So i was I picked up a 3'-10" Dextra Paipo at the flea market last weekend. Its in decent shape and I got it for not very much at all. I have read a few things about Dextra in the forums and understand they were not very high end and in some cases just plain bad, evidenced by the crooked logo lam on my board bit uneven rails. The onle thing that i can't find is any history on the company and shapers. I have seen the logo and heard the name growing up but i can't seem to locate any background information on the company. They seemed to have produced quite a few of these paipo's back in the 60's. Any responses would be greatly appreciated. I attached a few photos of the board below.
From my understanding Dextra was a large pop out company in the 60’s and continued into the mid 70’s. I had a sea king paipo which looked very similar to the dextra you have. Foam pop’d out of the model, then it was glassed with what looked like boat fiberglass. Still a cool score! Get out and ride it!
Interesting. Seemed to have produced quite a bit of boards then. Thanks for the knowledge. Yeah it needs a bit of work on the nose then should be ready to try. My son is more excited than I am to try it out.
Trying to work out who shaped these belly boards from the 60s is a bit like finding out the paternity of Borgia family members. From what I have found, companies made bellyboadsboards and then sold them to other companies who then sold them under their own labels. I’m not saying Dextra did this, but finding out who owned and shaped for these companies is not easy. You might find these links of interest -
thanks for the links. i did see the one on the swaylocks site. the brochure is really interesting. i guess selling boards at sears isn't to far off from selling them at costco now. thanks
thanks for the link to those old adds. i always love seeing those. looks like Dextra was owned bya company called Accurate Systems Inc. in Costa Mesa. One step closer. thanks agian.
I have never been on that section of the Surfing Heritage Website. Didn't know it existed. There is jsut a ton of history in there. Thanks for the links. I might have to take a look at public records. thanks again for the links. I already started looking up some other board companies i have been trying to find information on
My Father started and owned Accurate Systems, Costa Mesa, CA. He built Dextra boards among many other things: tsunami buoys & moorings for the military, sail boats and the like, pretty much most anything made out of foam at the time. He built boards for most of the ‘names’ (Velzy etc) via a licensing agreement (some of which are in museums in HI and CA).
Dextra was his brand which he marketed and sold to most all major department stores (including Macy’s and Gimbles in NYC which was unheard of in the day) and anyone intersted. He thought ‘outside the box’ having Robinsons here in Newport, CA use in their men’s sport ware dept as display, Sears in Chicago, and all across the nation. Able to sell mostly by his ingeniouse use of resort and military… His friend Cocran Chase was the man behind the marketing creating the decals, logos & the first psychedelic ad in Surfer magazine (funny story about that). That ad created such a buz, the agency became one of the largest in the nation!
Dad used to travel for months going to each sports trade show across the nation, and at the end of the tour, exchanging his samples for some fun new toys to bring home (mini bikes, boats, foldable bikes etc etc etc)
The stories of his ventures are plentiful; how he locked up HI, TX and many vacation beaches surf rental shops, contracting with the military for troops R&R. Many days there were HUGE shipping containers in back of the Costa Mesa building, full of surfboards being sent to military bases all over the world, for our troops to enjoy for R&R. (see China Beach TV show from 90’s, Dextra is the board they are riding / using as props). all those who enjoyed the boards while at the beach, went home to land locked areas, and could still find a Dextra board to buy and enjoy.
Dad is now 82 and living back here in So Cal. Doesn’t talk much of those days anymore, but surely if you send questions, I will be happy to ask and would love to hear the answers and stories.
Glad to see the interest in what truly was the beginning of an era.
Any clue what year that ad came out? Are you sure it was in Surfer Mag and not “Surfing” ? Memory tells me that Surfer Mag didn’t run a whole lot of Dextra ads, but Surfing (aka International Surfing) did.
I searched my mostly complete listing of USA surfing magazines covering 1960-1979 with paipo-related advertisements, articles, etc. for references to Dextra.
International Surfing (in the 1970s was renamed Surfing Magazine)