Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Jason Thelen's paddleboards are like floating works of art: long, wide planks of hand-milled wood the color of honey, caramel and brown sugar, kept simple with clean lines or adorned with intricate inlays.
But these arresting vessels are more than just lovely to behold; Thelen wants them, and his Petoskey-based company, Little Bay Boards, to change the way we think about how our purchasing decisions affect our environment.
"Most stand-up paddleboards are so dispensable. They just end up in landfills all the time," Thelen said. "It shouldn't be that way. People should have a board and keep it for their entire life."
Stand-up paddleboarding, or SUP, is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world; head to any popular beach or river around Michigan on a warm summer day, and chances are you'll see at least a few people gliding across the water on one of those big, colorful boards.
But despite the sport's rising popularity, buyers still have limited options when it comes to what their boards are made out of. So far, materials like foam and plastic have dominated the SUP industry. Meanwhile, wooden paddleboards -- which use more sustainable construction methods and materials -- account for only one percent of the paddleboard market.
Part of that is because wood paddleboards are more complicated and expensive to make, and therefore are more expensive to buy. But Thelen and other proponents of wooden SUPs say they last much longer than their plastic counterparts -- saving customers money over time, all the while reducing what eventually lands in the landfill.
At first, though, Thelen wasn't exactly on a mission to save the planet via paddleboards. Rather, the idea to try making his own wooden board came about after a family trip to Leelanau County, where he had a transcendent experience while paddleboarding on Lake Michigan.
"I got really far out [on the water], on a beautifully calm day, and I sat out there and just thought about how it was just heavenly to be completely alone, to sit there in the sun," he says. "It really spoke to me, and I thought, 'Man, I wanna do this more often.'"
Thelen, a master carpenter by trade, began pricing out paddleboards online, but then he stumbled on a website devoted to build-your-own wooden surfboards -- which bore many design similarities to paddleboards. Further research inspired him to try his hand at building a small wood paddleboard for his then nine-year-old daughter. It turned out beautifully, he said -- plus, "it was an accomplishment, to do something with my hands and build this watercraft," he says.
Four days after he finished that first project, Thelen and his family took the handmade paddleboard out to Lake Michigan. To Thelen's delight, the wooden board's design worked successfully in the water -- and to his surprise, it also caught the eye of other people at the beach.
"People started asking questions every time we took it somewhere," Thelen says. Crowds would gather around the family's car whenever it was parked with the board strapped to the roof; folks would ask if he made other boards to sell.
Through trial and error, a lot of math, and striking up a relationship with a craftsman named Paul Jensen -- famed in the surfing world for his wooden surfboards -- Thelen tweaked his design to make bigger, adult-sized paddleboards. In order to float, the inside of the boards had to be hollow, "like a carefully formulated airplane wing," Thelen says, "with a spine that goes up the middle, and then ribs like fish bones." He sourced light-density woods like white cedar, western red cedar and aspen, coaxing out the wood's distinct color variations to make the raw materials beautiful as well as functional.
Thelen gave his business an official name: Little Bay Boards. At first, he made the boards in the margins of his free time, working on them late into the night and on weekends, while continuing to work fulltime as a carpenter. But demand for Thelen's one-of-a-kind boards continued to rise, and those long hours in the shop took its toll on him and his family. Finally, Thelen took the leap to leave construction work and commit himself to his burgeoning paddleboard company.
Little Bay Boards is now a full-time operation, shipping gleaming wooden paddleboards around the Great Lakes region, to SUP hot spots like Florida and California, and as far away as Australia, Switzerland and Nova Scotia.
Thelen is committed to keeping his boards' prices as low as possible; boards from his "Locally Grown" line, the least expensive ones he makes, start at around $1,500. Fully customized boards, with highly detailed designs and sizing tailored specifically to each customer, start at around $2,600.
Time-wise, the construction of each board "takes as long as it takes," Thelen says, laughing. Generally, though, non-custom wooden boards require about 40 hours to complete, start to finish. More complicated designs require more time, of course, and Thelen is especially fond of working on boards with highly detailed custom inlays, which can take up to 120 hours to complete.
Because the boards can take so long to make, Thelen recently founded Boards for Reasons: A patron-based extension of Little Bay Boards where small monthly fees are collected to fund the creation of custom boards eventually donated to charity.
It's just another part of Thelen's mission to grow Little Bay Boards in "a small, meaningful manner" -- making a living while also making a difference.
"There's a better alternative to what's out there," Thelen says. "We're doing something that's going to matter to my children."
Little Bay Boards is based out of Petoskey, Mich., online at littlebayboards.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/littlebayboards, and on Instagram at /little_bay_boards. Scroll down to learn more about this Michigan maker.
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Jason Thelen, founder and owner of Little Bay Boards, sits beside one of his creations.
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
One of Little Bay Boards' hand-crafted wooden paddleboards floats on the glasslike waters of Little Traverse Bay in Petoskey.
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Jason Thelen, owner of Little Bay Boards, works in the shop with apprentice Taylor Jepson.
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Thelen works on an in-progress paddleboard.
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Little Bay Boards works with customers to create customized inlays, like this Spartan design.
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Taking a Little Bay Boards paddleboard out for a spin on Little Traverse Bay.
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Photo by Northern Territory Imaging & Design
Ya ain’t never seen Wake Boards like this....... #topyacht #yacht #yachts #boat #boats #car #cars #luxury #dubailife #russia #billionaire #luxurylife #sailing #yachting #superyacht #sea #rich #ibiza #miami #sunnyday #sunshine #boatlife #luxe #london #millionaire #goodlife #dubai #boating #beautiful #outboards
A post shared by Little Bay Boards. (@little_bay_boards) on Mar 24, 2018 at 10:47am PDT
When you ask @marybea.art for a little somethin somethin on a board and you get this..... AMAZING! #giggles #puremichigan #birdschirping #beautiful #woodsurfboard #paddleboarding #surf #wakeboard #waves #windsurf #woodworking #adventure #beachlife #getoutside #kiteboarding #finerthingsinlife #snowboard #shoplocal #art #chriscraftboats #sup #yoga #love #paddleboardyoga
A post shared by Little Bay Boards. (@little_bay_boards) on Mar 22, 2018 at 3:33pm PDT
Our Black Friday deals are coming a little bit early for all you IG followers. FREE shipping on custom boards with paddle or 10% off if you can pick it up yourself. "Locally Grown" line base priced at $1400 with a free paddle. And we are offering discounts on "extras" in design. But you've got to order before the 24th. #whatdoyoulivefor #liveitup #paddleboard #paddleboarding #fishing #hunting #kayak #sup #supsurf #suplife #suptricks #paddlesurf #paddle #paddles #standup #standuppaddle #standuppaddleboarding #surf #supyoga #yoga #giggles #madeofwood #littlebayboards #therichlife
A post shared by Little Bay Boards. (@little_bay_boards) on Nov 13, 2017 at 6:06am PST
First Petoskey stone set. 100,000 year old coral only found in one place on earth. My home 😜. Thanks @thesawroom for the fine work thinning these up for us. #giggles #puremichigan #birdschirping #beautiful #woodsurfboard #paddleboarding #surf #wakeboard #waves #windsurf #woodworking #adventure #beachlife #getoutside #kiteboarding #finerthingsinlife #snowboard #shoplocal #art #chriscraftboats #sup #yoga #love #paddleboardyoga
A post shared by Little Bay Boards. (@little_bay_boards) on Apr 10, 2018 at 3:42pm PDT
Jaw-dropping places that people can't believe are actually in Michigan
Smoked butter is a thing and you can get it from this Michigan cheesemaker
How to see the northern lights in Michigan
Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022).
© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.