An
alaia (pronounced: ah-LIE-ah) is a thin, round-nosed, square-tailed
surfboard ridden in pre-20th century
Hawaii. The boards were between long, weighed up to , and were generally made from the wood of
Acacia koa. They are distinct from modern surfboards in that they have no ventral
fins, and instead rely on the sharpness of the edges to hold the board in the face of the
wave.