Ok- One last bit of Surfboard Whatsit’ for a Sunday afternoon- This one is coming to a buddy of mine, and we cant remember the Point of Origin- Where was it made?, Shaper?- How long were they in Buisness?- Cool looking Board if you like the retro stuff!- Thank for any input!-
Forgot to include a Logo Close Up-
I belive this to be Hank Byzak who shapes next to Jim Phillips in Encinitas.
yep, thats a hanky shape, motion of the ocean stocks his Pure Fun Label.
I think Hank also did some tail inserts where you could change tail shapes . They were plexyglass and you could go from round pin to a diamond to pin and so on , pretty cool stuff !!
yeah Hank Byzak, Luecadia area.
He was having a hard time of it around 1979.
But he is still around.
an acquaintence told me he made good fishes.
Learned not to trust that acquantance.
His was the worst fish I ever had, when I turned
on it it was like putting on the brakes, couldnt for the
life of me figure that one out!!!
When I got the board he told me that if I didnt like
it he’d do me another till we got it working…he reneged!
Look at the wing placement on that board…does it seem well designed or normal???
Never tried Hank’s fishes, but he did know fun boards. Pretty much tailored for Swami’s/Encinitas breaks. Last I saw of him was back in the mid-80’s and he had a shop in Oceanside (now gone). I hear that he’s still shaping; there was a thread recently about a shape called a “squirt” than was signed by Hank.
Hank and I have had a rough go of it over the years, but like old married people, we have grown to tolerate each other. Hank can shape a great board, but he puts himself through agony in a rite of torture to get there.
I recently gave him a pile of boards to shape for another lable I do, he came in whining about how hard the Walker 9’3" was to shape and how did I get such good boards out of them (this was only after he said he had no work).This was my moment to turn the tables, I said, “it’s because I’m so Goddamn good”. Hank at one time did all the Surfboards Hawaii’s and I was brough to California to clear out the overload, but Hank refused to share any of the shapes with me, at the end of that summer he had hidden 93 order card behind his radio. He finally had to pay me cash to finish shapes he had put on his pay sheets months before, before the front office found out. Other than his personality disorders, he can reproduce board off old ones quite well, he has done the masters for the Tudor Nu’uhiwa, Keyo and all of Channins