Hello all, new to the forum. I assume there aren’t too many Nevadans on here. While hunting for vintage waterskiis, I found this 9’8” Jacobs hanging under a corrugated tin shed. Being a Nevadan, it’s pretty rare to find something like this but, I’ve been wake surfing for nearly 20 years now (don’t laugh, we have to make our own surf), so I know enough to know to not leave something like this behind. I’ve been researching Hap Jacobs and have learned much. Can’t seem to get anybody I know even slightly to take any interest in this board. Could it truly be forgettable? That seems insane. I would love some feedback about it. I figure it’s mid ‘60s.
It looks like someone may have brought it back from the dead(?) Overall it looks to be intact and the fin looks to be in pretty decent shape. If there are no twist/bubble/delams issues it might be a fine candidate as a fixed up rider. It looks to be too far gone for most serious collectors. A Jacobs fan (there are many) might be willing to pay several hundred bucks for it. Scalpers might offer a hundred. Tell 'em to F-off.
Thanks for the reply man. I appreciate it.
The old man I bought it from, brought it with him when he moved to Reno in the late 60s. A lot of older Reno is LA transplants. My family included. My grandparents moved to Huntington in the early 40s and then moved up here in the late 60s. My uncle still has the family set of SurfRider canvas mats. I get ‘em when he dies or doesn’t give a shit anymore.
I digress…sorry.
Its got plenty of issues. Delam up front. A bunch of cracks. A bunch of dings. A bunch of dents. Its had to of been outside, under a tin roof for a good 20yrs. He said he was surfing it behind his 16ft outboard through the 70s and 80s. It looks like it’s been ridden thousands of times. He said they had more fun on it than anything. Ever. He then told me they had more fun on it than anything. Ever. He then told me… This went on for a least 20 more times. “That’s a Jacobs! 9’8”! We had more fun on it than anything. Ever. Poor old Mark can’t form new memories so good. Cool dude though. That ski in the pictures was his too. “Isn’t that a beautifuls ski? It is my favorite ski off all time.” At least 20 times we went through it. It’s now the second one in my collection. The single hottest fire stick of the early 70s, the EP Comp1. BMF. My dad, Hap, rode one. I own it. So next to this random garage sale connection EP Comp1, is a 9’8” Hap Jacobs. Two Haps hanging opposite each other. In NorNev.
So no, not for sale. I’d like to get it back to working condition. And yes I will surf the boat with it. I’ve got an endless 2’ glassy peeler at the turn of a key. How am I not gonna surf it? Its been a wakesurf board for 50yrs. Second half, coming up.
Honestly though, I’d like to fix it correctly, keep it, and break it out once or twice a year for a “special”. Throw all my fattest friends in the boat and go longboardin’. How’s that for Kook of the Day?!
I’m currently shopping for advice on how to proceed with fixing this thing up correctly and more the point, honorably, to where it can be preserved and enjoyed.
Correctly? Honorably?.. go take it to someone who knows what they are doing.
If it means that much, now is not the time to learn and put a bunch of “ehh” ding repairs on it.
^^^Not a lot surfboard shops around here. I think there is exactlyyy, ya, zero. I’m a good 250mi from the nearest break. If the board itself is worth saving just for the history, then I will. I just haven’t found anybody yet who gives a shit about it. Besides me that is. I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty. I’m seriously considering building my own shop and building my own boards. I have a friend that has built hundreds of boards. He retired two years ago though. My last two boards are ones that he built. If he can do it, I absolutely can. I’m not looking to learn on this Jacobs. I’ve talked myself into “it’s an important board” so I’m not about just slap some shit on it and call it good. I guess what I’m ultimately looking for is advice on what I should do with it? Chop it up? Slap some shit on it and ride it? Sell it? Keep it? I’m not really interested in selling it but, if it is important enough to the surfing community, I’ll find the right home for it. If not, I’ll keep it and learn to build boards myself until I either feel comfortable enough to fix it myself or learn enough to know not to F with it and turn it over to a professional.
So, is this board important enough to save? Who might I be able to talk to? Hap Jacobs just retired. I haven’t been able to get in thouch with him. Are there any good online references for Jacobs? I can’t seem to find much on them. Should I get it back to the surfing community? Should I F off? I’m just trying to do the right thing.
Get at it!!!
is the Board Lady’s webpage still up? Might be a good place to start…
No need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to board repair/restoration. Just give it a good going over and identify the main problem areas. I use a Sharpie to circle stuff.
If you’re going for a wake/tow board behind a boat, there isn’t much of an argument for a ‘museum quality’ restoration. I’ve seen a beautifully redone board up at the Noll shop in Crescent City, California that was found under a house broken in two pieces - it had been stuck together and had an immaculate opaque pigment job buffed to a brilliant shine. I guarantee it won’t be seeing much actual use.
A big question with repairs is how much damage should be removed and how much can be ‘glued back’ in place. As previously mentioned, your board appears to be relatively intact. I would not start by peeling off fiberglass if it can be salvaged. A partial reglass won’t look any better than reattaching what’s there already. Before you start on major surgery, consider drilling a few small holes, injecting resin and weighting down any delam/bubbles down while the resin cures. Weighting down detached glass along original contours can be tricky but it can be done.
Filling any holes or dents would be a good second step. If appearance isn’t a huge issue, automotive bondo works fine and sands easily enough. Plenty of old beat up surfboards have been fixed using bondo.
A thin layer of 4 oz fiberglass can help holding it all together once everything is glued back down, filled and ground smooth.
Listen to John, his advice is good. Although I’d be tempted to fix all dings with 4oz and cover the entire board with a layer of 2oz, but only if there was so much damage that it needed a board’s worth of glass.
It sounds like you already made your mind up, fix it and surf it. You were asking about age, etc. It looks like 60s. I have a mid 70s Jacobs that looks nothing like yours. Is there any signature on the board? If not, that might also indicate 60s. Your board actually looks like it’s in good shape for its age.
Thanks for the replies.
No signature. I’ve been trying to find pictures of triple stringer Jacobs and all but one I can find are Takayama models. The D fins seem to fade away around ‘65. That’s my uneducated guess for a year.
I’m hoping to go back over to old Mark’s house and talk some more with him. Perhaps I can get him to dig up some memories about when and where he bought it.
I’m going to get ahold of my ex-shaper and see if he’d be interested in working with me to repair it. I’d like to avoid bondo at all costs. I’ve gotten pretty decent with it over the years but, that’s just not where I’d like to go with it. If we think it’s a decent candidate for a proper restoration, I’ll for sure consider it.
Again, thanks for the replies. Keep ‘em coming. I’ll get some close ups of the trouble spots.
Those all look like pretty minimal dings. I would consider that board a good find. Fix it up!
Since my previous comment was summarily ignored I assume the o.p. didn’t care to look it up, which is fine, but for anyone else interested enough to look, this is a great resource for ding repair aficionados. The board lady, now retired, is a sometimes swaylocks poster. Finally able to copy and paste…
Whoa, easy there tiger. I appreciate the link. I did look it up but haven’t had a chance to go through it yet. I have a family and a business to run so my free time ain’t exactly overflowing.
My main concern is the delam section on top up at the nose. That whole white section is no longer in contact with the foam. It’s good 1/4” up from it.
Well, its not for everyone - there is no one there to spoon feed the info, so I posted mainly for those who want to learn about ding repair and surfboard restoration, and who care to spend some time learning from one of the best. A few Swaylocks members were involved in making the information available for free to all, and of course Eva’s passion for her craft, and for teaching, were all responsible for that website, with its wealth of information. If it helps you, great, if not, I just wanted to make sure the link is there as this thread heads into the archives. Wish you the best with your project.
Thats not how it works anymore…
Definitely a 60s board. I’d guess it right around 1963-64. That’s when triple stringers were the cool thing, and D fins were still the norm. Being a 60s board, of course there’s no signature.
If you are going to post this many pics at once, try to re-size to a normal size. These took forever to load.
If you plan to use it for wake-boarding just make it water tight and be done with it. The board is too trashed to invest any time or money. It would be a collectible if was in better shape, but it’s too far gone. Stick a fork in it.