Not sure if I’m posting to the correct board or not, so please forgive if I’m not.
Hi:
I have a 9.5’ “Bahne Surfboards La Jolla” board which has a removable plastic? fin with a hex-head set screw at the fin channel.
The story behind it is, a son of couple who lived in PA moved to CA (60s/early 70s)?. When he returned to PA, the board came back with him. He then moved to AK, and his parents soon followed. The couple gave it to me before they moved to AK in the late 70s/early 80s.
Any info you could provide is welcome. I’m curious of its age and possible value. I will say it has some “hits” on it.
First gen FU fin system. Could be late 66 to maybe early 68. Odd looking fin template.
Value? If you want to sell it put it on ebay with a starting bid of $500 and a reserve of $1000. See what happens.
Nice looking board in decent condition, though I think the fin was cut down. Most boards with that fin system have no fin at all.
Can you see any numbers on it? Most likely, they will be on the stringer near the label, or possibly down by the tail. Their boards were numbered in a fairly sequential order, unlike others of the day.
The fin does not look cut or modified in any way other than maybe a scrap repair at some point. What seems a bit strange to me is the inverted hex set screw on the channel, but maybe that’s normal.
I’ve looked on the branded side of the board for a number of some sort. I can’t seem to find anything. The other side of the board is the green “splash” design which is hard to see anything on…it also is now hanging on the ceiling with the splash side up, so I really can’t see that side. I don’t know anything about boards, but I think the photos may be more complimentary than reality. Both ends of the board have “chips” to the point of holes. There are scrapes and dents here and there, but maybe these are easily fixed (and typical of a board which went from CA to PA and then within 4 different locations within PA over the course of 50 years). ?!?
Thank you for providing a time frame of 67 or 66 to 68. That seems about right for the son who went to CA or went there later and possibly bought a used board. I’ve not sure if I really plan to sell it because its kind of a novelty. Knowing it might be worth at least $500 is great to know though.
Are the chips, holes, scrapes typical and considered easy fixes which won’t devalue the board or is the fact that they exist really a detriment to its value? I will try to post some more pics shortly of the damage.
As for the fin, maybe so. Who am I to tell if its been modified?
Found this pic on : Board Collector: Bahne
(the small brown one directly in the center of the pic)
Kinda looks like mine.
Minor chips, nicks, and cracks are an easy fix. The deck looks pretty white and clean for a 50 year old board. Both corners on the tail look intact, which is rare if a board had much use. Those corners, and the tip of the nose, are typically where you see damage.
The stringer is the wood strip down the center. That is where you usually find a serial number, if there is one. It was often done in ink or pencil, and sometimes with very small writing. After a little thought, I’d say it’s slightly newer than I previously guessed. 1966 is too early for that fin system. trim the time frame to late 67 or early 68. By the fall of 68 most boards were under 9 feet, and Bahne changed over to an adjustable fin rig. The fin bolt looks normal to me.
Try not to over think or make asumptions about all this, as you yourself admit you know nothing about surfboards. For instance, the fin looks like no other fin from that period, which is why it is thought to be altered.
Here is an ad for the original Fins Unlimited system, published in a magazine in 1968. FU was an offshoot of Bahne Surfboards and made in the same factory. It was their invention
Sure is. 1488? Looks like there’s no letter B after the number. Up to 1967 they added a B. The board was made in 1968. Probably in the first half of that year. '68 number sequence was roughly 1200 to 1800.
Definitely the early part of '68, I started shaping for Bahne in March '68, it was full in Crystal Ship V bottoms and a very few longboards.
The few that went through the factory were shaped by Jim Hovde
