hawaiian pro designs Archives

Donald Takayama David Nuuhiwa Noserider: Hawaiian Pro Designs Edition

Greetings, Shredderz! Today we’ll be examining an awesome surfboard that crosses over a few different standouts from surf history: a Donald Takayama David Nuuhiwa Noserider shaped in the 1980s, under Takayama’s legendary Hawaiian Pro Designs label.

Nuuhiwa and Takayama’s relationship goes way back. Nuuhiwa has mentioned Takayama as one of his early influences. Later on the two men were stablemates on Bing’s legendary surf team in the 1960s, and both Takayama and Nuuhiwa had signature Bing boards to call their own. Bing’s David Nuuhiwa Noseriding Model was produced during this time, and it remains coveted among longboard collectors. Takayama played a critical role in developing both of Nuuhiwa’s Bing models, which were the aforementioned Noseriding Model and the subsequent Bing David Nuuhiwa Lightweight Model.

Donald Takayama David Nuuhiwa Noserider 3

Donald Takayama David Nuuhiwa Noserider 1

Donald Takayama David Nuuhiwa Noserider 2

The board pictured above is a Hawaiian Pro Designs Donald Takayama David Nuuhiwa Noserider (now take a breath), and it is currently available on Craigslist in Norfolk, Virginia, of all places. Pics in the post are via the listing.

The David Nuuhiwa laminate is an unusual one, and I have only seen it on a handful of Takayama boards before. On the other hand, I have seen a ton of Hawaiian Pro Designs / Takayama boards with “Noserider” logos, one of which you can see below. You’ll notice there is no mention of Nuuhiwa’s name.

Donald Takayama Noserider laminate taken from another board.

I’m not sure to what extent the Takayama David Nuuhiwa Noserider is a variant of the Bing David Nuuhiwa Noseriding Model or the Bing Nuuhiwa Lightweight Model. Given the two men’s history with the Bing brand, however, I would be surprised if the HPD board pictured here didn’t at least contain some of the DNA from Nuuhiwa’s earlier Bing models.

The board that is being listed for sale also has something of an interesting history, according to the seller. He claims he was given the board as a Christmas gift from his wife around 1985. The mid Eighties represented longboarding’s dark years, as the surf world’s attention had turned to high performance shortboard thrusters. In the Nineties, noseriding underwent a resurgence, thanks in no small part to the likes of Takayama and his star pupil Joel Tudor. To complete the cycle, Tudor’s surfboard brand has also produced a Nuuhiwa-esque noserider model. In any case, the board featured in this post pre-dates Takayama’s resurgence in popularity by about a decade or so, which is a cool little touch.

As you can see in the pictures, the Takayama David Nuuhiwa Noserider is in impeccable condition. It looks completely new, despite being over thirty years old at this point. The seller is asking $1,600, and while I wouldn’t say this is cheap, it’s not insane, either. If you’re interested in the board, check it out on Craigslist here.

Vintage Takayama Boards: Shred Sledz Grab Bag

Greetings, Shredderz! As some of you have no doubt noticed by now, the late, great Donald Takayama is a favorite around these parts. Vintage Takayama boards exchange hands pretty frequently on the secondary market, especially in the San Diego area. Donald Takayama Surfboards continues to sell templates of DT’s designs today, a few years after his untimely passing, but as always, my interest lies in vintage Takayama boards. Here are a few interesting examples, curated from my exhaustive Craigslist trawling.

Example #1: 1980s Donald Takayama Hawaiian Pro Designs Noserider (Craigslist San Diego)

Here is one of the cooler vintage Takayama boards I have spotted recently, which I believe dates to the 1980s. First, I’ll start by saying I have no clue why some Takayama boards were produced under the Hawaiian Pro Designs labels, and others only have Takayama laminates. Either way, the board pictured above and below looks like it pre-dates a lot of the vintage Takayama boards from the 1990s and 2000s that are fairly commonplace on Craigslist in San Diego. The seller also thinks the board was likely shaped during the 1980s.

The font used on the Hawaiian Pro Designs laminates is different from what you see on later vintage Takayama boards, which you can see below. There are two other nice, smaller touches about the board: one is the wooden tail block. Second, you can just make out the old-school yellow Clark Foam laminate, which is always a welcome sight:

The seller is asking $750 for the board. I could go either way on the price — I certainly don’t think this is crazy. On the other hand, the board isn’t in great condition, and I think if you’re patient, you can find newer boards in better condition at similar prices. Then again, this noserider has a couple of unique touches that would make it a nice addition for a big Takayama fan. One quick caveat, however: the Craigslist post does not have pictures of a Takayama signature, and I would look for this before making any purchase.

Example #2: 1990s Donald Takayama Hawaiian Pro Designs Competition Model

This bad boy was snapped up shortly after the ad went live. It was actually listed with the 1980s noserider above. It appears that Noah Shimabukuro, a Takayama team rider, got this 2+1 Competition model for himself!

My new contest board @surfboardsbydonaldtakayama

A post shared by Noah Shimabukuro (@noahkaoi) on Oct 24, 2017 at 11:54am PDT

Shimabukuro has his own signature model, which is called the Noah Ka Oi. According to the Takayama Surfboards website, this translates to “Noah is the best”, which is a fantastic name for a signature board.

I don’t know that I have seen a Takayama Competition model before. I am pretty sure the Competition model was shaped in the 1990s. You’ll notice that the Hawaiian Pro Designs font has been updated, and it has a streaky script look, as opposed to the rounded letters from the font on the 1980s noserider at the top of the page. In addition, the Takayama Competition model has a clear example of an authentic Donald signature, which I have included below.

Example #3: 1980s Donald Takayama Shortboard (Craigslist San Diego)

Vintage Takayama Boards 1980s Shortboard 1

Vintage Takayama Boards 1980s Shortboard 2

Once again I am taking some guesses at the dates, but the thruster setup indicates the board pictured was shaped sometime after 1981. The removable center fin paired with glassed-on side fins is a setup that seems to have fallen out of fashion. As someone who obsesses over shaper signatures, I was interested to see this is the rare example of a Takayama board signed with initials, as opposed to his full name. There are tons of vintage Takayama boards out there without signatures — and the newer ones have dark laminates that say “designed by Donald Takayama” — but Takayama seems to have signed a large number of his creations. Despite the unusual use of the initials, the handwriting looks similar to the Competition Model above. Here’s another example of a Takayama signature from a board. The seller of the thruster is asking $285. I think this is a little on the expensive side, given the condition, but these older Takayamas don’t appear every day.

Vintage Takayama Boards Twin Fin.jpeg — Vintage Takayama twin fin. Pic via 1stDibs

Pictured above is a somewhat cleaner example of a Takayama board from a similar era. It’s interesting to note that the thruster with the initials on the stringer has a Hawaiian Pro Designs laminate above the Surf Boards by Donald Takayama logo, whereas the twin fin above does not.

Donald Takayama is a surfer and a shaper whose illustrious career practically demands a longer and more in-depth post. In the meantime, I hope this post was a helpful overview of some of the options for vintage Takayama boards that one can find for sale online. Until next time, Shredderz!

Shred Sledz Social Media Roundup (April 30)

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.

Headbangers Ball. Christian Fletcher air machines. #thevintagesurfboard #vintagesurf #vintagesurfboard #vintagesurfboards #sanclemente #lowers #trestles @christianfletcherlives @dibifletcher #astrodeck #knac

A post shared by @ thevintagesurfboard on Apr 9, 2017 at 10:33am PDT

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…

Continue reading “Shred Sledz Social Media Roundup (April 30)”

Friday Round Up

Hope this weekend is bringing the global Shredderz community some tasty waves. In the meantime, we’re experimenting with a new format. Instead of going super deep on specific boards and shapers, we’ll be presenting a grab bag of cool boards you can currently find for sale online.

Takayama 7′0″ egg on Craigslist (San Diego)

Not cheap at $1200, but it’s in great condition and has a cool acid paint job on the deck. It’s hard to see the signature but it looks right to me. Looks like a 90s Donald hand shape, and it has some cool egg logos to boot.

Stussy Shortboard on eBay

Don’t be fooled by the initial picture – this thing is trashed, and it’s in pretty sorry condition. But hey, it’s always a delight to come across these boards. It’s currently <$200, so it could even be a rescue project for the right person. The only downside of looking at boards like this one is getting worked up over the fact no one took better care of it…but I digress.

Greg Noll board on Craigslist (Florida)

This one is priced fairly, which is to say, out of the price range for what Shred Sledz pays its overworked and underappreciated employees. Then again, they don’t come up for sale very often, so check it out before it moves into some weirdo collector’s giant air-sealed garage.

W.A.V.E. hollow board on Craigslist (New York)

I’ve written about these boards before, and they are a real trip. W.A.V.E. boards were created by Tom Morey and Karl Pope back in the 70s, and they featured a hollow, chambered design. This one looks to be in great condition, and it also has a gorgeous example of a 70s rainbow fin, which you can see in the pic below. It’s not cheap at $500, but oh well.

Takayama & Tudor

Here’s a quick hit for you: a rare Joel Tudor logo for a Donald Takayama board.

The board is listed on eBay, which you can find here. It’s not in great shape, including two delam spots and a decent amount of sun damage. I have never seen this logo before, though, and it’s a great example of a more obscure aspect of one of the greatest surfer / shaper partnerships in modern surfing.

Check out the board on eBay here.