A buddy of mine has a really cool old 7’0 HAUT. I am going to do a remake of it. Here are some pics of the board - maybe some of you will be able to recognize or date this one?
original board next to the 7’10 US blanks - green density with lowered tail rocker and 1/8" cedar stringer
logo
serial 1143
bottom
finbox
humpback foil
heavy v out the tail
heavy belly up front
this wont be an exact replica as the original is 3-1/2 thick and this blank is only 3-1/4 to start with. also going to sleek out the foil - take away the humpback.
first things first - get a template - here is how i get a quick and dirty template that will still pull a clean line:
grab an old blank box and trace it out
razor it out
clean it up with flexible sanding block
tape the edge and compare the results
dimensions
It has a first generation Fins Unlimited box. I would date it around late '68 to mid 1969.
cool thanks for the info Sammy!
That was a radical mind-machine shortboard when it was shaped, but it was such a chaotic time in design that there were some mis-steps. Having the thickest part of the board at the tailblock was one of them (but that's also a function of using a 9'+ blank for a 7'0''. There weren't any ''shortboard'' blanks at the beginning of the revolution). Heavily rolled front with heavily V'd tail is another questionable feature. There's a reason flat bottom downrailers replaced those boards within a couple of years of "transition''.
Don't get me wrong, it's a really nice piece of history. But I think you might use some of your more modern knowledge to improve it immensely in the remake.
Hell, even Doug used modern tech to improve it. Most boards he shaped in the '80's and 90's of that size were way better. That thing is a dog and Doug Haut would probably tell you the same thing.
Howzit grasshopper, I would date it at Febuary 14,1969. Aloha,Kokua
kokua - thats a day of love if there ever was one!
mcding - beauty is in the eye of the beholder! speaking of dogs, i could say something of your mother here and get things heated but i think i will refrain, woops too late…hang loose haole
miked - the new one will definately have a more even foil although we plan to keep the rocker, belly, v, and pinched rails similar.
the guy who owns this one has a cool little boutique surf shop and loves old boards. he is very skilled in the original style of surfing and a joy to watch on the water. we have been making some 9 footers that ironically have very similar dimensions and bottom contours to this old haut pocket rocket. they are real pleasure to ride in small glassy peelers.
Remaking these old boards can be a lot of fun. Even though they may be dogs or rode like shit. The fun is in trying to make em look as authentic as possible using what we have to work with. I guess I have an advantage as I am “Vintage” and actually built these boards for a living back in the 60’s and 70’s.
My other career in antique furniture restoration probably influenced me along these lines. Grasshopper send me a PM. I am actually right down the road from you in Savannah.
If you like the bellied entry and pinched rails, you should try going dead flat out the back and foiling the piss out of it. IOW, make some hulls. I bumped up the hull thread for ya to check for inspiration.
here is the foil i get to start with - havent cut the crust off even. looks like i will probably gut it some and it will be looking niiiiice.
couple tricks:
parafin wax on saw blade
right angle sander
saw cut
cleaned up
I really like the outline. Does’nt look like the blank will enable you to make the tail as thick as the original. I’m sure it will turn out nice. I would’nt let any outside opinions influence what you have planned for this piece of foam. Shape on…
Grasshopper is the rare breed of shaper who is equally skilled both in the shaping bay and the line up. We only trust shapers who shred, Total respect and shape on Grasshopper!!!
some pics of the rough shaping
gonna have the owner of this one come by and check it out. make any adjustments he wants then clean it up and off to the glassing rack!
outline, rocker and bottom countours are pretty close to original but you can see the foil is a good bit different. no scooped out area in the nose and no camelhump in the tail. should make it less quirky and able to ride further up on the board. i may still take some more thickness from the last 12" of the tail deckside.
Nice job cutting, there's a lot of work in getting that out of a blank designed for a downrail funboard.
some pics of the finished board - may get wet tomorrow…
hope to get some shots of the old and the new side by side. i would have loved to see the new one with a clean clear volan cutlap top and bottom but the owner of this puppy wanted something a bit more radical.
Awesome board. I feel a little stupid saying this out loud but i never thought to use a right angle sander like that to smooch my cuts. That was like a ray of light from the heavens.
