Tag: surfing’s new image

Donald Takayama Surfing’s New Image Surfboard for Dru Harrison

Greetings, Shredderz! Today we’re taking a quick look at a board that recently caught my eye. Pictured here is a Surfing’s New Image surfboard shaped by Donald Takayama. The board was originally listed for sale on eBay, and all pics in this post are via the eBay listing. You can find the original listing here. I’ve long had a bit of a fascination with the SNI brand, whether it’s the Aipa stings that were produced under the label (although most SNI / Aipa stings were not shaped by Ben Aipa), or some of Rick Hamon’s later designs. If I had to choose, though, I’m probably most fond of the SNI boards that were shaped by Donald Takayama. Takayama, of course, was a surfing fixture for decades, whether it was as a Velzy / Jacobs team rider during the sport’s earliest days, or his collaborations with Joel Tudor starting in the Nineties. The Surfing’s New Image surfboard pictured here is an unusual one. First, I would say that you don’t see a ton of Takayama / SNI boards in general, but this one is the only example I have seen that has a Dru Harrison laminate on it.

Surfing's New Image Surfboard Donald Takayama Dru Harrison 4.jpg

According the listing, the board measures in at 7’0″ x 19 1/2″ x 3″. The board was almost certainly shaped sometime during the Seventies, though I’m not sure what year. Dru Harrison’s best known surfboard is the Improvisor model he produced under the Rick Surfboards label during the Sixties. Here’s an example of a Rick Surfboards Dru Harrison Improvisor that recently sold on eBay as well.

The SNI board sold for about $150. Even though the board would require a decent amount of repairs, I still think this is a pretty good price. After all, this is a Donald Takayama we’re talking about! From what I have seen, the SNI / Takayama boards can be had at fairly decent prices. Here’s another example of a Seventies SNI / Takayama stick that sold for $575, which I thought was a nice price from the buyer’s perspective.

Sadly, I can’t find any information on Takayama and Harrison’s relationship. I’m guessing they must have crossed paths in the South Bay in the Sixties. During this time Harrison was riding for Rick Surfboards, and Takayama was designing boards for both Bing Surfboards and then Weber. Considering the high profile of both men involved in making this board, you’d think there would be a little more information available.

You can check out the original eBay listing for the Surfing’s New Image surfboard designed by Dru Harrison and Donald Takayama here.

 

Weekend Grab Bag: Takayama Surfing’s New Image, Vintage Dick Brewer Single Fin, and More…

Greetings, Shredderz! Welcome to the latest installment of the Grab Bag, where I’ll spotlight some of the cooler boards I saw for sale recently. Keep reading for more, including a Takayama Surfing’s New Image single fin, a vintage Dick Brewer single fin, and a few other rad sledz…

Donald Takayama Surfing’s New Image Single Fin (eBay)

I think this Surfing’s New Image Donald Takayama single fin is super duper rad. First of all, you don’t always see a ton of Takayama / SNI boards floating around. Second, the board looks to be in decent, though not perfect, condition. This looks like it would be a fun board to ride, and of course, it also has Takayama’s name going for it. The cost is $575, plus shipping. I can’t say this is cheap, but I also don’t think it’s crazy. On a related note, below for my all-time favorite Surfing’s New Image Donald Takayama board:

Vintage Dick Brewer Single Fin (Craigslist — San Clemente)

Truth be told, I’m not entirely this vintage Dick Brewer single fin was shaped by Brewer himself. Don’t get me wrong — it’s still a sweet board. I’m intrigued by the shape, which is stubbier and has a wider tail than I would have expected, given its a Seventies single fin. But what really throws me off is the “RB Design” signature on the stringer. I have never seen this on a Brewer board before. Maybe I’m reading too much into the fact that it says “design”, but to me, this word could easily signal the fact that the board could have been shaped by someone else. It’s also far different than any other Dick Brewer signature I have seen. Either way, it’s a neat board, though I think at $600 maybe a bit too rich for me.

 

Two Seventies Natural Progression Single Fins (Craigslist — Santa Barbara; Craigslist — Los Angeles)

Seventies Natural Progression Single Fin.jpg

I think Natural Progression is one of the great unsung California surfing labels of all time. The brand had some great shapers — Phil Becker, Robbie Dick et al — and a phenomenal logo. And what more could you need? The board featured above is a real doozy, and it has an appropriate price tag to match. I dig the triple stringer setup, the wing swallow tail setup, and it has a killer original Rainbow Fin, too. $600 for a vintage surfboard is hardly ever cheap, but I understand the logic here.

I actually featured the second Naturally Progression board on my Instagram a few months back, and it is up for sale once more. It is shaped by Robbie Dick and it has a “ghost” Natural Progression label consisting of just the famous outline. The seller is asking $375 for this board, which I think is a decent price.

 

Aipa Surfing’s New Image Sting by Rick Hamon

Greetings, Shredderz! By now regular readers might know that I have a real affection for the sting, a surfboard outline created by Ben Aipa in the 1970s, and ridden to acclaim by Hawaiian surfers like Buttons Kaluhiokalani and Larry Bertlemann (and Mark Richards, too!) The board is frequently referred to as the stinger, but Aipa insists the proper name is the sting, and I am in no position whatsoever to argue with that! I wrote a previous post about how to identify genuine Ben Aipa shaped stings, given that many “Aipa” boards were produced by California-based Surfing’s New Image during the 1970s and 1980s. SNI boards are nothing to sneeze at though, as some of them were shaped by Donald Takayama. Rick Hamon, who would later become one of the top shapers at Rusty Surfboards, also churned out a number of Aipa / Surfing’s New Image stings.

Pictured above is a pretty flawless example of a Rick Hamon-shaped Aipa / SNI sting. These aren’t quite as collectible as real deal Aipas, but they are still amazing boards. The board pictured above happens to be listed for sale on Craigslist in San Diego, and you can find the listing here.

As you can see from the pictures, this thing is in extremely clean condition. The seller claims the board was shaped for him around 1975, which would put it around the height of the sting’s popularity. It has a beautiful rainbow airbrush on the deck, which you can clearly see in the pictures. The board measures in at 7’4″.

The seller is asking $600 for the board. While Aipa / SNI stings shaped by Hamon don’t command as high prices as Ben Aipa hand shapes, there seem to be a number of sting lovers. And even if the board isn’t shaped by Aipa, it still has his logo on it, which makes a difference. My two cents is this is a great price for the board considering the condition. Of course, standard caveats apply, as I haven’t seen the board in person for myself, but from what I can tell from the listing, this is a nice little pickup.

You can check out the Aipa Surfing’s New Image listing here.

Shred Sledz Presents: 4/17 Weekend Grab Bag (Aipa, Hansen, Morey Pope, Hansen)

Back to our regularly scheduled weekend grab bags. Here’s a selection of some cool boards that have caught my eye recently.

Aipa / Surfing’s New Image Sting (Craigslist – Santa Barbara)

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Sadly, there are no bargains to be had here. Seller is asking $2250 out the gate for this Aipa / Surfing’s New Image sting. Shout out to the seller for being clear about the fact this board was shaped by Rick Hamon, and not Ben Aipa himself (see here for an earlier Shred Sledz screed on the topic.) I have never seen that stringer setup before, and the airbrush on the bottom speaks for itself! Deck isn’t perfect but that’s like pointing out a small dent on a gullwing Mercedes. Check out the board here.

Hit the jump below for some more boards, including another Aipa, and some transitional goodness..

Continue reading “Shred Sledz Presents: 4/17 Weekend Grab Bag (Aipa, Hansen, Morey Pope, Hansen)”

How to Tell if Ben Aipa Shaped Your Sting

First, the good news: there is an Aipa sting for sale on eBay, whose pictures I have included here. The board is in decent shape, and right now the current bid is a tidy $82.01.

Before I go get to the bad news, I’d like to give some background on Ben Aipa, who has made more than a few appearances on Shred Sledz. This is the first Shred Sledz post featuring a board that Aipa made under his own name.

The sting is Aipa’s claim to fame. The board pictured above is a classic example. You’ll see the wings extremely high up the board – well above the fin box – with a single fin setup in the back. Aipa’s stings frequently boast swallowtails, as well.

Aipa’s sting design (sometimes referred to as the stinger) is most associated with iconic Hawaiian surfers Buttons Kaluhiokalani and Larry Bertlemann. Here’s a picture of Aipa (on the left) with Buttons, in front of a spread of Aipa-shaped stings that would be worth a pretty penny today.

Photo by Steve Wilkings; courtesy of Surfline

And as a bonus, here’s another Aipa board, this time under the careful stewardship of legendary Aussie surfer / shaper Mark Richards, likely also taken sometime in the 1970s. Look at how far back MR has the fin!

Photo by Jeff Divine; courtesy of The Surfer’s Journal

So, back to what we were saying: there’s an Aipa for sale on eBay, it’s only $80 bucks or so, and it’s Aipa’s signature design. What’s not to like, right?

Well, fellow Shredderz, listen closely, because this is a lesson that I originally learned through a bit of bitter experience myself. If you look at the board for sale on eBay, you’ll notice that there is a small “Surfing’s New Image” script beneath the Aipa logo. I’ve included a close up here:

The sad fact is, the “Surfing’s New Image” boards were NOT shaped by Aipa. Rather, Aipa licensed his name to the “Surfing’s New Image” brand, and these boards were all shaped in California (not Hawaii, where Aipa is based) by a variety of different shapers, including Mike Slingerland, Rick Hamon, and apparently even Donald Takayama. This information was confirmed to me via an email with none other than Randy Rarick, the Don Dada of Hawaiian surfboard design.

I happened to make this rookie mistake, and I now am the proud owner of two VERY weathered SNI / Aipa stings that serve as a cautionary tale. (The caution is two-fold: make sure what you’re buying is legit, and NEVER tell your fiancee how much you spent on the boards.) See below for two examples: the first is unsigned (likely shaped by Slingerland, but who knows), and the second has a clear Hamon signature and serial number.

Photos courtesy of the Shred Sledz Signature Collection ™

You’ll see a lot of stings online with the SNI branding. I won’t tell you to steer clear of these boards completely, as they are still genuine, rad 70s shapes. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that these are on par with real handmade Aipa boards.

Aipa has signed many of his boards, and you can see below for an example of a clearly identifiable Aipa signature, taken from a late 90s thruster he shaped.

However, it’s also worth noting that Aipa seems to have shaped some boards, at least back in the 70s, that didn’t have his signatures. Here’s an example of Larry Bertlemann with an Aipa (note the “Wave Crest Hawaii” branding beneath Aipa’s name) that doesn’t appear to have a visible signature anywhere on the deck. (It also has a pintail instead of the standard swallowtail design, which is an interesting touch.)

Photo by Steve Wilkings; courtesy of Surfline

I won’t get too into the weeds of signatures. Just note that “Surfing’s New Image” boards, even if they bear Aipa’s name and his best-known silhouette, were not shaped by Aipa himself.

Here is a link to the board you can find on eBay, and if you happen to find a genuine 70s sting for cheap, feel free to send it my way!