A friend of mine has this 9’6 Hobie and she thinks it’s a older board from the 60s(?). But I am wondering if has been restored because there is no serial numbers showing and seems to be in great condition… it even has a leash plug. Maybe this board is not that old at all and could have been a retro copy of an original model…?? However my quess since there is no #s… it was restored…even maybe had color added, but what moran would cover the serial #s and add a plug…? ??
Can you tell the approximate year or decade of a hobie board by the logo and what do you guys think??? Thanks!!!
Many a moron have covered serial #'s, added leash plugs or drilled the fin.
The fin says 65/66 to me. Triple stringers faded out shortly after. Color work could be og. Look closely at a recent chip or recently worn area. If the foam below shows white beneath, chances are it’s og or was done decades ago. Check out the center stringer deckside with a magnifying glass from the deck lam back (or possibly the flanking stringers) you may find a serial # or blank # written on the redwood itself. Looks like a fun rider to me.
Is that an adhesive leash loop or is it in the board? A friend has a Hobie vintage style remake from the 90s that is triple stringer and clear. Could be from that era or original.
Tough call. The fin style is from the period, but doesn’t remind me of a Hobie fin. The redwood center stringers in '66 were usually wider. The logo usually had the brown background in the lower part. And, although people did all kinds of color schemes in that era, the color choice doesn’t look right. The condition looks too good. I think it’s a reproduction.
I also was questioning the bright colors until I saw T K Brimer’s ( of the Froghouse Surf Shop) video on a couple Hobie from his collection. This Pic is of a board shaped by Hobart Atler in 1965… It has a barn door fin and yes, the logo has the brown color too. However, I have another 9’ hobie that is maybe late 60s-70s, it has the same shape fin as the one in question except it is wooden glassed in… And the logo is just black but it’s very large stretching almost all the way across the entire board. It has a number of 4215 with “Hobie Power” written behind the number- I do understand that some of the numbers on Hobies are mostly likely the numbers that were on the sales tickets that came in (but I dont really know).
