Roots Surf

From Wikipedia: An alaia is a thin, round-nosed, square-tailed surfboard ridden in pre-20th century Hawaii. The boards were between 7 and 12 ft (2.1 and 3.7 m) long, weighed up to 100 lb (45 kg), and were generally made from the wood of Acacia koa. They are distinct from modern surfboards in that they have no ventral fins. Modern alaias are 5’ to 12’ long and are the larger version of the Paipo board, used for knee or belly surfing, and the smaller version of the Olo board, generally between 18’ and 24’ long. All of these board types are similar in that all are made of wood and are ridden without a fin/skeg. The alaia’s roots span back a thousand years. Lala is the Hawaiian word describing the action of riding an alaia surfboard. Lala is a word found in the Hawaiian dictionary meaning ‘the controlled slide in the curl when surfing on a board.' In Hawaii the board was called alaia. In Japan it was called Itaka. There is evidence of early surfers riding this style from all around the world but in the early 1900s this style vanished. Alaia boards began making a comeback around 2006 when surfboard-shaper and experimenter Tom Wegener tested prototypes made of Paulownia wood among pro-surfers. The first contemporary professional surfers to master the skill of riding an alaia were documented in the Thomas Campbell surf film The Present. This appearance dramatically increased the popularity of the alaia board type.

Alaia boards: Made from Obeche and/or Redwood (depending on availability). Sealed with linseed oil. Ready to ride.
Get yours now for R2300-00.
40% deposit confirms order.

These rails are working really nicely. Shaped 75% from the under-side, 25% from the deck, giving a gentle convex on top, more aggressive shape from underneath.

Keep an eye out for new products and pricing in the next few days!

Alaia, no stringer, more flex. Better for light-weights like myself! Incidentally, I recently decided I would prefer this board to be shorter...so I simply pushed it over the saw and took 1ft off the tail, re-sealed it, and took it for a surf. Simple and robust!

Alaia with Walnut stringers, at Muizenberg

So, the Alaia's are back! Pics to follow shortly. I haven't been working on them for quite some time now, but have decided to push the surf side of Roots again. Keep your eyeballs concentrated on this page!

Revised pricing for decks...and unlike the rest of the world, I have reduced mine!

Check the paint job!

Custom paint job, higher kicks, little bit more length