After much thought and consultation, I’ve decided to take my Hollow Surfboard process off the internet.I now realize that I have no control over the destiny of anything I create, once it is in someone elses hands or eyeballs, for that matter. My original intent for the web-site was for it to be a place individuals to go to for information on how to build their own boards…I have given people instructions on what to do, how to do it—for free…I’ve never really tried to sell complete boards, prefering that people build their own, for a lot of reasons…I didn’t design my “How To” page to be a source for others to use my designs and ideas for profit…Now that I see that change begining to happen, I’ve re-thought what I want the web-site to be and changed it… On the “How To” and “Q & A” pages, I removed the technical step by step process…http://www.hollowsurfboards.com/how_to.htmThe new bottom line on the "How To " page is below…
For several years, I have freely given away my method for building Hollow Surfboards…
Now I am charging $100.00 for
" How To Build A Hollow Surfboard"…
Templates for existing boards are available for $50.00…
For Custom templates, contact me…
My intent has always been and continues to be,
to allow anyone to be able to build boards for themselves…
Also known as Non-Commercial use…
If you want to Build and Sell boards using the “Paul Jensen Method” For-Profit,
it now requires an additional 10% license fee, based on the sale price of the board …
It’s a bummer when your generosity is abused. Thanks for being so generous and thanks for not making me those wooden keel fins back when causing me to make my own. Mike
Sorry to hear that someone or some people are trying to take your ideas and hard work for profit. All I can say is good luck to them. If you break down the time / material cost of a wooden surfboard, and especially one of your hollow boards, it probably nets you like $2.00 - $5.00 per/hr. And with such a narrow customer base I don’t see them making a buck. Could you imagine cranking out 4-5 hollows per month?
When was the last time you saw a surfboard shaper driving a new BMW or MBZ, right, theres no money in them thare hill
Your web site inspired me.The most beautiful boards I had seen and instruction on how to built, awesome. To bad the greedy have messed that up. In fact your web site is how I learned about swaylock. I have been register for over a year but I have been lurking in the back ground. Thanks to you swaylock has become my addiction.
Sorry to hear you are removing the info - I just told someone about it the other day.
You are the reason I ended up at Swaylocks (thanks!). I was looking for some epoxy on the System 3 web site for a wood sailing dinghy project and they had a link to your site. I “bagged” the boat building project and decided to make a surfboard instead. Ended up making a EPS one first before I tried to make one of yours… I still hope to try to make a hollow wood board someday & appreciate all the info you’ve given out.
My daughter still asks me when are we going to build that d*mm boat.
really glad that I got to see the whole site before it was too late. Seeing it inspired me and without exaggeration, it changed my life, not just with regard to surfing but gave me renewed hope in the potential selflessnes and generosity of man. It was though, inevitable that someone would do this, Your plans and depth of explanation made it possible. Shame though.
Thanks again for the inspiration and generosity.
Jason (MMM)
P.S. I think the 10% license fee is a good idea and more than fair.
You’ve been and you are the true Swaylocks spirit.
I truly understand and support your decision.
I’ve been some time out of home, but i’m back now and i still check Swaylocks every day. People as you, Jim P., Cleanlines, Keith, Kokua, MagicMan, Coral, Halcyon, Bert, Mike, John M. and others made this thing possible. THANKS, you taught us how to share.
Paul, I’d rethink taking it down. If you put stuff out in the public domain, it is a gift from you to the masses. You’ve in fact helped out a friend of mine who now has 5 orders for boards - you introduced him to a lot of methods he wouldn’t have found otherwise. So have people like Greg Loehr, the local shapers, Bert, and others. I’m not sure I’d call it ripping you off…he incorporates things you do with many of his own innovations. And would gladly share in return. He’s a carpenter by trade.
Of course it is yours to do with what you will, but you’ve probably increased by an order of magnitude the number of people doing wooden hollow boards…I am about half convinced to order one from our local expert.
You could achieve personal compensation some other way…google ads, or a Paypal donation link…if you really feel you merit 10% of the sale price of someone else’s wooden board I’d say you are well off on the value of IP. 10% is at the extreme upper end, and even a skilled woodworker will spend 15-20 hours on each board. And there are MILLIONS of working examples of boards to give people rough ideas on templates, rockers, and foils.
Sorry it came to such a head. Think it over…and do what you will.
I too learned about swaylocks after reading about your method, paul. Now, I never did make a hollow wooden board… But I would never have made any kind of board (I do mean NEVER) had I not stumbled across swaylocks while trying to research some of the more esoteric terms you used on your instruction page. I was trying to wrap my brain around your methods, was even as far as making a materials/tools list, when I ran across a reference somewhere in your pages to having “cut too deep on my cutlap”…
What the hell was a cutlap?
Searched yahoo, only one site popped up.
Swaylocks.
My life changed forever.
I still haven’t made a hollow wooden, but I’ve made vac-bagged wood/epoxy boards that truly are magic functional art under my clumsy feet, and poly/poly boards that are like perfect glistening jewels (in my eyes) in the water.
And it simply wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been inspired by your instruction page to begin with.
That was an awesome resource, I was just admiring all of those pics just a few days ago and was thinking of building one in the future when I get my wood room built up some. But, if you feel that you are being abused, I fully support your decision. I do think that you should re-post some pictures of the internal structure from your hallow fish, I think they added a lot to your site and showed off your talent. You should have no problem getting $100-$150 for step-by-step plans if you add some mesurements and templates to go along with the photos. I would consider putting the plans on A disk or into A PDF file when you sell them if you already haven’t done so. Mabe I’ll be a costomer of yours in a few years.
On a related note, I have a full setp-by-step set of plans for a parell profile 6’1" heart series surfboard built with the Roy Stewart method that I would like to post as a PDF to share with the other Swaylockians. currently it is about 25 pages, complete with full measurments and lots of pictures, but still needs some work. I do not wish to proffit from these plans, but would like them as a resource for other board builders.
It really is too bad. Hopefully I didn’t precipitate the matter…I sent paul a personal email thanking him for the excellent site last week.
I guess I can understand some of his reasons (implied) on the page. Depending on how you look at it, I guess it is a free country… Both to take down a web site, or commercialize a public domain concept (if that is what happened). A hollow wood surfboard is not exactly a new concept.
At any rate, I bought a sheet of 4mm okume this weekend to start my own board. As great as his site was, there are several details and processes that I would have done differently - starting with the wood…If you are going to spend all the time, why use a luan door skin??? There are many other design and process refinements that came to my mind as I reviewed his site over the past several months. Without being able to refer to the site, it will be a little tougher, but it will come together.
I guess I am just a little disappointed.
On the other hand, anyone who really wants to build a board will do it.
Boy, Paul, when you fisrt put out your website, it was ground shaking. I guess this is what happens these days. It’s all over the f-----g world, “The Jensen Method”. Who would have thought that would happen?
Good move on your part. The Q & A will bring it back home to the indiviual builder, or at least let you know who you’re dealing with.
There are undoubtedly people out there who have copied your step-by-step in its entirety, and saved it to a hard drive. There is a demand for your process, that much is obvious. It is only a matter of time before that process, exactly as you have written it, gets hosted someplace else. Probably not with as much style or class, probably without any credit given to the creator. But it will still be available to those who seek it, that much I’m sure of. At least if you are hosting it yourself people will know who to thank. Let it become some anonymous online “how to” and there will be no ethical reason not to rip it off.
Paul, the boards you make are works of art. Although I have never desired to make a HWS, I am in awe at the craftmanship and effort you put into them. Your site is a convenient location to get a lot of knowledge all in one place and if you choose to charge for that service more power to you.
It is your choice to pass on your knowledge any way you want. Up until now your website has been a gift. And like all gifts, you don’t have control over the gift once it has left your possession. That is not always an easy pill to swallow. And it is clear by your post, that you would now like some control over how others use your knowledge (i.e. not for profit unless you get a cut.)
But I question if charging for your knowledge is going to give you what you really want. People will still use your information in ways you disapprove of (i.e. shoddy craftmanship sold to the public using your designs.)
I’m afraid you only have two other options; stop charging/giving away your knowledge completely, or get a a patent.
Before you take down your site altogether, I suggest you do a basic patent search online. It will give you an idea of just how novel your knowledge really is. (I think you will be surprised at what you find.)
And the good news is, a basic patent search online is free, a gift. And you can do whatever you want with that information. ;]
One extra suggestion might be to contact Gary Young. He could cut through a lot of the red tape in back tracking the protection of your intellectual property.
