I’m hoping that someone on this forum can help me. Many have told me that this is the perfect place to discuss older boards. I have a Jim Phillips long board form the 1960’s. It was actually the very first board I ever bought. I learned how to surf on this. Needless to say I absolutely love this board for both sentimental reasons and for how well it rides. My problem is about 7 years ago I let a friend ride it (I know, I shouldn’t have let him touch it, let alone put it in the water) and he broke off the original fin. The board has an old waveset fin box on it, so searching for anything that fits this board has been a very futile search to say the least. The box is perfect, only the original fin was destroyed. I’ve been looking for 7 years and haven’t really had any luck in tracking down a fin for this type of box. I thought I came pretty close last December when I found a fin on ebay. The problem is it is way smaller than advertised. (Now I am reminded why I hate ebay to begin with. So much for letting friends talk me into looking on it for a fin!) The board’s fin box measures 1 ¼ inch wide by 11 ¼ inches long, but the fin I bought measures 8 inches long by ½ inch wide. The fin itself is a 9 inch fin. This leaves me with two problems. First, I need to get rid of this smaller fin that I have absolutely no use for and spent money I really can’t afford to waste on. Please let me know if anyone is interested! More importantly, my second problem is where the hell can I find a fin for this box? I know that I will only be able to get a replica…and I am fine with that. Can anyone offer any help/suggestions/advice on what options are available. Let me know if you need more info and/or pictures about the board, fin box, etc. I am new to this board and don’t know how to post pics yet.
You may get lucky, I think some of those fins are still out there. Many surf shops have boxes of used fins of every possible type. Also contact some of the collector organizations, as well as some of the surfboard auction houses. They have extensive contacts. Good luck on your search.
Sorry to hear about your bad ebay experience. The sad fact is that many people don’t know what a real WAVESET fin is, and list stuff on Ebay that’s not the real deal. Plus, you’ll often see other fin types mis-labeled due to lack of knowledge or just plain ignorance. For instance, I’ve seen the old Hobie style fin, where the bolt went through the deck, listed as a “wonderbolt” fin. That was the design used by Weber, not Hobie.
Post up a good photo of this supposed WAVESET fin you bought, and I might be able to tell you what it really is.
Juan at OneWorld does great work all-around, I get my wooden fins from him for most of my balsa shapes. If you send him the dimensions or an image of the box, he’ll make sure that you’re getting the correct base.
As far as an original goes, you may want to consider looking for a board with fin rather than just the fin. I recently bought a transitional egg with a clean Waveset fin for 100 dollars. The fin is, in this case, worth about as much as the board. The and fin will be used in a restoration, the egg will get a glass-on or US box, and I get another board for my garage. Surprising, but you do still see the stranger and/or no-name transitional boards with original fins going cheap at many shops, especially if the board itself is pretty beat-up.
I agree that the best way to get an original fin, is to buy to buy it with the surfboard attached. Very few collectors will sell an old fin by itself. If you want a reproduction, there was a limited run of G&S Hi Pro WAVE Set fins that were made a while back. Erwin (AKA hotrodsurfer on ebay) sometimes sells them on ebay. He currently has a Buy-it-now auction for the old Hobie fins for just $55, so you could contact him through ebay to see if he’s got any of the WAVE Set fins left…
As for your unwanted fin…I’m betting it’s a Vari-Set fin by Bahne/Fins Unlimited. And you should be able to sell it on ebay, but it helps to describe it properly. As a bad example, there is currently one of the old Fins Unlimited on ebay mislabelled as a “Waive Set” fin. No kidding…that’s how the zimmer actually spelled it…
If you live in the southwest US, and you’re interested in surfing memorabelia, then you might want to bookmark this next link for the home page of the Longboard Collector Club. Next meet is this weekend in Huntington Beach!!
The fin in that ebay ad is most certainly a Variable WAVESET fin, and not an early FU.
The Variable WAVESET was an adjustable system that fit in the standard WAVESET box. It consisted of a metal track with a slotted plate that could slide forward and back. The fin sat in the plate, and was secured with two screws. Those screws also locked the fin in place after re-positioning it.
So, though that fin on Ebay is a WAVESET product, it is useless without the track and locking plate which complete the system.
The ebay guy (Hotrodsurfer) is Ervin Spritzer or spitzer. He has probably one of the most extenssive collections of 60 surf stuff out here. He’s been collecting since the early 80’s. He knows his shit. Contact him and he should be able to help you out.
The fin in that ebay ad is most certainly a Variable WAVESET fin, and not an early FU.
The Variable WAVESET was an adjustable system that fit in the standard WAVESET box. It consisted of a metal track with a slotted plate that could slide forward and back. The fin sat in the plate, and was secured with two screws. Those screws also locked the fin in place after re-positioning it.
So, though that fin on Ebay is a WAVESET product, it is useless without the track and locking plate which complete the system.
No Sammy…if it was a variable WAVE Set fin, then the tabs on the ends of the base would be much thinner. More like an eighth of an inch. They broke easily, and so quickly faded from the marketplace. The Bahne/Fins Unlimited fin that I referenced on ebay was used on surfboards and kneeboards around 1969, and were a durable design, but were made somewhat obsolete by the next generation of FU with the single screw. I say somewhat obsolete, because they were used on windsurfers long after surf and kneeboard makers stopped using them. The winsurfer guys liked the extra long box and the windsurfer fin variants of the Vari-set were a stiffer plastic. There’s an audible difference when you tap on them.
Thanks for all of the suggestions and help. I’m stoked to hear that I have a few more options than I previously thought. Attached are some pics of the board, box, and fin I need to get rid of.
Poobah is right, that is a Fins Unlimited Vari-set fin. And it is one of the newer fins, from a windsurfer. The original Vari-set from 1969 had a slightly different shape to the base. The originals also came in translucent colors, as well as the black glass filled type. The later fins made for windsurfers came only in black, as far as I know. The original fins are worth more, especially the colored ones.
Although the pic is small, your box looks like a Waveset.
If the eBay seller advertised your fin as a Waveset, I’d return it and ask for my money back.
