Art for Surfing

 

Aaberg Surfboards blend the present with the past, high performance wave riding with art and beauty, and cutting edge technology with traditional materials. The result is an aesthetically pleasing board that is lighter and stronger than the conventional surfboard.

 

The boards have the natural beauty of real wood, which ties the boards to surfing’s historic past, while the high performance nature of the boards offers a glimpse into the future. The koa veneers used in construction are vibrant and beautiful. Each piece of wood is unique, so two boards of the same shape will look completely different. An Aaberg board can shred on a six foot day or be admired on the wall when the surf is blown out. Aaberg Surfboards are functional art for surfing.

The Creative Process

 

Aaberg Surfboards combine advanced construction techniques and hight tech materials into a beautiful surfboard. The wood, glass and carbon layers are fused under pressure, resulting in the lightest and strongest composite board possible. The boards measure up to the highest standards of surgical craftsmanship. Each board is individually hand made with meticulous attention to detail and requires about four weeks to complete.

 

The composite shell includes wood veneer, S-2 fiberglass and carbon or carbon/Kevlar hybrid fabric. The underside of the deck is inlayed with divinycell to increase the support under your feet. Even radical turns won't crush the deck. The wood fiber is stronger than a layer of glass and resists pressure dings. S-2 fiberglass is stronger than the E glass, typical on most surfboards. The carbon used on the rails functions like a parabolic stringer. The board resists torsion which increases control. This is just one of the factors that makes an Aaberg Surfboard ride so well. We use marine grade epoxy typical in wooden boat construction, because of its added strength. The finish coating is done in seven layers. The finish is loaded with UV inhibitors to protect the board.

Environmental Considerations

 

Aaberg Surfboards are produced in a way that is more environmentally friendly than typical polyester resin / polyurethane foam surfboards. Epoxy is stronger than polyester resin and releases a fraction of the volatile organic compounds. As a core material, EPS foam is lighter and less toxic to produce than polyurethane, although it is harder to work with. Although EPS is not environmentally ideal, it is recyclable, unlike polyurethane. There are new biofoams available, but they are not yet light enough for our routine hi-tech use. We will continue to research materials that will combine environmental awareness with high performance.

Biography

 

Randy Aaberg was born in San Diego, California. As a kid, he rode an inflatable rubber beach mat in Pacific Beach. His first surfboard was an acid splash Chanin-Diffenderfer V-bottom. During his first trip to Hawaii, he surfed Haleiwa on a Brewer shape and realized that craftsmanship matters. He remembers Trestles when Nixon lived there and by 16 had been down Baja 1000 miles to the tip. He was an ocean lifeguard in San Diego for seven summers and has surfed all around the world. He spent some relatively dry years becoming a surgeon, now focused on laparoscopy and minimally invasive cancer surgery.

 

He has been making surfboards and working with wood his whole life. He always appreciated fine art and sought to find beauty even in daily experience with common things. Ars longa, vita brevis. He spent two years making ukuleles and attended wooden boat school in Maine for a few summers. As the surf industry headed towards mass production, he was thinking in the opposite direction, about longer lasting, stronger, faster, and more beautiful surfboards. Aaberg Surfboards evolved over five years of R&D, attempting to bring together the best of these experiences. His motto for the craftsmanship and materials that go into an Aaberg surfboard is "complex and expensive."

“A surfboard has no moving parts, but is a lovely, dynamic, organic shape. Surfers are as close to nature as anyone when they find themselves in the fluid envelope at the boundary layer of our planet's oceans, riding the great wave of infinity.

Why not ride a Koa surfboard?”