Most surfers will go through dozens of boards in a lifetime. I'm not even counting the pro bros. Some of them go through a dozen every trip. We break a lot of them --airs, big floaters, and behemoth barrels make cool stories for snapped sleds; going over the falls -- not so much. The ones that don't break will likely get that ugly suntan someday and sit in your attic or shed.

Believe it or not, some boards are made to last. They're different boards. They're made of wood and they're built on a farm in Maine. They come from a New England boat-building tradition instead of the surfboard epicenter of Southern California. Of course you can order a magnificent hand-crafted Grain Surfboard, but there's nothing quite like building one of these things yourself.

Nick LaVecchiaA Grain Surfboards 6'5 "Seed" kit. You build. You ride it.

WHAT IT IS:
The Grain Surfboards Home Grown Boards are essentially a kit with all the milled components you will need to build your own board. Grain has a line of some 14 boards from the 5'4 Waka fish to the 10'6 Northern Pintail. The Seed is a popular pick for its versatility and classic lines, but Grain offers eight of its boards as kits. You pick the stick. Then, the specific frame, cedar planks, rail strips, fin boxes, leash plug, glue, and glass all arrive at your door. It's up to you to assemble the frame, set the outline on the bottom planks and build upwards on the rail with 3/16 inch strips of cedar, fit your top planks before shaping the final product. Then sand for a few days and glass it. Figure on about 50 hours.

Building a kit is by no means an easy task. Grain also offers classes, wherein students go to the factory (something else you might want to put on your bucket list.) Working side-by-side with the Grain staff, it still takes seven days, but you leave with what is sure to be the gem of your quiver. The Home Grown kits require some DIY skills an ample garage space, but they come with a very thorough instruction manual.

WHY IT RULES:
Grain believes that environmental changes should come from within. Made of local, Northern White cedar, these boards are truly green options to our petroleum-based polyurethane addition. Before they are glassed, they are 99% biodegradable and there is an ongoing process of developing more eco-friendly products without sacrificing quality.

And while these boards make for fantastic wall art and conversation pieces, to treat them solely as such would be a sin. They work in the water -- different from your fiberglass board, but the wood and weight have their own qualities. Get one of these boards moving and you'll learn what momentum is. The list of wooden disciples includes Dave Rastovich, Layne Beachley, Mikey DeTemple, Cyrus Sutton, and Kassia Meador. Donavan Frankenreiter gets a gleam in his eye when talking about on particular barrel at Off the Wall on Rasta's Grain pintail.

Nick LaVecchiaEverything you need to build your own sweet, wooden ride.

"There's a long heritage of boat building here that goes back as long as people have been here," says co-owner, Brad Anderson, "The fact that we build wooden surfboards in Maine, from Maine-grown Cedar, allows us to inherit all that value, perception, and all that pride."

And this is one board that will still look good twenty years from now, no matter how much you surf it.

WHERE TO FIND IT:
Buying anything from Grain is such a unique experience, you're going to want to go to visit the U-Build-It page on their website and poke around a little bit. You can order directly through a sawdust-covered dude in Maine or try picking one up at Ride The Wind in Ocrocoke, NC JZ's Boardinghouse in Santa Monica, Cinnamon Rainbows in New Hammy, or Cleanline Surf Shop in Seaside Oregon.