Grain (surfboard company)
Encyclopedia
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.
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 resource
s 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.
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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
company that manufactures custom and originally designed hollow wooden surfboards. The surfboards are made primarily from Northern White Cedar
Thuja occidentalis
Thuja occidentalis is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is widely cultivated for use as an ornamental plant known as American Arbor Vitae. The endemic occurrence of this species is a northeastern distribution in North America...
, with some Western Red Cedar
Thuja plicata
Thuja plicata, commonly called Western or pacific red cedar, giant or western arborvitae, giant cedar, or shinglewood, is a species of Thuja, an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae native to western North America...
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 caulkedCaulking
Caulking is one of several different processes to seal joints or seams in various structures and certain types of piping. The oldest form of caulking is used to make the seams in wooden boats or ships watertight, by driving fibrous materials into the wedge-shaped seams between planks...
seams and bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
fastenings like a wooden ship. Construction methods were adopted from common kayak and surfboard building techniques until a lighter board requiring fewer non-renewable resource
Non-renewable resource
A non-renewable resource is a natural resource which cannot be produced, grown, generated, or used on a scale which can sustain its consumption rate, once depleted there is no more available for future needs. Also considered non-renewable are resources that are consumed much faster than nature...
s was developed.
Grain Surfboards collaborated with Channel Islands Surfboards on May 2009 to market a wood version of the Rob Machado
Rob Machado
Robert Edward Machado is an American professional surfer from Cardiff-by-the-Sea, a community in Encinitas , California....
model 6′2″ Biscuit originally designed by Kelly Slater
Kelly Slater
Robert Kelly Slater is an American professional surfer known for his competitive prowess and style. He has been crowned ASP World Champion a record 11 times, including 5 consecutive titles from 1994–98. He is the youngest and the oldest to win the title...
's official shaper
Shaper (surfboard)
A shaper is someone who builds and designs surfboards by hand. Originally made from wood, most modern surfboards are made from pre-formed polyurethane blanks or styrofoam and then fine shaped by the shaper using an array of tools ranging from surforms, rasps, sanding machines and power planers...
Al Merrick as a foam surfboard.
Production
New designs are drawn using 3DThree-dimensional space
Three-dimensional space is a geometric 3-parameters model of the physical universe in which we live. These three dimensions are commonly called length, width, and depth , although any three directions can be chosen, provided that they do not lie in the same plane.In physics and mathematics, a...
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
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
(known as stringer
Stringer
Stringer may refer to:* Stringer , a type of freelance journalism* Stringer * Stringer , or longeron, a strip of wood or metal to which the skin of an aircraft is fastened...
in a foam surfboard). Then bookmatched
Bookmatched
Bookmatching is the practice of matching two wood surfaces, so that two adjoining surfaces mirror each other in appearance, thus giving the impression of an opened book...
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
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
to ensure that fins are placed, canted and toed-in symmetrically
Symmetry
Symmetry generally conveys two primary meanings. The first is an imprecise sense of harmonious or aesthetically pleasing proportionality and balance; such that it reflects beauty or perfection...
. The hollow and watertight nature of these boards require the installation of a vent plug to equalize internal and external pressure
Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
that changes due to temperature variation and to changes in atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted into a surface by the weight of air above that surface in the atmosphere of Earth . In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point...
which, without the vent, would cause air pressure inside the board to increase.
External links
- Locally Grown, Hand-built in Maine Official website