THEN:
    It began with a tree, only three types of trees were used to make the ancient surf board; the Wiliwili, the Ulu (or breadfruit), and the Koa.

   Once the tree was chosen, the board builder would take his stone axe and dig a hole around the roots and place a fish in it, along with a prayer, as an offering to the gods in trade of the tree that would soon become a surf board.  The making and shaping of the surf board that followed this ritual required much experience from the native "shapers".

    The board was first roughly shaped to the wanted depth, length and width by clipping at the tree trunk with an axe.  Then, it was brought down to the beach and put into the halau (canoe house) for the finishing work. 

    To smooth rough surfaces,  jagged edges and get rid of the adze marks, granulated coral called pohaku puna and oahi (a rough stone) were used.

    As a finishing touch, the shapers would use the root of the Ti plant called mole ki, or the pounded bark of the kukui, called hili, to give the board a dark stain.

    Stains were also made from the soot of burned kukui nuts, charcoal from burnt pandanus leaves, and/or from the juices of young banana buds.  To complete the surf board making, a  coat of kukui nut oil was put on once the stain was dry, which gave it dark gloss and shine.

NOW:
    Surfboards are made from up-to-date plastics like polyurethane foam and fiberglass, which contains plastic resin, and are up to 10 feet long if you want that old style. But most common boards are only 5 to 6.5 feet long. 

    The only thing that stayed the same between the ancient Hawaiians and now, is that surfboards are still hand built, and the making is still an art that takes patience and skill.

    

THEN VS. NOW