Meet The Owner

Meet Jeff

Jeff McNaught has been reading Lake Erie's weather patterns longer than most people have been aware Lake Erie has weather patterns worth reading.

He grew up in Northeast Ohio, fell into windsurfing the way most people do — someone put him on a board, the wind caught the sail, and that was more or less it. He spent years chasing conditions up and down the lake, learning its moods, its rhythms, its reliable surprises.

What sets Jeff apart isn't just the time he's logged on the water. It's the way he teaches. He has a gift for breaking down something that looks impossibly technical — balancing on a board, controlling a sail, reading the wind — into something that feels approachable. Students who arrive nervous leave with their first successful run under their belt and a grin they can't quite explain.

Jeff is also an accomplished woodworker who handcrafts custom wood paddles built for performance, durability, and individuality. Each paddle is shaped with the same attention to detail and respect for the water that defines everything he does at Edgewater Surf. From stand-up paddleboards to canoes and dragon boats, his custom paddles are designed to feel as good in your hands as they look on the wall.

He's the kind of shop owner who will spend twenty minutes on the phone with a first-time buyer making sure they get exactly the right board for their goals, even if that means talking them out of a more expensive one. He fixes gear he didn't sell. He answers questions he's answered a thousand times with the same patience as the first.

Edgewater Surf is Jeff's shop. But more than that, it's his contribution to a city and a lake he genuinely loves.