 'Alii'. Over time, more people were allowed to take part in the practice, and now surfing has become one of the largest, globally renowned sports in the world.
