Free Persuasive Essays: The Sport Of Surfing

Joshua Marbry-Ray

East Duplin High School

Graduation Project

March 28, 2018

All About Surfing

What exactly is the sport of surfing? Surfing is a sport in which someone rides a wave towards the shoreline as they lay or stand on a surfboard. Surfing is popular in many parts of the world, and it has been for quite a long amount of time, as surfing grows in different parts of the world, the history is still unknown to many, In fact, many surfers in today’s society do not even know who started the sport or where the sport originated, the evolution of surfing has brought many changes to the quality and to the design of the surfboard, these changes have greatly impacted the sport of surfing today. Surfing is a water sport that has been around

For example, wetsuits have been made to help retain your body heat when you are surfing in cold water. Another example would be that fins have been added to the bottom of surfboards to increase the speed and stability of the surfboard. Grip pads have also been applied towards the back of the surfboard to help keep the surfboard under your feet. There are also a variety of different sizes and shapes for a surfboard. For instance, the size of longboards can be anywhere between 6’8” to 9’6” or even taller, or a short board which can usually range between 5’2” to 6’4”. Not every surfboard rides the same, one board in particular would be the fish, which is small and thick board that is suitable for gaining speed on small waves, around one to two feet. The mini-mal is just a “shorter longboard that helps maneuver while surfing without sacrificing too much paddle speed and stability” (K). These board were created to fit many different styles of surfing, so that everyone can find a style that best suits them, and they can then take pleasure in the

One of these manufacturing processes starts with the formation of the core of the surfboard, which is foam. The core is formed inside of a cement mold that is the same size as the surfboard will be. This mold has two halves, and there is a certain paper that is lined on the inside to prevent the foam from getting stuck to the cement mold. The halves of the mold are clamped together and polyurethane is poured into the mold. This causes the foam to become dense. The second step is usually to add the stringer. This will provide stiffness and support the board from breaking in half. This involves cutting the core in half once it is completely hardened. The board is cut vertically, from the nose of the board to the tail. The third step is to shape the blank. An outline is traced onto the core of the surfboard. The next step is cutting out the outline with a saw. The board is then contoured and smoothed out to the ending shape using a power sander. It is then given a sanding with rough sandpaper to shape the sides of the board. Then the whole blank is sanded with fine sandpaper and the position of where the fin will be placed is marked. The builder of the board then usually signs it with a certain signature or symbol. The fourth step is to form the hard shell of the surfboard. This is done by laying a sheet of fiberglass cloth on the board’s surface and it is cut to fit the size of the board. The