One-of-one
Wrightsville Lines
Snapped shortboard rejoined with a visible seam and tide-chart linework.
Outer Banks → Wilmington, North Carolina
Every board deserves a second fin.
We take retired, broken, and beloved surfboards from along the Carolina coast and rework them into one-of-a-kind art — so the board that carried you keeps a place on shore.
A second life for boards that earned one
Every surfboard eventually ages out of the lineup — snapped noses, waterlogged foam, dings that never quite heal. Most end up in a shed, a dumpster, or a landfill. Second Fin exists so they don't.
We collect retired boards along the corridor from the Outer Banks down to Wilmington, restore what can be restored, and transform each one into a piece of art that carries its history forward. The salt, the repairs, the wax lines — the story stays in the work.
Boards that already found their second life
A few pieces from the studio walls.
One-of-one
Sea Glass Panel
Soft seafoam layers on a reclaimed mid-length — calm, gallery-quiet.
One-of-one
Topsail Wax Lines
Forty years of wax rings preserved under seal — the board's own session log.
Three steps, one board at a time
1. Donate your board
Tell us about your board — any shape, any condition. We arrange a drop-off or pickup along the OBX–Wilmington corridor.
2. We rework it
In the studio the board is cleaned, repaired where it counts, and hand-finished as an original piece — painted, sealed, and ready for a wall instead of a wave.
3. It lives on
Finished pieces join the gallery as one-of-ones. Each carries the story of the board it used to be — and of the surfer who donated it.
Made on the Carolina coast
Second Fin is an independent studio rooted in the surf towns between the Outer Banks and Wilmington. It started with one broken board that was too full of stories to throw away.
“My first longboard snapped at the nose years ago and I couldn't bring myself to toss it. Now it hangs in our living room, and every guest asks about it.”
Casey R.
Donated a 9'2" longboard — Nags Head
From donors and collectors
“My first longboard snapped at the nose years ago and I couldn't bring myself to toss it. Now it hangs in our living room, and every guest asks about it.”
Casey R.
Donated a 9'2" longboard — Nags Head
“The piece we bought still has the original wax lines under the finish. It feels like the board kept its whole history and just changed jobs.”
Jordan M.
Collected a one-of-one — Wilmington
“Handing over my dad's old board was hard. Seeing what it became made it easy. They treated the story with as much care as the paint.”
Sam T.
Donated a family board — Wrightsville Beach
Have a board collecting dust?
Give it a second life. Donating takes a few minutes — we handle the rest.
Second Fin is an independent for-profit studio, so donations are appreciated but not tax-deductible.
Donate a board