The photo on the left comes from the Surfers Journal 10:1 and the frame grabs on the right come from Morning of the Earth.(All were reproduced without permission – sorry, but this is totally about that board) Does anybody know anything about this board more specific than early ‘70s, 6’ single fin? Who shaped it? Dimensions? Rail qualities? Any info would be GREATLY appreciated. Mike 
I do not know about that board in particular, but it looks quite a bit like the glass slipper model that Donald Takayama is putting out. My buddy got a 5’10" and I am riding a 6’8", both boards are a blast to ride. This may lead back to some of the fin questions I posted in the past. I am using a 7.5" raked out fin with flex in the tip on the 6’8" and mu friend is using a super stiff 7" Wingnut cutaway. Buth have different characyteristics, but perform quite well depending on what you expect and how you ride.
The board was shaped by Michael Peterson(the guy in the photos) He was into some pretty diffrent boards. He lived with me on the North Shore one winter and shaped with me in our converted carport. A lot of the boards only he could ride. Some of his boards for Sunset were actually pretty damn good though! aloha
The board was shaped by Michael Peterson(the guy in the photos) He was > into some pretty diffrent boards. He lived with me on the North Shore one > winter and shaped with me in our converted carport. A lot of the boards > only he could ride. Some of his boards for Sunset were actually pretty > damn good though!>>> aloha Tom, Might your last name be Parrish? DT
Tom,>>> Might your last name be Parrish?>>> DT If it is, it would be nice to revisit some of your pink PT Sunset guns! Much Respect.
The board was shaped by Michael Peterson(the guy in the photos) He was > into some pretty diffrent boards. He lived with me on the North Shore one > winter and shaped with me in our converted carport. A lot of the boards > only he could ride. Some of his boards for Sunset were actually pretty > damn good though!>>> aloha Tom, Any ideas about the dimensions? Rails? Bottom?
Tom,>>> Any ideas about the dimensions? Rails? Bottom? No ideas about the rails. But you guys can see how outline affects the positioning of the front foot. Not only do fins determine the stance, so does the outline. You can see that his front foot is at or slighlty behind the break point or the center. If he were to get to far back he would sink it or banana peal it out. Looks like a nice stout little desing that trims niceley when positioned properly. Looks like a good planing board with not too much rocker. Trimming speedster with the ability for a hard push spin 360. Probably doesn’t have much rail tuck–to keep some rail control, but then it looks pretty loose–has to be a single fin. If anyone gets any definate details please post them. How about someone here duplicating it? Herb, Tom Sterne…myself if I get the guts…DEEB???
How about someone here duplicating it? Steve, That’s my intention. Yeehaw!
How about someone here duplicating it?>>> Steve,>>> That’s my intention. Yeehaw! How about Tyler at KKL scaning in the photo and doing calcilus magic–his Da is a Calc teacher!! And then duplicating it!! Woo hoo, yee haw!! Ridem Cowboy!! Actually the board looks like a blank plug!!! Let’s see, the 6’4"R, maybe Rusty can shape one from start to finish withj a planer!!! Look at it, the damn thing is a blank. Deeb, buy the blank and glass it with UV resin, put a C-5 configuration, you won’t even have to make a lam. in a p-rinter you can just leave the Clark Foam spay on logo! We are talking yeee haw from those of you who are not from California…or Hawaii. SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHAKA!!!
Deeb, buy the blank and > glass it with UV resin, put a C-5 configuration, you won’t even have to > make a lam. in a p-rinter you can just leave the Clark Foam spay on logo! > We are talking yeee haw from those of you who are not from California…or > Hawaii. SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHAKA!!! HAYLE YEH! LIKE I SED, AZ LAWNG AZ IT FLOTES! I especially like the logo idea.[smile]>
Deeb, buy the blank and>>> HAYLE YEH! LIKE I SED, AZ LAWNG AZ IT FLOTES! I especially like the logo > idea.[smile]> As the doctor has a rubber glove on and the patient is laying on his side in the fetal position, “Johnny, have you been eating your bran muffins?..as long as it floats.” Flush…there is a floater!!!
I was flipping through an Australian shortboard magazine about a month ago and came across an article about two Michael Peterson limited edition models that are in production. One of the boards was a gunny, beak-nose shape and the other was a replica of the board he rode in “Morning of the Earth” (The same board posted in your message). Both boards were single-fin, with old-school glass and color jobs. The price was somewhere in the $1000 range. I don’t remeber if MP shaped them himself but they are signed and numbered. The article gave a phone # and e-mail address to contact in order to get more info on the boards. I was stupid enough not to write them down (Sorry!). There was a picture of both boards. The “Morning of the Earth” model looked similar to the pic posted in your original message. From what I could tell, the tail seemed a bit narrower and the nose had a little more point to it. The foil also looked to be modernized. I appologize for not being able to recall the name of the magazine. I think there was a picture of some guy riding a Lis fish on the cover. The book “Nat’s Nat and That’s That” also has a photo of the board that you posted. I think Nat mentions something about MP and his boards. Whoever’s interested may want to try calling Hawaiian Island Creations at Ala Moana in Hawaii. That’s where I saw the magazine. They were sold out the last time I checked, but you may be able to get the name of the mag from them. Hope this helps.
Just got back from a surf trip and noticed so much interest in the Michael Peterson Boards. As I said before not many people besides Michael were able to ride those boards. For the time they were pretty radical, but trust me, we’ve moved past that. If you had one now you’d ride it then burn it! Michael was a HUGE talent but he no longer shapes or surfs. The boards being built today with his name on them are I’m sure a far cry from what he was shaping. I spent a lot of time surfing with Michael and I assure you, he could fricking RIP on ANYTHING!! aloha, tom
If anyone gets any definate details please post them.>>> How about someone here duplicating it? Herb, Tom Sterne…myself if I > get the guts…DEEB??? Great comments. I would add, “how do you ride this board?” Verrrry carefully. Not only do fins and outline affect performance but volume as well. This board looks like a cork and is probably as bouyant and difficult to steer as one too. (Pre-cursor to standup sponging?) Looking at it from an evolutionary perspective you can see why multiple fins and just a little more drawn out outline came into being. The rider has to keep his center of gravity really low, even when trimming. I would say radical turns on this board were out of the question, but I bet it was fast! You can almost see this board turning into a twin fin fish before your very eyes. By the way, great flick, “Morning of the Earth,” you can really see the shortboard as the cradle of modern surfing civilization being born.
Tom, thanks for the input – its great to hear first hand from someone who knows of MP so well. I have a couple of questions about some of your comments I’m sure the readers (or at least I) would love to know. You wrote: > Michael was a HUGE talent but he no longer shapes or surfs. What’s the story there? You also wrote: >the boards being built today with his name on them are I’m sure a far cry from > what he was shaping. In what way? Thanks for your input on this thread. This is great stuff. Mike
Mike, Mick doesn’t surf anymore. He ran into some mental issues awhile back. He’s over surfing. I believe that he wanted to quit while he was on top. I dont think Mick could handle the fact that he was aging and that there was a new generation comming up with new boards(thrusters) that had a potential of progressing past him and his boards. I think he realized that his finely honed style wouldn’t be compatable with modern equipment. As far as his boards being built today, I feel the guys that will shape them will BASICALLY do some of the design aspects correctly, but even if Mick was standing right next to the shaper as he shaped it, I still don’t think it would be the same as the boards he was shaping in the early 70’s. Even if Mick shaped it himself it would probably be a design based on some newer ideas. If anyone had a handle on the old boards it would be Mick’s brother Tommy. I don’t know if he would be into attempting to revive designs from an era that we all enjoyed but moved past. He would be THE man for the project, though. aloha