Wooden Handplanes

Product Description

Handplanes are used for bodysurfing to maximise your wave count and fun in the surf. Best used paired with swim fins, the hand plane increases the lift provided by your leading hand, allowing you to surf more easily with less drag and more control.

A sport in its own right, body surfing has recently surged in popularity due to its accessibility and because it's a good way to get on the water when conditions are less favourable for board surfing. Keep your handplane in the van or rucksack for those days you wish you'd brought a board and you'll never miss an opportunity to get out on the water.

All our surfing handplanes are handmade in our workshop in Cumbria using sustainably-sourced Paulownia grown in Europe. Paulownia is a fast-growing and eco-friendly wood species used to build extremely lightweight hulls and boards. We've paired it with accent strips of Western Red Cedar for a striking and streamlined look, making use of timber stock that's too short to use in our other surfboards and boats.

We assemble each handplane from selected pieces of top-quality timber and shape them by hand to produce their elegant and functional shape. We then seal them with Danish oil to protect them from salt water. A hand-stitched Fyne strap is secured to the board using brass fittings. These have a velcro fastening so can be adjusted to fit comfortably on a wide range of hand sizes.

Each handplane is laser-engraved with an image according to its shape. Our first hand plane, the moon-tail, is engraved with a trilobite fossil, which we think has a similar shape to the board. The fish tail, whale tail and bat tail handplanes are engraved with a fish, a whale and a cloud of bats, respectively.

Maintenance

You should always rinse your hand plane in fresh water after each session, to keep it looking its best. When you notice that water no longer beads on the surface, it is time to give it another coat of Danish oil. For most people, this will probably be less than once a year.

Tail shapes

There are four tail shapes to choose from. All the handplanes have rocker that gives the board lift in the waves.

The Fish-tail and Moon-tail have a concave running rail to rail that helps you move between the boards rails. They are available in two sizes; the long size is best suited to larger surfers who prefer more volume.

The Bat tail has a double concave under the tail, helping to direct the flow of the water and give the board speed.

The Whale tail has a long keel fin made of Sapele, which helps to hold a line on the wave. This board is only available in a mid-size, as we thought this size worked best with a fin.