David Weber Workshops ® - since 2015

Leave Nazaré with a surfboard built by you

September 25, 26 and 27, 2026 | Praia do Norte, Nazaré

You arrive without needing to know how to shape, work with wood or build a surfboard.

Over three days, I teach you the process and guide you through the build, step by step.

You assemble the internal structure. Glue. Shape the wood. Shape the board. Sand it.

And on the third day, you put your signature on the bottom of the board.

Not because you bought it from a shaper.

Because this time, the shaper was you.

There’s a difference between choosing a surfboard and building your own

Anyone who surfs knows how personal a surfboard can become.

You know every mark on the deck. You remember the good waves. You know how it responds when you drop into a faster wall or when the waves are small.

Now imagine paddling out on a board whose story began long before its first wave.

It began when you assembled the structure inside it.

When you glued the wood.

When you started seeing a surfboard where, before, there were only pieces.

When you ran your hand over the shape and felt where you still needed to remove material.

When you sanded it for the last time and put your signature on the bottom.

Once laminated and finished, that board can go into the ocean.

And you’ll know exactly how it was built.

Because you built it.

You don’t need to know how to build a surfboard to join this workshop

In fact, that’s exactly why I’m there.

You don’t need woodworking skills.

You don’t need shaping experience.

You don’t need a workshop of your own.

You don’t even need to be a surfer.

The workshop is designed for you to learn by doing.

I show you what to do at each stage. You do it on your own board, and I guide you through the process.

Before we move on, we check what has been done. If something needs adjusting, we fix it right there.

You build your own surfboard, but you don’t have to figure out how to do it on your own.

I’ve been teaching surfboard-building workshops since 2015

I started at Praia Mole in Florianópolis, Brazil, where in 2015 I held the first surfboard-building workshop in Latin America.

Since then, I’ve been teaching the hollow wooden surfboard construction process and refining the method with every board and every group.

I’ve been running workshops in Portugal since 2017.

I’m an engineer by training and a shaper by passion. I became a professional shaper in 2008 and, over time, focused my work on building and developing wooden surfboards.

Those years of building and teaching have also shown me where beginners tend to struggle.

That’s why I work with small groups.

I want to be able to follow each board throughout the process, see what you’re doing and guide you before you move on to the next stage.

Portuguese, English or Spanish. You choose the language.

What happens during the three days

This isn’t a course where you spend three days watching someone else build a surfboard.

The board on the shaping stand is yours. And you’re the one working on it.

We start with the internal structure, the skeleton that will give the board its shape.

Then come the assembly, gluing and forming of the wood.

Little by little, what started as a collection of pieces begins to take the shape of a surfboard.

Then comes the shaping.

You work on the lines and curves, make the adjustments and sand until the shape is complete.

On the third day, you sign the board as its shaper.

And you take home something that, three days earlier, simply didn’t exist.

A surfboard built by you.

What if I’ve never done anything like this before?

That’s one of the most common questions.

When you look at a finished surfboard, it can be hard to imagine that you could build one yourself.

But you won’t be handed a pile of wood and left alone to figure out what to do.

The process is divided into stages.

I show you.

You do it.

I guide you.

And only then do we move on.

If something needs correcting, we correct it during the process.

The method I teach has been developed and refined over years of building surfboards and guiding students through workshops.

That’s why no previous experience is required.

At the Nazaré Workshop, you can build a surfboard up to 7 feet

For this edition, we’ll work with boards up to 7’0”, based on models I’ve developed and refined over the years.

You choose the model you want to build and spend the three days working on it with me.

But the goal isn’t for you to simply copy one surfboard during the workshop.

I want you to understand the process.

Because after building your first one, you’ll have the knowledge and resources to keep learning and build others.

What’s included

3-day in-person workshop at Praia do Norte

You spend all three days building the shape of your surfboard with me, with guidance throughout the entire process.

These are three full workshop days, so plan to keep the whole day available.

Your own workstation

Wood, tools and the materials required for the stages completed during the workshop. You don’t need to bring tools or set up a workshop of your own to participate.

The surfboard you build

At the end of the workshop, you take home the wooden surfboard shape you built, sanded and signed by you.

Online Surfboard Building Workshop

You’ll be able to revisit the process at your own pace and continue learning after the in-person workshop, including the steps required to laminate and finish your board.

Design & Shaper + 3D

A course to deepen your understanding of surfboard design, performance, shaping and board development.

3 digital plans

Plans that allow you to keep practicing and build other models after the workshop.

David Weber Academy Certificate

Upon completing the workshop, you receive a David Weber Academy certificate.

Your first surfboard may be just the beginning

Maybe your goal is to build one surfboard and one day paddle out on something you made yourself.

Maybe you’ll finish the first one and immediately start thinking about the next.

Maybe you’ll discover a new hobby to take back to your garage or workshop.

Or maybe you’ll want to deepen your knowledge of shaping and construction and, over time, turn it into a professional activity.

That’s why the workshop isn’t designed simply to help you finish one surfboard with me.

The idea is for you to understand how it is built.

The Online Workshop, Design & Shaper + 3D and the digital plans allow you to keep studying and building after your three days in Nazaré are over.

One important detail about your surfboard

At the end of the three days, the shape will be built, sanded and signed by you, but the surfboard will not yet be ready to go into the water.

It still needs to be laminated with fiberglass and resin to waterproof and protect the wood, followed by the final finishing process.

This stage takes more time and is not completed during the three-day workshop.

Afterwards, you have three options:

Do it yourself

The Online Workshop also teaches the lamination and finishing stages so you can complete the board yourself.

Take it to a professional you trust

You can take your board to a laminator who provides this type of service.

Use a laminator I recommend in Portugal

If you prefer, I can recommend a professional who is already familiar with my work.

Once properly laminated and finished, it will be ready for what you’ve probably been imagining since the moment you decided to join:

paddling out on a surfboard you built yourself.

Nazaré Workshop 2026

September 25, 26 and 27, 2026

Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal

Three full days of workshop.

Accommodation is not included. If you need it, I can recommend options near Praia do Norte.

You arrive in Nazaré with a surfboard model to build.

Three days later, you leave with the shape in your hands and your signature on the bottom.

Choose the surfboard model you want to build below