Tag: hawaiian pro designs

1994 Hawaiian Pro Designs Donald Takayama DT-2

Greetings, Shredderz! I’ve been seeing a lot of neat boards pop up for sale, so I decided to write up one of my recent favorites. Pictured here is a 1994 Hawaiian Pro Designs Donald Takayama DT-2 model. According to the seller, the board was ordered directly from Donald and shaped by Takayama. The DT-2 model, which is described as “Donald’s ‘all-rounder'”, continues to serve as a staple of the Surfboards by Donald Takayama lineup.

The Donald Takayama DT-2 Model featured here measures in at 9’6″ x 22 1/2″ x 3 1/16″. The board was listed for sale on Craigslist in San Diego earlier this weekend, but by the time the post went live, the listing had been taken down. All photos here are via the original listing.

This is a nice, clean example of Takayama’s DT-2 Model. I really dig the blue glass on side bites and the muted cover palette. The board has all the lamiantes you’d expect from a mid-Nineties Hawaiian Pro Designs Donald Takayama stick: the script down the rails, the oval logo on the bottom, and the signature bird design.

According to the seller, there were some dings that were professionally repaired, but I can’t tell where these are. Overall, the board looks to be in very good shape.

The DT-2 model pictured in this post has an interesting signature on the stringer. It’s extremely hard to make out, and I did my best to tweak the pic a bit to bring out the text. According to the listing, the line above the stringer reads “From Dad, September 4th 1994”, and the line below lists the serial number (which is illegible) and the dimensions. The vast majority of Donald Takayama boards from this era have clear signatures on the stringer, like this example. However, the DT-2 does not. The handwriting looks very similar to Donald’s, based on the other boards I have seen. I also think it’s extremely unlikely the seller whipped up a crazy story to lie about the provenance of the board. Moreover, all the details on the board support the seller’s explanation that it was hand shaped in 1994, from the era-specific logos to the custom inscription on the stringer. I feel very confident in saying this is a Donald Takayama hand shape, and I thought the unusual inscription was worth a closer look for those who like to geek out on small details.

The seller listed the board for $745. I think this was a great price, and I’m not surprised to see that the listing was quickly taken down. I’m no fortune teller, but given Takayama’s incredible career, I wouldn’t be surprised to see his hand shaped boards continue to rise in value.

Weekend Grab Bag: Tri Plane Hull Twin Fin & More

Greetings, Shredderz! The weekend is almost over, and right before the buzzer we’ve got another installment of the Weekend Grab Bag. Keep reading for a selection of cool vintage surfboards that are listed for sale online.

Channel Islands Al Merrick Tri Plane Hull Twin Fin (eBay)

I absolutely love vintage Channel Islands surfboards. Considering it’s probably the most famous modern surfboard label of all time, I’d expect to see more vintage CI sticks pop up. As you can see the board was shaped by Al Merrick himself — see here for an earlier blog post I wrote on the subject of Merrick hand shapes. The CI Tri Plane Hull twin fin measures in at 5’10” x 20 1/2″ x 2 5/8″. I think the board is way overpriced considering the condition — click through to the link to see close ups of the damage — but it’s still a cool stick.

Donald Takayama Flo Egg Thruster (Craigslist San Diego)

I’m tempted to snap up this one myself! Here’s a lovely 7’2″ Donald Takayama Flo Egg with a thruster setup. I can see this board being a versatile and fun every day rider. The seller is asking $700 for the board. You can clearly see that Takayama signed the board in pencil on the stringer. The newer Takayama boards that are produced nowadays have an image of Donald’s signature, indicating that this one was shaped by the man himself, though it’s unclear to me whether or not he used shaping machines for his later boards. Either way, for $700 I think this is very nicely priced.

Local Motion Pat Rawson Thruster with Pottz Airbrush (eBay)

I absolutely love this board, which was shaped by Hawaiian master Pat Rawson for the Local Motion label. The airbrush on the vintage surfboard you see above is an unmistakable tribute to Martin Potter’s iconic artwork. Sadly, as much as I love the board — and the colors and Rawson’s pedigree are unimpeachable — it’s priced in the stratosphere. I love the different colored glass on fins, too.

Thanks for checking out the Weekend Grab Bag and tune in for some more goodies later this week!

Price Checks: T&C Surf / Hawaiian Pro Designs Larry Bertlemann Surfboard

Greetings, Shredderz! Today we’ll be examining one of the most coveted signature sticks out there: a T&C Surf / Hawaiian Pro Designs Larry Bertlemann surfboard. As I have written about before, getting concrete information on surfboard prices can often be tricky, but eBay makes things slightly easier, thanks to the fact it keeps up posts on completed listings even after the sale has closed. The Hawaiian Pro Designs Larry Bertlemann surfboard featured here just closed earlier today on eBay, and thankfully, the listing still has pics and prices. You can find the listing here; all photo in this post are via eBay.

This Hawaiian Pro Designs Larry Bertlemann surfboard closed at a cool $1,085, with an option to ship the board within the US for an additional $100. The board is a swallow tail twin fin and it measures 5’10” x 20″ x 3″. On one hand, I can’t say I’m that surprised, as these Larry Bertlemann boards are super popular among collectors. On the other, this board has discoloration throughout, and some additional restoration work has been done, too. The board is in decent condition, all things considered, but it’s also clearly not a perfect example. I see the price as an indication of how collectible Bertlemann surfboards are, given that it still went over $1K, even with its various imperfections. I’m curious to see what a similar Larry Bertlemann surfboard in excellent condition might fetch — I can’t see one going for anything less than $2,000, but that’s only a guess.

Larry Bertlemann Surfboard via Juice Magazine.jpg
Larry Bertlemann, AKA The Rubberman, going vertical. Photo by Jeff Divine and via a Juice Magazine interview between LB and Zephyr’s Jeff Ho

I still can’t quite figure out whether the Larry Bertlemann surfboard you see here is considered a Hawaiian Pro Designs board, or a T&C Surf Designs board. As you can see it has laminates from both brands. The T&C Surf Designs yin yang features prominently throughout the board, but all of the Pepsi Larry Bertlemann logos have Hawaiian Pro Designs on them, too. Hawaiian Pro Designs is best known for being Donald Takayama’s label during the later part of Takayama’s career. However, I simply don’t know about the earlier history of the Hawaiian Pro Designs brand. See here for a Hawaiian Pro Designs Larry Bertlemann surfboard that has a rare Olympic rings logo, but no mention of T&C. And here is another Larry Bertlemann surfboard, which has the T&C Surf Designs yin yang logos, but otherwise no T&C branding (looks like the sticker on the fins was added after the fact). Long story short, I don’t know how to classify the brands and/or labels for Larry Bertlemann’s various signature surfboard models.

I also don’t know who shaped the board. Bertlemann shaped some of his own surfboards. According to SurfboardLine.com, Takayama also shaped some twin fins for Bertlemann during the Seventies, but I’m not sure when. These Larry Bertlemann surfboards were produced under license in Australia for a while, too, but again, I’m not clear on who the production shapers were.

Finally, see below for a little video produced by Buggs Arico, the collector behind the aforementioned SurfboardLine.com. Buggs’ site has a great entry on Bertlemann, including a killer Larry Bertlemann surfboard producer under the killer Hot Lips Designs label, so check that out if you get the chance.

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.

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 Logo.jpg
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.

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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.