Olo board

For other uses, see OLO.
Olo
O'lo surfboard, 20 feet long and 6 inches thick.
Other namesO'lo, oulou, olo surfboard, olo board
ClassificationSurfboard
UsesSurfing
InventorHawaiian people
RelatedAlaia, paipo board, durfboard
Prime Minister Kalanimoku standing in the doorway of one of his houses in the company of his wife Likelike, shown with her right arm raised and about to strike a sheet of kapa. In the foreground is an Olo board, the largest of the Hawaiian wood surfboards. Reserved for royalty, they ranged in size from 1.8 to 8 meters.
Illustration of native Hawaiians surf-riding (surfing) from an article entitled "Our Neighbors of the Sandwich Islands" in Hutchings' California Magazine, November 30, 1858.

The Olo, Olo board or Olo surfboard (pronounced: IPA: [Oulou], Hawaiian: Hawaiian pronunciation: [O'lo]) is a traditional long Hawaiian surfboard that was used by Hawaiian chieftains[1] for surfing. The Olo surfboard was the largest out of the three types of traditional surfboards (Alaia and Paipo board) that were used by the Hawaiian people. The Olo is twice as long as the modern surfing longboard, measuring up to 5.18 metres (17.0 ft) long, 16.5 inches wide and nearly 6 inches thick. The board was more than 76.20 kilograms (168.0 lb)[2] and was used for surfing large waves and even tsunamis, the boards were strictly meant for Hawaiian Chieftains and Kings.

  1. ^ Wegener, Tom (2018-11-01). "Ancient Hawaiian Olo". Tom Wegener Master Shaper. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  2. ^ Warshaw, Matt. "olo board". eos.surf. Retrieved 2023-06-04.