summers coming up, cop the $20,000 surf board for polynesian royalty

New Zealander Roy Stewart has designed a $20,000 Makaha surfboard (above) made of 400 individually crafted pieces of empress wood. The handmade, limited edition surfboard is "museum quality", but designed to be used. The 12"9" Makaha is modeled on the olo boards once reserved for royalty among Polynesian natives. It's incredibly flexible and accelerates in the water aided by a Vort-X tunnel fin for serious performance and speed, yet, Stewart notes, it is "extremely forgiving and easy to ride, just as comfortable cruising small waves as it is racing large ones." The Makaha has a three-month lead time for delivery but includes a custom travel bag.