Burnett Surfboards

Hollow wood surfboards are part of a growing movement of surfers worldwide who are looking for alternatives to surfboard manufacture that go beyond the toxic materials used since the 1950s. The hallmarks of this movement are the use of natural materials, low-tech tools and hand craftmanship.

Wood will surprise you in ways you never expected: surfing a wood board is a journey in surfing discovery and myth busting.

Wood surfboards are heavier but once you put it them in the water the weight disappears. They paddle beautifully across the water and into waves.

At Burnett Wood Surfboards we put much of our weight into the rails of the surfboard. We believe this means the board goes onto a rail very easily and that once the weight of the rail is engaged the board holds a distinct line across the wave face, making for great rail to rail surfing.

Weight, far from being a disadvantage as the mainstream surf industry wood have you believe, is a powerful and neglected design element that wood boards are re-introducing to surfing.

Finally, floating on the ocean while sitting on a beautifully-grained wood surfboard is a deeply satisfying experience that enhances your surfing experience and appreciation of nature.

After the first surfboard I was hooked. My partner Annabel has been amazing. I remember voicing a crazy thought to her after the first board, just asking, “What if I could make beautiful boards and sell them?” Her immediate response was, “Why don’t you?” It was crazy. There was no apparent market, no financial incentive and I had no woodworking experience.

I kept on building boards and eventually some orders started to come in.

The car gradually moved out of the garage and the garage became the workshop. Then we renovated and I sneaked extra workshop space into the plans. And I started to feel like I was gaining the kind of skill and experience to be able to make the kind of boards that I could visualize in my mind.