Tag: surfboard

Zuma Jay Single Fin

Up for grabs on Craigslist in Ventura CA is a Zuma Jay single fin for $100. Warning: there could be a decent amount of repair involved in this one. The duct tape on the tail is never a good sign, and it looks like the bottom has a bunch of little dings or discoloration. Still, not an awful price for a little project, especially considering Zuma Jay’s status as a well-known Malibu brand. Not sure who the shaper could be, but Stoked N Board pegs the logo as sometime between 1985 and 1990. I wonder if it could be a little earlier than that, even, given the singlefin setup. Check it out here.

Ben Aipa for Kimo’s Surf Hut

File this guy under things I have never seen before…

This is a 9′ Ben Aipa-shaped longboard with a logo from Kimo’s Surf Hut. The Aipa signature is definitely consistent with other signatures I have seen from genuine Aipa boards. I have never heard of Kimo’s Surf Hut before, but it looks like it’s a surf shop located on the eastern side of Oahu.

The board measures 9′ and it’s $550, available on Craigslist near Los Angeles. I think the asking price of $500 might be steep – especially since it looks like there could be some pretty bad damage on the nose – but it’s a cool example of a board from a well-known shaper with a very uncommon logo.

Craigslist listing here.

Aleutian Juice

Earlier today I was perusing some pictures of boards with channels, and I started thinking about how Shred Sledz has yet to feature anything from legendary Central Coast (CA) shaper Dave Parmenter. Parmenter is a former tour competitor and So Cal competitive surf rat who has gracefully transitioned into a career as one of the wisest (and most opinionated) men in surfing. Parmenter is famously prickly, but he makes beautiful – and functional! – surfboards (I’ve never met the man, but I imagine he would much prefer if I reversed the order of those adjectives).

What we have here (via Craigslist) is a 7′6″ version of Parmenter’s Stubb Vector shape, which is intended to deliver high performance in the guise of a hybrid / funboard. The best part? The poster claims this stick has never even seen wax, and it comes in at an extremely reasonable $350. Check it out here.

Simon Anderson for Energy Surfboards

Check out this vintage Simon Anderson single fin on eBay Australia! Simon Anderson’s claim to shaping fame is the fact he invented the thruster, the first tri-fin surfboard design that stands as one of the most influential shapes in surfboard history. 35 years ago the thruster ushered in the modern shortboard era, and it remains the de facto fin setup for performance surfing.

This board, from Anderson’s now-defunct Energy label, likely predates Anderson’s wonderful invention. It’s a great example of an early-era Anderson board. Energy thrusters in good condition are more coveted (and command higher prices), but what we have here is still the product of one of the most important shapers ever, and it’s water-tight, to boot!

According to the listing the board has been looked over by well-known Aussie surfboard restorer Levi Jones (who is very active on Vintage Surfboard Collectors). It measures in at 6′5″, and it’s ready for a surf right now. Good luck on the bidding here.

Mike Diffenderfer Gun

There’s a sweet Mike Diffenderfer gun up for sale on eBay, which you can find here. By now my affinity for neon paint jobs is well-documented, but let me just say I love the way this board looks. Diffenderfer, of course, is a legendary surfboard shaper. I suggest reading up on his entry in the Encyclopedia of Surfing. Seems like Diffenderfer specialized in big wave guns, and this board looks like it fits the bill, clocking in at a healthy 7′2″ x 18.25″. This looks to be a later-era Diffenderfer, if I had to guess, and there are a bunch of dings on the board. Sadly, Diffenderfer passed away in 2002, so they’re not making any more of these. Starting bid is $399 and you can find the listing here.

Fineline for Cheap

I would like to present to you the inaugural entry in a new series…Dumpster Diving, brought to you by your good friends at Shred Sledz.

As you know, here at Shred Sledz HQ we’ve got a real eagle eye for value. (Which is another way of saying we are some tightfisted bastards). Dumpster Diving will be a column that shows you dirt cheap boards…that are cheap for a reason.

What we have here are not one but two surfboards for sale as a package deal, available on Craigslist in Playa Del Rey (Los Angeles). The good news is that the price for both boards is a very cheap $75. The other good news is that both boards boast some great pedigree. One is a Robert August single fin. The keen observers at Stoked N Board have this logo (featuring the “Precision Surfboards” tagline tucked away just to the left of the ‘g’ in August) as having been made in the 90s sometime.

The other board is a Fineline board, likely shaped by Brian Hilbers. The logo has a distinct 80s / 90s feel to it, but I can’t be sure. These boards have become pretty popular recently thanks to the Mollusk movement, and this is a cool older version. Most of the Fineline boards you see for sale at Mollusk are logs and eggs, and this board is a squash tail thruster with some pretty rad looking channels.

Okay, now that the history lesson is over…the bad news is both of these boards look pretty trashed. They may be pretty difficult to salvage, though I would like to see some more pictures of both. But hey – I’ve also spent $75 on a night of bad decisions out a many a watering hole with far less ROI. So if you feel like rolling the dice and doing a stylish dumpster dive, check out the listing here.

Neon Becker

Craigslist Steal of the Week!

Check this thing out…a 7′5″ Becker funshape for a mere $75. Full dims are 7’5″ x 21.25″ x 2.375″. Looks water tight, and I dig the triple stringer as well as the shameless late 80s / early 90s neon logo. Pretty difficult to say whether or not it’s a legit Phil Becker shape without any evidence of a signature on the stringer…but hey, for $75 beggars can’t be choosers, nor should they be!

If you love ridiculous neon surf graphics or if you’re just a trigger happy impulse shopper without a huge budget then check this bad boy out here.

Mandala

File this one under reasonable price for a dope board. I try to highlight steals and deals here, but sometimes you just have to pay full freight.

Available on Craigslist in San Diego is an 8′10″ Mandala Seraph. The Seraph is a tri plane hull design with a pintail. As you have probably realized by now, Shred Sledz HQ is home to some of the biggest Marc Andreini fans out there, and Manny Caro of Mandala spent a lot of time with Andreini when he was still based out of Oakland. Caro has since decamped to San Diego, where he puts out these beautiful boards, often sharing some of the same design concepts that make Andreini’s sleds so interesting and functional. I can’t say for sure but the Seraph looks very similar to Andreini’s Serena model, and I bet it’s a real treat in decent-sized surf.

This one clocks in at a reasonable $750. Not exactly a heist, but I think a fair price to pay. However, I have to mention that the price is contingent on the condition of the board – the posting suspiciously doesn’t have any pictures of the deck. Either way, Manny’s boards seem to move pretty fast on Craigslist, and I thought it would nice to feature one. Check out the listing here.

Andreini via McTavish

It’s a day ending in ‘y’, so it must be time to celebrate the legend that is Marc Andreini at Shred Sledz HQ. I came across this sweet-looking vehicle, which can be found on Craigslist in Los Angeles.

The poster describes it as a “McVee” shape, which I have never seen before from Andreini. I’m guessing the name is a portmanteau that refers to the vee bottom of the board, famously invented by Aussie shaper Bob McTavish during the shortboard revolution. The dims are 8’8″ x 22.75″ x 3″, and I imagine this thing has got a ton of paddling power. I’ve always wanted to try one of these vee bottom boards to see how they turn, and I guess I’ll just have to wait my chance.

$850 takes the board (poster claims it has only been surfed twice, and it certainly looks shiny in all the pics). Find it here.

Dick Brewer Single Fin

Dick Brewer is a legend. Full stop, do not pass go, do not collect $200. But his name, sadly, has been licensed out to death, and considering just how famous Brewer is, it’s not always super easy to find real deal boards that have been shaped by the master.

I found this listing on Craigslist, and to a non-expert, it looks like it passes the sniff test. The leash plug and the glass-on fin both look like they are from the late 70s. The original poster has pegged the board as a 1977 Pipeline Gun, measuring in at 7′2″. The signature is interesting. You can clearly see it’s “R Brewer”, and it looks like it was signed above the tint, and not directly on the stringer itself. Contrast this with other signatures, such as this one, which clearly spell out “Dick Brewer” and not his first initial. (The signature pic was originally via a Wall Street Journal article on Dick Brewer, which is behind a paywall.)

This thing is certainly priced like an original at $1250. Check out the listing here.