Otis Waratah, Tessellation Surfboard and stand (STUDENT 2024)

Student:

Secondary

Name of school or tertiary institution, name of woodworking teacher (if you have one), and name of photographer:

Bega High School, woodworking teacher: Matthew Collins, photographer: David Rogers.

Video tour:

https://vimeo.com/999795270?share=copy

Hollow timber surfboard with a tessellated deck motif; designed, constructed and fibre glassed for my HSC Industrial Technology major project. It combines functionality with a unique aesthetic creating a fully functional art piece. I merged my love of surfing, art and woodwork to construct this piece over a 10-month period. Building on initial hand sketches I refined the design using the surfboard designing software shape3D. The retro ‘Fish’ style is short and wide, complete with hand foiled twin fins and steam bent fishtail. This design makes the board easy to paddle, loose to turn and extremely fun to ride. The lightweight plywood frame was cut out using a CNC router and the deck is constructed from 6mm paulownia planks. Two western red cedar strips add contrast to the underside while a 3D, cuboid, tessellated pattern adorns the deck. This pattern was created using veneers of jarrah, rose maple and brush box, precision laser cut, meticulously assembled and finally glued down using a vacuum press. The pattern adds a striking modern look to a classic retro style board whilst highlighting the beautiful grain and natural tones of the timbers. The rails are made from laminated paulownia strips hand shaped over many hours. This shaping process allowed me to optimise the function of the board and utilise traditional surfboard construction methods. A final coat of 4-ounce fibreglass cloth and epoxy resin adds strength and durability to create a fully waterproof and ding resistant board. I completed this process myself with guidance from local board shaper and fibreglasser Simon Beck. I shaped the fins from marine ply and added a recycled cloth inlay for subtle effect. The 3D tessellations give my board an extremely unique look whilst the glass on fins combine strength, functionality, and character to create an innovative and distinctive wooden surfboard.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.