Collecting vintage surfboards has become very popular over the last few years. It is not just surfers who are into collecting vintage surfboards other vintage collectors and even some restaurant owners are also into it.

As with other collections and hobbies, the thrill of finding a vintage surfboard to add to the collection is a big part of the charm. There are some collectors who have vast collections of vintage surfboards, as many as 200 to 300 surfboards.

A good place to start looking for vintage surfboards is at surfboard stores and on the Internet. There are now several online stores that specialize in selling vintage surfboards. Another way to hunt for vintage surfboards may be by running an advertisement in the classified columns of the local newspaper.

If you are not a surfer and do not really know the history of the sport it may be wise to spend sometime researching it before setting out to buy vintage surfboards. This way you will know which era of the vintage surfboards you are interested in and you can target your search accordingly.

The first record of surfing was in Captain James Cook's journal in 1776. It is widely believed that the early Polynesians were the first to create surfboards. These vintage surfboards were made of wood and were usually shorter than six inches in length.

Vintage surfboards made in Hawaii from as early as the 1920s came in different sizes to accommodate all sizes of riders, style of riding and type of wave. Vintage surfboard collectors should be aware that the small 'paipo' Hawaiian surfboard was usually between 2 to 5 feet in length. The alaia surfboard was between 6 to 12 feet in length and the "kikoo" surfboard, used to ride larger waves, was around 12 to 18 feet in length. The largest of the Hawaiian wood surfboards, reserved for royalty was the 'Olo' board. These were the giants of the day and believed to have reached lengths of 25 feet.

Vintage surfboard collectors interested in the history of the evolution of surfboards will know that wood plank surfboards were made from the 1900s to the 1920s, laminated wood surfboards were used in the 1930s and 1940s, hollow boards were used in the 1940s and 1950s and Balsa boards were used in the 1960s.

Vintage surfboard collectors have wide variety of eras that they can choose from. With some searching, through surfboard stores and specialized vintage surfboard stores, they should be able to find an era and a design of a vintage surfboard that they like. Collection of vintage surfboards is as much a sport for surfers as it is for collectors.