Tag: gordon and smith surfboards

The Weekend Grab Bag Returns

Greetings, Shredderz! It has been a few months since we last ran a Weekend Grab Bag feature. Here’s quick refresh for those of you who have better things to do than to spend your time keeping track of the various categories that appear on a low budget vintage surfboard blog (hopefully, this means most of you). The Weekend Grab Bag features a selection of vintage sticks for your perusing pleasure, all of which are listed for sale online as of the time the blog post was published. Anyway, enough from me, and onto some sweet sticks below:

Byrne Tom Carroll Model Channel Bottom Thruster (Craigslist Hawaii)

I didn’t even know that Byrne Surfboards had produced a Tom Carroll model, and yet here we are. It’s a distinctly Eighties board between the airbrush, the channel bottom, the 2+1 fin setup, and the wings / squash tail combo. No dimensions or price were listed on the ad. Carroll was a longtime Byrne team rider, but often times his Hawaiian boards were shaped by Pat Rawson. This thing is absolutely killer and I wish I knew more about the history of the board.

6’10” G&S Water Skate, Designed by Tom Morey (Craigslist LA)

The G&S Water Skate was actually designed by Tom Morey, which automatically makes it a surfboard worth mentioning. Morey is the mad scientist of surfing and his inventions are always thought provoking. Not sure if this was shaped by Morey — I tend to think it was likely crafted by one of G&S’ stable of in-house shapers, but that’s a guess. There’s no price on the Craigslist listing but I believe an earlier version had a very reasonable one attached. There’s also a square tail version of the Water Skate, too.

10’10” (!!!) Mike Diffenderfer Gun (Craigslist Hawaii)

Diff’s career is fascinating to me. The list of legends that count Diffenderfer as an influence is long, spanning folks from Marc Andreini to Rusty Preisendorfer. And while there’s certainly a market for Diff’s boards, they don’t seem to be as collectible as, say, vintage Liddle hulls or any of Skip Frye’s boards (although few boards are). This here is one heck of an elephant chaser, clocking in at a healthy 10’10”.

Vinson & Gleason Vee Bottom (Craigslist Ventura)

I am all but certain this is an early Chuck Vinson surfboard. I’ve written up a few of Chuck Vinson’s shapes, but I have never seen a board with the Vinson & Gleason logo before. Given the dramatic vee bottom I have to assume this was a Transition Era shape from the late Sixties. Unfortunately I have more questions about this board than answers, starting with who Gleason is. If you know more definitely drop me a line.

Photo at the top of the page by Brian Bielmann; via Bielmann’s website

July Flyin’ By: Social Media Roundup

Greetings, Shredderz! For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s crazy to think that summer is almost behind us already. But while the days are still long and the weather is warm I thought it’d be great to review some of the better surf-related social media that has crossed my desk recently. Without any further ado, here are some choice cuts for you to enjoy

Tyler Warren is a talented surfer and shaper, and here at Shred HQ we’re big fans of his work. In fact, Warren got a brief shout out in the last Sagas of Shred entry for a beautiful single fin he crafted for Dane Gudauskas. This time we have Warren behind the controls of an original Sixties Hobie Phil Edwards Model. He claims it’s not an easy board to surf, but you wouldn’t necessarily know that from watching the clip above. It’s always nice to see a historically significant board still get wet every now and then.

Gordon & Smith posted this really cool mini-gallery of a reproduction of a vintage flex tail egg. I love the comparison between the newer board and the original. It’s unclear to me if Skip Frye himself shaped the original egg, but needless to say, his involvement with providing some design pointers makes the end product even cooler. Very stoked for the owner who counts both of these sleds among his collection!

It’s practically a rule at this point: any Social Media Roundup entry is likely to feature at least one board that Luis Real has added to his collection. Luis is a machine and I mean that in the nicest possible way! Anyway, he somehow managed to find this stunning Seventies Tom Parrish shaped single fin. The artwork and the colors on this thing are nothing short of amazing. You can go see it at the North Shore Surf Shop in Haleiwa if you’re so inclined, along with the rest of Luis’ ridiculous quiver.

I’ve been meaning to write a longer post on the infamous Morey-Pope Blue Machine, but it’s one of the many items on my to do list that only seems to collect dust. Until I saw the post above, I didn’t realize that Morey-Pope had also made a green version of the Blue Machine. The board belongs to Buggs, another prolific collector whose sticks have made it into these pages over the years.

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Russell x Stussy

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Look, I don’t make the rules here, I just follow them. And any time I see a sick Stussy shape pop up on the Gram, well, you know it’ll be resurfacing here. I love the boards Stussy made for Russell Surfboards in the Seventies, and this is a really sweet example.

Photo at the top of the page by Jereme Aubertin, featuring Tyler Warren surfing in New Zealand, via Corona.

Shaper Spotlight: Surfboards by Todd Pinder

Greetings, Shredderz! I’d like to welcome all of you to a brand spanking new series on the blog, titled “Shaper Spotlight.” Up until now, this humble blog has focused mostly on vintage surfboards. I think it’s also important to profile contemporary shapers who are building boards today. There’s a ton of rich history found in older surfboards, and that will always be a big part of Shred Sledz. That said, there’s only one way to ensure hand shaped surfboards continue to get their due, and that’s by supporting the talented craftsmen who build them.

Last month I took my first ever trip to Oahu, and during that time I was lucky enough to meet up with Todd Pinder, the man behind Surfboards by Todd Pinder. Pinder plies his trade in Honolulu, where he painstakingly crafts each and every board by hand. This doesn’t just apply to shaping, however — Pinder is one of those rare shapers who also glasses all of his own creations, too.

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Todd Pinder creates all his boards by hand, shaping and glassing his creations. Here are a few boards waiting to be finished. Love the bold but simple red color.

Pinder might be a modern surfboard builder, but he draws upon some very deep roots from years of living in Hawaii and working alongside some well respected folks, like Carl Schaper (pronounced Shopper) and Donald Takayama. Pinder also continues to provide boards for folks like Joel Tudor and his sons.

Pinder’s shop is filled with a bunch of rad vintage sticks. See below for a neat Seventies Greg Liddle single fin. I can’t recall off the top of my head whether it was a hull, but I really dig the unusual pattern on the deck. Click the photos below to enlarge.

I got to see the Bing David Nuuhiwa Noseriding model that Joel Tudor posted about below. Todd told me the Nuuhiwa is a little shorter than other stock DN Noseriding models from the same time period.

The single coolest board Pinder showed me was an insane Joe Quigg paddleboard. Make sure you click the photos below to enlarge, as they show off the paddleboard in a bit more detail. Check out the squared off tail. The Joe Quigg paddleboard has incredibly thick rails, and I think it’s about 12′ long, so there’s plenty of paddle power to spare. You can see Pinder posing alongside this board in the post at the top of the page.

Here are some earlier photos, via Pinder’s Facebook page, that show Joe Quigg alongside Todd and the paddleboard.

That’s not all Pinder had stashed away, however. Upstairs in his shaping room Pinder also had a Seventies Surf Line Hawaii single fin shaped by Buddy Dumphy and a Gordon & Smith Skip Frye from the late Sixties. Click the photos below to enlarge. I couldn’t quite figure out which model the G&S / Skip Frye board is — maybe a “Speed Board”? — but it’s interesting that it has a small text G&S logo, instead of the classic bow tie logo that we all know and love. Pinder tells me the outline on the G&S / Skip Frye board has inspired some of his own egg shapes.

If you’re still not satisfied, well, there’s more. Pinder also showed off a sick Morey-Pope Sopwith Camel. The Sopwith Camel is one of Tom Morey’s many quirky and incredible Transition Era shapes, featuring an early stringerless design. I could go on a rant about how Tom Morey might be the most underrated inventor in surfing history, but I’ll save that for another time.

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Pinder with a very cool Morey-Pope Sopwith Camel.

And while Pinder’s shaping room is filled with vintage gems, I’m even more stoked about his current creations. I mentioned it earlier, but it’s worth repeating: Pinder shapes and glasses all of his boards. Yes, all of them. Surfboards are often marketed as bespoke goods, but the manufacturing reality can be the opposite. When you order a surfboard from Pinder, you know it was built by one set of very capable hands from start to finish. If you even have the slightest appreciation for craftsmanship, that should resonate with you. As a bonus, Todd is a very friendly and surf stoked individual.

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Pinder posing alongside some of his newer creations. Pic via Surfboards by Todd Pinder Facebook Page

If you’re in the market for a beautiful new board, hit up Surfboards by Todd Pinder and tell him we sent you! You can also follow him on Instagram here and on Facebook here. Thanks Todd for inviting me to your studio and for sharing the story behind some killer surfboards!

Weekend Grab Bag: Rick Surfboards UFO Stubby & More

Greetings, Shredderz! Yes, I’m aware that it is no longer the weekend. I’m not going to let something as trivial as reality get in the way of delivering another dose of some vintage surfboard goodness, however. Keep reading for a selection of boards that are currently listed for sale, including a neat Rick Surfboards UFO Stubby model. More sledz below…

Rick Surfboards UFO Stubby (eBay)

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Long time readers of the blog may know that I really, really love Rick Surfboards. See here for a Deep Dive I wrote on the label; and here’s another article on the Rick Surfboards Barry Kanaiaupuni Model. The Rick Surfboards UFO Stubby model pictured above needs work, but I still want to highlight what is a pretty unusual Transition Era shape from the label. It comes with what looks to be an original fin, and I dig the matching red high density foam wedge stringer.

Seventies Gordon & Smith Waterskate (Craigslist Los Angeles)

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I was really stoked to find a Gordon & Smith Waterskate for sale. First, the board was designed by Tom Morey, who is one of the greatest inventors in the history of surfing. I actually learned about the origins of the G&S Waterskate a few weeks ago, when I visited Marc Andreini in his shaping room and showed him an old board of his. The vintage Andreini you see below was actually inspired by the Gordon & Smith Waterskate, particularly with its concave deck. The pics of the Waterskate from the Craigslist post don’t show off the deck very well, but it was cool to run into an example of this board so soon after learning about its origins.

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Here’s a photo of Marc Andreini with a single fin he shaped in either 1970 or 1971. The board has an unusual concave deck along with some pretty boxy down rails. According to Marc, this is actually a take on a Tom Morey design, which was also produced as the Gordon & Smith Waterskate. I forget the exact mechanics but apparently the design principles create a similar effect to Marc’s current Greenough-inspired edge boards. Marc tells me he shaped similar boards for Santa Barbara surfers who were exploring El Salvador’s right hand point breaks during that era. If you look closely at the board you’ll notice it has the original Andreini Surfboards logo, which I think is such a cool touch. And if you look even closer, you’ll notice a Clark Foam blank in the background, too 🤫🤭😶. Anyway it was great to show Marc the board and get the history behind the shape. For all the time I spend looking at boards on Craigslist, nothing beats the experience of talking to and learning from a knowledgeable shaper in person! #marcandreini #andreinisurfboards

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Hobie Terry Martin Speed Dialer (Craigslist Orange County)

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The board you see above isn’t really vintage, per se, but it still represents a cool collaboration between a few well regarded shapers. Rich Pavel is known for his fish designs, and one of his most recognizable models is the Quan or the Speed Dialer, which is a quad fin fish. Terry Martin was an early mentor to Pavel, and according to the Craigslist ad, after seeing the Speed Dialer, Martin decided to whip up one of his own. The board is priced at an exceedingly reasonable $375.

Fully Restored Dick Brewer Seventies Single Fin (Craigslist Orange County)

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I absolutely love Dick Brewer Seventies Single Fin surfboards, and this one is no exception. One caveat: the board has been fully restored, hence the flawless exterior. What I love about this board, other than the classic outline, is the unusual Brewer Boards logo. I can’t say whether or not it was shaped by Brewer himself, but there’s no denying that it looks stunning.

Vintage Gordon & Smith Surfboards Ad: Sagas of Shred

Greetings, Shredderz! Usually for Sagas of Shred I like to dip into my stash of Surfer Magazine back issues and scan something. Sadly, technical difficulties prevented me from doing so this week. In the meantime, enjoy this vintage Gordon & Smith ad, which I originally found on eBay a while back. I’d guess this ad was from sometime in the late Sixties, given the clear Transition Era shapes. From top to bottom: a Skip Frye “fast shape” (which I have also seen referred to as a “speed board” and a “baby gun” in other ads); a G&S Hot Curl, available in either a round tail or pin tail design; and a Midget Farrelly “contest design.” It’s also interesting to note the ad features a bit of copy for “variable Wave Set” fins available on the boards.

Stop by next week for more Sagas of Shred!

Weekend Grab Bag: Single Fins Galore

Greetings, Shredderz! For many of you it’s a three day weekend, which means even more time to consider making an ill-advised surfboard purchase. If your money is really burning a hole in your pocket, keep reading for some ideas on where to spend your hard earned cash.

G&S Swallowtail Single Fin (Craigslist Los Angeles)

G&S Swallowtail Single Fin 3

I really dig the outline on this Gordon & Smith surfboard. It measures in at a generous 7’8″. I also love the double blue pinline around the rails. Not sure how you would describe this, exactly, as it’s a good deal bigger than you might expect for a standard single fin. It almost looks like an oversized fish, but there’s only one fin. The seller is asking $430, which I think is pretty fair.

Surf Line Hawaii Ryan Dotson Single Fin (Craigslist Orange County)

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To me, Surf Line Hawaii is something of an unsung surfboard brand, considering the incredible lineup of shapers that mowed foam under the label. (For more on Surf Line Hawaii, you can check out the Deep Dive I wrote here.) Here’s a gorgeous Ryan Dotson shaped Seventies single fin that’s currently listed for sale. I can’t tell if the board was restored at some point, but either way, it’s gorgeous. Check out the cool glass on fin, too.

Mystery Lightning Bolt (Craigslist Orange County)

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I have no idea whether or not the board pictured above is a genuine Lightning Bolt. Bolt is probably the single most ripped off surfboard brand ever. During the Seventies people pumped out tons of boards with the iconic logo that had absolutely nothing to do with the Hawaiian label. A few people on Instagram suspect that it might have been shaped by Tom Eberly. I can’t say one way or another whether that’s likely, but I love the detail of the Bolts on the rails.

Social Media Roundup: September Sticks

Greetings, Shredderz! It’s time for some more vintage surfboard selections from the interwebs. Keep scrolling for more…

The Surfer’s Journal recently ran a great feature on Skip Frye’s boards. It’s among the best surfboard-related articles I’ve ever read. Photographer and TSJ Photo Editor Shawn Parkin will occasionally post nuggets from this incredible shoot. I still can’t get enough of that lineup of pristine Skip boards! Just gimme one of those, Skip, and I swear I’ll die I happy man…

Good luck finding a photo with more surfboard shaping firepower than the one featured above. Skip Frye and Donald Takayama is a combo that’s hard to beat!

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Good morning With @davidnuuhiwa

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Is David Nuuhiwa the most stylish surfer of all time? He’s gotta be in the conversation. I don’t have the stones to show up to a surf spot rocking a vest without a shirt underneath, but then again, I don’t surf nearly as well as Nuuhiwa does! I wish there were more photos of the boards in front of Nuuhiwa. If you look closely at the one on the far right, it looks like it has the red and white yin yang David Nuuhiwa logo, similar to an earlier Nuuhiwa single fin surfboard I wrote up.

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Nice Liddle 8'0" Find .

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This is an older post — it’s over two years old — but vintage Liddles are timeless. I’ve featured vintage Greg Liddle boards many times on the blog before. The vintage Liddle that Kirk Putnam posted above is one of the cleaner examples I have seen. I love the smaller logo, set perpendicular to the stringer. This is a somewhat unusual setup compared to Liddle’s later boards. The red coloring provides just the right amount of pop, too.

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It’s been a while since I posted a board. ~1976 Gordon & Smith, Steve Griffiths Bonzer 7’3, 20’1/2, 2’7/8 it is beat up, got fungus in the top 1/3 had the leash plug removed and repaired in a seriously dodgy way but wouldn’t change a thing. Speed more speed and a little more speed on top of that, wide point is pushed back for the period and is at 3’3 from the nose. The double concaves start in the nose and are quite prominent down the the entire length of the board narrowing and deepening between the bronzers. It is an awesome board for the era. It is now a favourite to take out Long Reef Bommie @gordonandsmithaustralia @houseofbonzer #bonzer #bonzersurfboards #bonzersurfboard #whatsinyourquiver #stevegriffiths #elouraboardriders #cronullasurfers #gands #longreef #longreefboardriders #longreefbeach #toomanysurfboards #myshaperisnotacomputer #handshaped

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Finally, I love these Aussie Gordon & Smith Bonza boards (AKA Bonzer for my fellow Seppos.) “Curvaceous” is the word that comes to mind whenever I look at those swooping bottom channels.

 

Gordon & Smith Skip Frye V Bottom

Greetings, Shredderz! Today we have an awesome example of one of the greatest Transition Era boards of all time: the Gordon & Smith Skip Frye V Bottom Model.

I’m not sure exactly when G&S produced Skip’s signature models, but they were somewhere in the 1968 – 1969 range. (Sadly, Stoked-n-Board continues to go missing from the SHACC website, though I have been told that there are plans to revive the site).

Pictured below is a Gordon & Smith Skip Frye V Bottom that is currently listed for sale on Craigslist in the Santa Cruz area. You can find a link to the listing here. Longtime readers might actually recognize this board from when it sold on Craigslist a little over a year ago and I wrote up a brief post on the board. The asking price for the G&S Skip Frye V Bottom last year was $850, and now the seller is asking a cool $3,500. (More on that later).

There are no two ways about it: this is a bitchin’ board with a lot of neat bells and whistles. Check out the W.A.V.E. Set fin, and the colorful G&S logo on the bottom of the board is an insane trip back to surfing’s psychedelic roots.

As you can see, the Gordon & Smith Skip Frye V Bottom is in very good condition, and there’s even a serial number on the deck (#3153).

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Now, as for the price, well, I think $3,500 is a bit ambitious. Now, don’t get me wrong: any example of a Gordon & Smith Skip Frye V Bottom is going to fetch a nice price. And I can’t begrudge the guy for pouncing on the board at $850 a year back, when it was clearly worth a LOT more.

The California Gold Vintage Surf Auction just closed up a few weeks back, during which  another nice G&S Skip Frye V Bottom board went on the block. You can find a link to the auction board here. I’ve also embedded a photo below.

The auction Gordon & Smith Skip Frye V Bottom ended up selling for $2,000, a good deal cheaper than the $3,500 that’s being asked for the Craigslist board. (Note that there are fees with the auction board, but it still ends up being cheaper.) The auction board looks to be in slightly better condition, too — note the visible discolored repairs on the bottom of the Craigslist Skip Frye V Bottom.

That said, I personally don’t have a problem with people buying boards on Craigslist and then re-listing them for more. I know it sounds kind of crazy, but I don’t think a Skip Frye board should be cheap! Boards like the one posted here are genuine pieces of surf history. Now, do I think it’s worth $3,500? Probably not. But either way it’s a rad board, the Craigslist posting has some great photos, and if money’s no object, you can even take the board him with you. Check out the Gordon & Smith Skip Frye V Bottom board for sale on Craigslist here.

Shred Sledz Social Media Roundup: #Fryeday Edition (September 1)

Greetings, Shredderz! Here to take you into the weekend is a celebration of one of California’s finest board builders, one Harry “Skip” Frye. Don’t forget to check out the latest issue of The Surfer’s Journal for a comprehensive look at Skip’s personal quiver. In the meantime, here are some social media selections showing off Skip’s shapes…

I wrote about this Skip Frye single fin when it was posted on Craigslist…and I’m still kicking myself for not buying it! This is the only Frye I have seen with a Select Surf Shop laminate, and it’s got a sick little wing pin outline to boot. I’m glad that it found a good home with Buggs, who runs Surfboard Line. The board has been fixed up and looks better than ever. Make sure you scroll through all the pictures!

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A palm reflection off two Skip Frye's

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Taylor Knox owes his long career to his powerful rail surfing. It’s difficult to imagine him laying these gliders into his patented spray-chucking carves, but if there’s anyone who can pull it off, it’s Taylor Knox! I’m just stoked to see this unexpected but rad union between two opposite ends of the famously varied spectrum that is San Diego surfing. Don’t hold your breath for Joel Tudor to bust out a high performance thruster, though…

I don’t know a word of Japanese, but I do know how to recognize an incredible quiver when I see one…

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Holy Grail. Art and shape by Skip Frye.

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This board is a bit of a mystery, but don’t skip over it because of the abstract picture! Skip Frye shaped this board for use at Jeffrey’s Bay, and it ended up being ridden by Derek Hynd (and I believe Tom Curren, too). You can read more about the board and the session in Andrew Kidman’s forthcoming Beyond Litmus book.

A young Skip Frye holding an early Gordon & Smith board. Interesting to note Skip’s board doesn’t have any Frye logos on it — it must pre-date his signature models for the brand.

Skip Frye Gordon & Smith: Seventies Single Fin

Greetings, Shredderz! Apologies for the slowdown in posting frequency. Shred Sledz is back with a vengeance, though, featuring a Skip Frye Gordon & Smith single fin for sale in central California, available on Craigslist. You can find a link to the board here. Pics of the board can be found below (photos taken via the Craigslist post).

Check out the listing for some details on the origins of the board. The seller contacted Bird Huffman, surfboard aficionado extraordinaire and owner of San Diego’s Bird’s Surf Shed, and got some more info. Bird estimates the single fin pictured above likely dates to sometime between 1973 and 1973, and it was possibly shaped for team rider Steve McCullum. Bird also mentions the diamond tail as being unusual for a Frye design, and speculates that it could have been made at the request of Gary Keating or Tim Lynch. It should also be noted the board is a project, and it would require some more work to get it ship shape, hence the relatively modest $450 price tag.

I also find it interesting that the Gordon & Smith laminate on the board above is the classic red and black version of G&S’ famed bowtie logo. All the Frye / G&S boards from the 1960s I have seen feature monochrome black & white Gordon & Smith bowtie logos, like this one below:

Gordon & Smith Skip Frye Model 1967 9'81
1967 Gordon & Smith Skip Frye Model. Board was sold via US Vintage Surf Auction (pic from USVSA listing).

Here’s another example of a Skip Frye / Gordon & Smith logo, which does not have the bowtie at all.

Skip Frye Model for Gordon & Smith Logo
Non-bowtie Skip Frye / Gordon & Smith logo. Pic via Holy Smoke

Anyway, I don’t know if the red bowtie version is a rare logo; but it is one I have never personally seen before. As always, if you have more info, please chime in below!

Finally, here’s a bonus shot of Skip Frye from 1966 toting an interesting-looking Gordon & Smith shape. To the left is none other than Mike Hynson. Pic courtesy excellent New York surf shop Pilgrim Surf + Supply.