Alaia Board

Definition: The alaia board was surfing's first hotdog or high performance model. Made most often of koa wood, alaia boards came in sizes ranging from 7-12 feet, ran about 18-20 inches wide, and measured a little over an inch thick, a veritable wooded potato chip with no fin. Alaia boards were ridden similar to today's boards at an angle perpendicular to the shoreline and were the go to boards for the general citizenry of precolonial Hawaii, while the longer and heavier olo boards were ridden by island royalty and were generally used for rides straight to the beach.