My uncle who is now 65, recently moved out of his house and gave me this old Hobie. He claims to have purchased the board in the summer of 1966 in Beach Haven, NJ.I’m wondering if anyone has any additional information on the origins of it. There is no shaper signature or any dimensions on the board. Stringer and fin look to be mahogany. Board is roughly, 10’2"x22.5"x3". In good shape after being kept in a cool basement in PA for the past 30 years or so. A few minor scratches, but overall pretty clean besides two dings that were repaired long ago and could be cut out and patched up properly fairly easily. Any info much appreciated.
There is no signature or dimensions because NOBODY did that back in the sixties!!! The stringer is most likely redwood. Looks like a fairly stock Hobie from that period, with a little extra appeal in the the color job and wood fin… As far as the origins? It was made in Southern California somewhere in or near Dana Point. It could have been shaped by a half dozen different guys.
Pretty sure Ron Jon was the Hobie dealer in '66 in Long Beach Island. I know he was later, when Propper started riding for them via Dick Catri when they switched from Surfboards Hawaii. (World Contest '66)
Early on Hobie liked his dealers to be exclusive. So it may have been some other shop prior to that.
There was a Hobie dealer in Belmar: Manatee Sea Center.
