How cool is this thing?! Yater was the subject of my most recent post, but I might like the board above even more. I can’t be for sure, but it looks to have a bit of a vee bottom. The outline of this board is very reminiscent of some Liddle and Andreini hulls. The fin — both its rake and its placement — reminds me of Liddle’s boards. The overall outline is reminiscent of Andreini’s Vaquero model.
Hull aficionado Kirk Putnam has an excellent pic on his blog that traces the lineage of Andreini and Liddle’s shapes back to George Greenough. I’ve added the picture below. Liddle’s board is at top, and the next two are Andreini Vaqueros. The fourth board from the top is a Surfboards Hawaii vee bottom shaped by John Price, and the board at the bottom is a Midget Farrelly stringerless vee bottom with a Greenough logo. I had been aware of Greenough’s influence on Andreini and Liddle, but had no idea that Yater had tried out some of these shapes as well. Andreini has made no secret of his admiration of Yater, and it’s cool to see a shape that combines the Greenough school of displacement hulls, and Yater’s more traditional side of California board building.
A partial shot of Kirk Putnam’s quiver. Pic via kp’s round up
Lopez’s boards for Lightning Bolt are by far the most collectible, but it seems like there’s a growing interest in some of his more obscure shapes. Pictured above is an extra clean example of Lopez’s signature model that he produced for Hansen in the late 1960s. What’s interesting about that board is that it actually featured two different logos. There’s an example of a different Hansen / Lopez board that was recently sold on eBay. It has the alternate logo, which I have reproduced below.
Note the different logos in the two Hansen / Lopez boards. The first one says “By Gerry Lopez”, and the second has “Designed By Gerry Lopez.” In addition, you’ll notice the Hansen logos themselves are very different. Pic via eBay
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Bird Huffman is a San Diego fixture. He runs Bird’s Surf Shed, where he oversees an ungodly stash of vintage boards. Here Bird has come across two awesome early examples of boards from two separate San Diego craftsmen: Skip Frye and Steve Lis. Make sure you click through all the pictures in the gallery above. The Frye is very similar to the Select Surf Shop single fin I posted about recently, down to the glassed on wooden fin. I love the Frye wings logo towards the tail — never seen that placement before.
Skip Frye Single Fin with Select Surf Shop laminate. Look at the sharp wings in the tail. Pic via Craigslist
The Lis board is a funky shape, given that it’s a wing pin single fin, and Lis is best known for his fish designs. Make sure you follow Bird on Instagram, as he has been posting updates on the Lis board as he gets them!
Greetings, Shredderz, and welcome to the latest Shred Sledz Deep Dive!
Today’s Deep Dive features a venerable Hawaiian surf brand that has long deserved a closer look: Surf Line Hawaii. Before I get into the history, though, let’s skip right to the good stuff: pictures of awesome surfboards.
The board that first caught my eye is a single fin shaped by none other than respected Hawaiian shaper Dennis Pang. Pang got his start at Surf Line Hawaii in 1976, before moving on to some of the most recognizable Hawaiian brands, like Lightning Bolt, Town & Country, and Local Motion. The board below was originally listed on eBay (pics originally found on the eBay post).
Love the clean pinlines! Pic via eBay
A little wear and tear on the bottom, but otherwise very good condition
Clean, clean, clean!
This thing is clean and mean. I love the black & white color scheme and the pinelines, with just a touch of color on the logos on both rails. I was a bit stunned when the board didn’t sell for $450, considering that another Surf Line board by Dennis Pang sold for $1800 ten years ago!
Surf Line Hawaii began as a surf shop on Oahu. It was founded by Dave Rochlen, and I believe Fred Swartz as well. By the time the shortboard revolution started in earnest, the shop began to put out boards under its own label.
I was blown away when I saw all the well-regarded shapers who passed through Surf Line over the years. According to Stoked-n-Board, Ben Aipa, Randy Rarick, Tom Parrish and Michel Junod, in addition to the aforementioned Dennis Pang, all shaped for Surf Line at some point!
Aipa for Surf Line Hawaii. Board was made for Tony Moniz in 1981. Tony is a former pro and father to Josh and Seth, two up-and-coming Hawaiian pros in their own right. Pic taken from Boardcollector.com
However, I was even more shocked when I found out that Lightning Bolt’s famed core group — Gerry Lopez, Reno Abellira and Barry Kanaiaupuni — were all early Surf Line shapers. Lopez actually spent some time working in Surf Line’s offices on the business side.
Gerry Lopez working at his “first real job” in the Surf Line Hawaii offices on Oahu, 1972. Picture via Gerry’s personal website.
Here is a great Surfer Magazine interview with Tom Parrish that expands on how a bunch of Surf Line employees broke away to found Lightning Bolt. Bolt was founded by Lopez and Jack Shipley, who was Surf Line’s top salesman at the time. Shortly thereafter, Lopez and Shipley were followed out the door by Reno, Barry, and co. It’s really saying something when it’s hard to find space to mention Dick Brewer‘s involvement with the brand, as well!
The board pictured below was shaped by Barry Kanaiaupuni. It was sold at the Hawaiian Islands Vintage Surf Auction in 2007, where it went for a mere $1,000 (anyone have a time machine handy?) Pics were taken from the auction site (original link here). I love everything about this board: the listing calls the bottom a “root beer” color, the purple fin pops, and I love the logo, with its clean lines and two-tone color job.
After Lopez left to found Lightning Bolt, Buddy Dumphy took the lead on shaping boards at Surf Line. Lopez writes about Dumphy in his memoir “Surf Is Where You Find It”. Patagonia’s website has a great excerpt from Lopez’s memoir, “Surf is Where You Find It”, where Lopez describes his early friendship with Dumphy and their early experiences riding new surfboard designs.
I’m fascinated by Dumphy’s boards. While they seem to be coveted by a segment of collectors, Dumphy shapes don’t seem to generate the same excitement as those from shapers like Barry K, Reno, and of course Gerry himself. Still, Lopez’s respect for Dumphy speaks volumes about his abilities as a shaper. Sadly, Dumphy passed away as the result of a car accident sometime in the 1990s.
The single coolest Dumphy board I was able to find online was posted by HolySmoke.jp. I have no clue if the board is for sale but that airbrush is absolutely killer!
The 70s were a great decade for surfboard airbrushes…
Here’s another Dumphy single fin, which was also sold at the Hawaiian Islands Vintage Surf Auction in 2007. I love the plumeria logo on the deck. It looks like this thing was shaped in the 70s for some serious North Shore surf. Pics taken from the original auction listing.
I was able to find a few Dumphy boards currently for sale online. There’s one currently for sale at New Jersey’s Brighton Beach Surf Shop, and it’s only listed at $450. Link to the board can be found here. I think it’s underpriced, considering the history of both the brand and Dumphy, but then again, the Pang board at the top of the page failed to clear the same $450 mark.
Surfboardhoard.com has a different Dumphy Surf Line Hawaii single fin for sale, but they don’t list the price. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that it’s north of $450. You can find that board here.
Surf Line Hawaii has such a rich history and a deep stable of shapers, it makes it hard to spotlight just a few boards! Standard Store / UsedSurf.jp are selling two other 70s single fins. Note that because the boards are in Japan, the prices are much higher. But they illustrate the wide variety of cool logos that Surf Line employed throughout the years. Boards can be found here and here (pictures below taken from Usedsurf.jp). The boards are credited to Steve Wilson / Welson (guessing the difference is a translation issue), but I couldn’t find any evidence of a shaper by that name. If anyone has some details, let me know!
Pics taken from UsedSurf.jp: http://www.usedsurf.jp/surfboards/vintage/USV10152.php
Pics taken from UsedSurf.jp: http://www.usedsurf.jp/surfboards/upload/images/USV10374_01.jpg
Finally, no Surf Line Hawaii post would be complete without a mention of Randy Rarick. In addition to organizing the Triple Crown of Surfing, putting on auctions like the aforementioned Hawaiian Islands Vintage Surf Auction, Rarick restores old surfboards. There is currently a Surf Line Hawaii board for sale on eBay that Rarick restored. The board is not a Rarick shape, but rather, it was made in 1971 by Ryan Dotson. You can find a link to the board here, and I have included some pictures below as well. (Pictures are from the eBay listing.)
Believe it or not, I haven’t even covered all of the Surf Line Hawaii shapers, like Rick Irons and Sparky Scheufele! If nothing else, that speaks to the incredibly deep collection of shapers that passed through the brand over the years. Sadly, Surf Line Hawaii no longer seems to be in business. It seems as if they stopped producing surfboards long ago (I would guess sometime in the 1980s or 1990s, but that is just a guess), and a Yelp listing indicates that Surf Line’s Honolulu retail location has closed, too.
Nonetheless, Surf Line Hawaii played a prominent role in the Hawaiian surf scene, and remains one of the most impressive collections of shaping talent ever.
I hope you enjoyed this Deep Dive! If you have any pictures of any Surf Line boards you would like to share, or any comments at all, please reach out via the Contact section. Thank you for reading, and may your stoke levels remain high and rising!
Featured Image at top from @aipasurf on Instagram. Original link to photo here.
Greetings, Shredderz! Hope your stoke levels are high and rising. Here’s a smattering of rad surfboards I’ve seen pop up on social media over the past week or so.
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It’s a scientifically proven fact that you can’t go wrong posting pictures of vintage Lightning Bolt boards. And sure, the thing has a bit of water damage, but I much prefer old boards with some character than a lot of the full-blown restoration jobs that prioritize aesthetics over preservation. But I digress. No matter where your preferences might lie, Gerry Lopez was and will always be the man.
Another proven fact: there is no such thing as too much neon. This here is a selection of some primo Echo Beach vehicles, courtesy Lance Collins of Wave Tools, and Peter Schroff of Schroff Surfboards. Love the Team lams on the Wave Tools boards to the right.
Click “Continue Reading” below for some more selections…
Greetings, Shredderz! Hope you are all having fantastic weekends. Without any further ado, here’s a selection of social media posts that have recently caught my eye.
Christian Fletcher’s signature model is the coolest. Raddest. Most-shredding-est. Choose whatever superlative you prefer; I just can’t get enough of these things.
Hit the “Continue Reading” link below for some more vintage surfboard goodness…
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Island Trader Surf Shop is a great shop in Stuart, Florida that happens to sell some pretty rad vintage boards. They don’t update their blog frequently, but when they do, there are some great gems. (I’m partial to this Harbour Rapier and this transitional Hobie board with a tiger stripe spray.) Back to the shot above: this looks like an old Weber Surfboads ad. I love the floral print inlays on the decks, and the “WEBER TEAM 67 PERFORMER” is a sweet looking board that must have been made for team riders back in the day.
While Gerry Lopez is best known for his work with famed surfboard company Lightning Bolt during its 70s heyday, he also produced a line of licensed boards for Hansen.
The boards from the Hansen / Lopez collaboration were not hand shaped by Mr Pipeline himself. Even so, given the relative rarity of these bad boys, you’d think that they would be more prized by collectors. Less than 1,000 of these boards were produced, according to Hansen’s blog.
Their blog also has some great photographs of another Hansen by Gerry Lopez board. I have reproduced those pictures below. You’ll notice that the board on the Hansen blog has Dart branding on it, which is absent from the Craigslist board featured at the top of this post. Another interesting detail can be found in the third picture. The “Dart” version from Hansen’s blog appears to be dated to 1972; Stoked-n-Board, however, claims that this board was only produced between 1970 and 1971.
Note the “Dart” branding, which does not appear on every modelThe fin looks identical to the one in the board at the top of the pageI would guess 1972 refers to the date, which contradicts Stoked-n-Board’s claim that these boards were only made in 1970 and 1971
The blog also includes a great shot of an ad announcing the board. It’s interesting how Hansen refers to it as “The Lopez Series”. You’ll also notice the board in the advertisement does not have the “Dart” branding, nor is “Dart” mentioned at all.
In typical Shred Sledz style, I also did some digging around the far reaches of the internet and was able to pull up some examples of other Hansen / Lopez boards. I was able to find one that recently sold at the US Vintage Surf Auction. The winning bid was $2K. This board is apparently all-original and in great condition, hence the price (which would still be considerably cheaper than a Lopez Lightning Bolt). One thing to note about the USVSA board is it boasts an alternate logo, which I have reproduced below. Note that the USVSA dates this pink logo board to 1969. I tend to believe the 1969 date, given that the Lopez / Hansen board has some properties that are shared with other Transition Era boards. The Hansen / Lopez board has a distinct S-Deck, and the ad above mentions a slight vee bottom as well. I’ve become even more convinced after finding this excellent post on the subject of Hansen hulls, courtesy of displacementia, which is one of the finest surfboard blogs on the planet.
Here’s one more example of a Hansen / Lopez board. This one is for sale, but unless you live in Japan or you live for needless markup, I don’t think it’s worth the $2800 (minus tax) they are charging on usedsurf.jp. You can find a link to the Hansen / Lopez board here. Bitching about the price aside, it looks like it’s in great condition. Some other interesting notes: usedsurf.jp dates the board to the 60s, but judging by the date on the stringer it looks like it’s from the 70s, though I can’t quite make out the exact year. The Hansen logo on the usedsurf.jp board can be seen on the bottom, right near the nose — same as the Phoenix Craigslist example.
Love the subtle little Hansen logo by the noseBeautiful dark green pinlines
You can find the Phoenix board on Craigslist here. It’s being listed for $1,000, which I don’t think is totally insane. It’s not in perfect condition, but the board has not been totally restored, according to the poster, which I always prefer. In any event, check it out if you’re interested.
Happy Monday to all you faithful Shredderz out there! I hope this week brings you a non-stop procession of tasty waves and interesting surf craft.
I figure there is no better way to start the week than with the holy matrimony of Lightning Bolt Surfboards and Hawaiian legend Gerry Lopez. If the name Gerry Lopez rings a bell, it’s because you may recognize him from his role as Schwarzenegger’s sidekick Subotai in “Conan the Barbarian.”
Actually, that’s nobody’s first impression of Mr. Lopez, but it is an irresistible piece of surfing trivia.
All jokes aside, surfing legends don’t get any larger than Gerry. For goodness sake, the dude’s nickname is Gerry “Mr. Pipeline” Lopez! And with impeccable style like this, it’s a miracle they haven’t re-named the spot after Gerry himself:
First, some background on the man and the marque. Lopez, along with business partner Jack Shipley, founded Lightning Bolt in 1970. (For more extensive background, see the Encyclopedia of Surfing’s entry on Lightning Bolt.) Lighting Bolt started with an unorthodox business model that was more akin to a collective than a real brand. According to the EoS, Bolt initially did not have a centralized factory where all of the production took place, and instead a variety of shapers – including Lopez himself, and other notables like Reno Abellira, Tom Parrish, Tom Eberly, and Barry Kanaiaupuni – shaped at home and then brought their wares into the Bolt store for sale.
Lightning Bolt was ubiquitous during the 1970s, and even today it remains at the forefront of surfing’s consciousness. Unfortunately, Lightning Bolt’s history can also be read as a cautionary tale about the perils of poor brand management. Other brands and shapers shamelessly borrowed the distinctive logo, slapping it on boards that had nothing to do with Lightning Bolt.
Even “official” Lightning Bolt surfboards have a mixed history. Take, for example, the green and yellow board pictured at the top of this post. The board was originally posted for sale on Craigslist in Los Angeles, where it was advertised as a Gerry Lopez surfboard. And as you can see in the second picture, there’s a clear “Gerry Lopez” laminate bearing the man’s name himself. So far so good, right?
Unfortunately, the board at the top of this post was unlikely to have been shaped by Gerry himself.
According to Randy Rarick, boards that bear the “Gerry Lopez” laminate – not to be confused with a signature – are “California Bolts” that were licensed to a variety of different businessmen around the world, including a factory in the San Diego area. Two shapers that made these California bolts were Terry Martin and Mickey Munoz. There is some good context on California Bolts and the licensing of the Bolt name on Boardcollector.com.
So, what does a hand-shaped Lopez board look like, then?
Here’s an example of a 1970s Lopez board that was sold at the recent California Vintage Surf Auction. Note: this board has been restored. But it does contain a clear Lopez signature on the stringer, which at the very least is meant to refer to how these original Lopez boards would have looked:
Surfboardline.com has an incredible selection of Lightning Bolt boards, where you can compare boards that have the Lopez laminate, versus ones where you can clearly see his signature beneath the glass. For an example of the latter, see the picture below:
In summary, Lopez seemed to sign many of the boards he hand-shaped. And those that he did sign, he did under the glass, in all capital letters along the stringer. His other boards are fantastic and are collectible in their own right, but it’s worth exploring the distinction between a board shaped by Lopez, and one that he assisted in designing.
The board at the top of this post has already been taken down (asking price was $650, for those who care about price points). Even though it’s not a “Lopez” board in the strictest sense, it’s still a wonderful piece of surfing history, and a tribute to a real classic.
