Surfboard Evolution: From Olo to Epoxy

How the surfboard changed from giant Hawaiian wooden olo boards to balsa, foam, shortboards, thrusters, epoxy, and soft-tops, and what each shift meant for surfers.

The surfboard is one of the simplest tools ever made, and one of the most refined. For centuries it was a carved plank of wood. In the last hundred years, it has gone through revolution after revolution. Each change opened the door to new kinds of surfing, and to new surfers.

Here’s how we got from the boards of ancient Hawaiʻi to the one you might rent for your first session.

Ancient Hawaiian Boards

In ancient Hawaiʻi, boards were carved by hand from local trees. Selecting the tree and shaping the board could involve prayers and offerings, and the finished board was cared for with oils and stored with respect.

The main types included:

• Olo. Very long, thick, heavy boards, often far taller than the rider. They were associated with the aliʻi, the chiefly class, and were made for gliding on long, rolling waves.
• Alaia. Shorter, thinner, finless boards ridden widely by people of all ranks. Riding an alaia takes real skill because there’s no fin to hold the board in the wave.
• Paipo. Small boards ridden lying down or kneeling, often by children, similar in spirit to a modern bodyboard.

All of these boards were finless. Surfers controlled them through balance, positioning, and dragging a foot or hand in the water.

Modern alaia riders are rediscovering what Hawaiians knew centuries ago: a simple wooden plank can deliver pure, fast, beautiful surfing.

The Early Modern Wooden Boards

When surfing was revived at Waikīkī in the early 1900s, surfers rode long, heavy solid wooden boards. Some weighed over 100 pounds. Carrying one down the beach was a workout, and paddling out was harder still.

Duke Kahanamoku rode boards like these, and his skill on them helped inspire surfers around the world. Learn more in our Duke Kahanamoku feature.

Tom Blake: Hollow Boards and the Fin

Tom Blake changed surfboards in two big ways:

1. Hollow boards. In the late 1920s he began building hollow boards, and he received a patent for his design in 1932. Lighter boards were easier to carry and paddle, and his hollow paddleboards also became important lifeguard rescue tools.
2. The fin. In 1935, Blake attached a small keel, or fin, to the bottom of a surfboard. The fin kept the tail from sliding out and gave surfers far more control.

The fin may be the most important single innovation in modern surfboard history.

Balsa and Fiberglass

In the 1940s and 1950s, Southern California shapers began building lighter boards from balsa wood covered in fiberglass and resin, materials that became widely available after World War II.

Shapers and designers such as Bob Simmons, Joe Quigg, and Matt Kivlin experimented with lighter, more maneuverable shapes. Lighter boards meant surfers could turn, trim, and walk the board in new ways, and Malibu became a center for this new style.

The Foam Revolution

In the late 1950s, Hobie Alter and Gordon “Grubby” Clark helped pioneer surfboards made from polyurethane foam blanks covered in fiberglass. Foam was lighter, cheaper, and more consistent than balsa, and boards could be made far more quickly.

Clark went on to build Clark Foam, which supplied blanks to a huge share of the surfboard industry for decades until its sudden closure in 2005, an event surfers nicknamed “Blank Monday.”

Southern California shapers such as Dale Velzy and Hap Jacobs, who opened shops and built boards in the South Bay, helped turn board-building into a real business. Foam boards arrived just in time for the surf boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, when movies, music, and magazines brought thousands of new surfers to the beach.

The Shortboard Revolution

In the late 1960s, surfers in Australia, Hawaiʻi, and California began cutting boards dramatically shorter. Designers and surfers including Bob McTavish, Nat Young, George Greenough, and Dick Brewer played key roles.

In just a few years, typical boards shrank from around nine or ten feet to under seven. Shortboards could turn sharply, fit into steeper parts of the wave, and ride inside the barrel. Surfing became faster and more radical.

Longboards never went away, though. Today longboarding is a whole style of its own, prized for smooth trim, cross-stepping, and nose riding.

Twin Fins and the Thruster

Through the 1970s, shapers experimented with single fins, twin fins, and many other ideas.

• Twin fins. Australian surfer Mark Richards popularized twin-fin boards and won four straight world titles riding them from 1979 to 1982.
• The thruster. In 1980, Australian shaper and pro surfer Simon Anderson designed a board with three fins of similar size. In 1981 he won major contests on it, including the Bells Beach event in big surf and the Pipeline Masters. The thruster combined speed, drive, and control, and it became the standard setup for performance surfing.

Modern Materials: Epoxy

Since the 1990s, many boards have been built with epoxy resin and lighter foam cores. Epoxy boards are often lighter and more durable than traditional boards, and they helped make mass-produced, consistent boards widely available.

Board builders keep experimenting with new materials, recycled foam, plant-based resins, and construction methods aimed at reducing environmental impact. Learn more in Protecting the Ocean.

Soft-Tops: The Beginner’s Best Friend

Foam soft-top boards have transformed learning to surf. They’re buoyant, stable, forgiving, and much less likely to hurt you or anyone around you. Most surf schools use them, and many experienced surfers ride them for fun on small days.

If you’re just starting out, a big soft-top is almost always the right call. Our Learn to Surf guides explain why.

The Retro Revival

In recent decades, surfers have rediscovered older designs:

• Fish. Short, wide boards with a split “swallow” tail, developed in San Diego in the late 1960s and early 1970s, great for small, mushy waves.
• Twin fins. Loose, fast, and fun, twins have made a big comeback.
• Single-fin longboards and mid-lengths. Classic shapes for smooth, flowing surfing.
• Alaia. Some surfers have returned to finless wooden boards inspired by ancient Hawaiian designs.

Today there’s no single “right” board. There’s a board for every wave and every surfer.

What the Evolution Teaches Us

Every board design was once an experiment. Someone tried something new, learned from it, and passed that knowledge on.

The best board isn’t the newest one. It’s the one that helps you catch more waves and have more fun right now.

Curious about board terms like “rocker,” “rails,” and “quiver”? Check out our Surf Lingo dictionary. For the bigger picture, read The History of Surfing.