In this Book

  • Surfing Places, Surfboard Makers: Craft, Creativity, and Cultural Heritage in Hawaii, California, and Australia
  • Book
  • Andrew Warren and Chris Gibson
  • 2014
  • Published by: University of Hawai'i Press
summary
Over the last forty years, surfing has emerged from its Pacific islands origins to become a global industry. Since its beginnings more than a thousand years ago, surfing’s icon has been the surfboard—its essential instrument, the point of physical connection between human and nature, body and wave. To a surfer, a board is more than a piece of equipment; it is a symbol, a physical emblem of cultural, social, and emotional meanings. Based on research in three important surfing locations—Hawai‘i, southern California, and southeastern Australia—this is the first book to trace the surfboard from regional craft tradition to its key role in the billion-dollar surfing business.

Hawai‘i, California, and Australia are much more than sites of surfboard manufacturing. Their surfboard workshops are hives of creativity where legacies of rich cultural heritage and the local environment combine to produce unique, bold board designs customized to suit prevailing waves. The globalization and corporatization of surfing have presented small, independent board makers with many challenges stemming from the wide availability of cheap, mass-produced boards and the influx of new surfers. The authors follow the story of board makers who have survived these challenges and stayed true to their calling by keeping the mythology and creativity of board making alive. In addition, they explore the heritage of the craft, the secrets of custom board production, the role of local geography in shaping board styles, and the survival of hand-crafting skills.

From the olo boards of ancient Hawaiian kahuna to the high-tech designs that represent the current state of the industry, Surfing Places, Surfboard Makers offers an entrée into the world of surfboard making that will find an eager audience among researchers and students of Pacific culture, history, geography, and economics, as well as surfing enthusiasts.

Table of Contents

restricted access Download Full Book
  1. Cover
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Title Page, Copyright
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Contents
  2. pp. v-vi
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Illustrations
  2. pp. vii-x
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. xi-xiv
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Introduction
  2. pp. 1-25
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 1: Surfing Places, Surfboard Makers: A Historical Geography
  2. pp. 26-54
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 2: A Pacific Story: Surfboard Making in the Wood Era
  2. pp. 55-83
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 3: Foam Futures: Evolution of the Modern Surfboard Industry
  2. pp. 84-110
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 4: Made by Hand: A Custom System of Production
  2. pp. 111-144
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 5: Crafting Surfboards: Gender, Bodies, and Emotions
  2. pp. 145-173
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 6: Global Stoke: The Commercialization of Surfing
  2. pp. 174-192
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 7: Computer Shaping: Mechanized Surfboard Production
  2. pp. 193-218
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 8: Surfboard Making: New (and Uncertain) Horizons
  2. pp. 219-242
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Notes
  2. pp. 243-254
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Bibliography
  2. pp. 255-260
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Index
  2. pp. 261-270
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. About the Author
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Back Cover
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
Back To Top

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless.