The Clyde Beatty (and old Yater) shop in Santa Barbara will be closing 4-evah…
There’ll be a big sale this coming weekend (December 13th).
I told John, the shop manager, that I’d pass this along onto Swaylocks, and so if anyone’s interested, please contact the shop. 805 965 3180
AG
is clyde retiring or is business not there?
Bummer…my first custom board (snapped at “R” beach of all places on macking west swell…) was from Clyde’s shop and my first longboard was a beat old yater - though who knows where the nose came from…(it was an ugly replacement from about 10 inches from the nose up). What’s the deal? Market? Life? That’s like Ford or GM closing (oh wait, that’s what’s happening?!) SB without Yater and Beatty is like SC without O’neill, Haut, Pearson, yadayadayada…is nothing sacred anymore?
ps: if anyone has my yater, I’d pay top dollar to get it back. In desperation, upon arrival in SC, I trade/bartered it for an 8’6" Curran gun (no one I knew at Silver Strand even knew that anyone in the Curran clan ever shaped guns) …it was white with a whacky diagonal racing stripe, red/black tri-fin/thruster… so that I could ride big middle peak, big Scotts/3 mile, NBs,etc. Nowadays, am missing that old yater (9’6", single with replacement nose tband into single stringer…mushy glass around the tailblock, green 9" fin…) for all the good times it brought me in SB…close out bong water reef, summer sands knee slapper wind swell, end of finals chemically-enhanced night nude surfing, and all the good things that should be done on a vintage board like that in SB (let’s not forget the cross country jaunt with the side trip on the Dead tour…whereupon it was danced on at Alpine Valley and surfed in Maine)…Little did I know the emotional/recreational value of a beater vintage board when I traded it for that gun (which was rarely ridden and ultimatley reshaped into an abortion of a 6’2" thruster)…at the Seabright Surf Shop circa 1994ish…but shit, I was new in SC and needed a big wave board! Anyone got tips on it’s whereabouts?
Nope…of that vintage and similar reconstruction, but the nose stringer (on the original second nose) was a complete mismatch on mine…Thx for the follow up…
I was 19 yrs old when I went to work at Yaters at that shop, it didnt pay much But I LOVED IT!! , sad to see this happen. That building was built for Renny by the 8 Castagnola Brothers next door where he sold his Lobsters to their fish market. I met my wife there, and still worked there when I had my 1st kid, lots of great memories there for sure.
KP…right on…was hoping someone would know the story that Sonny C. likes to tell about offering Renny a rental IF he will design a surfboard factory for himself…it has NEVER been anything but a surfboard factory. That’s why CB took it…instead of cheaper space in Goleta…grandfathered into the system.
A lot of memories there…Bradbury as a sander, then shaper, Steve Dunn. Jon Marks…staying home due to “resin sickness”… Skydog, Lauren learning. Stu and Sue’s kid drinking catalyst…me…I think it was you or Greg Tice that told me it was "a big honor to be provided a Yater label for the shaped blank I was glassing for someone in my little shop.
When Yater didn’t have an airbrush set up, my brother painted them down the street at my place. Hynson was hiding out at Yater for a brief time, and we painted on the heavy outrigger stringers for his red fins. Falsawood.
Renny doing MPV on some boards.
Flys lined up along the sugar deck in the front window one morning sitting happily on one of the few sailboards they did.
Crazy Kirk, singing the praises of a design on any given day.
Pocket Rockets…Nose Specializers…and of course, Spoons. Light, medium or heavy step?
A C.I. logo under the lid of the toilet seat…!
A lotta history…too much history for here…a lifetime of memories.
kirk? wow man i didnt know a legend like you was a swaylockian! rad!
I was 19 yrs old when I went to work at Yaters at that shop, it didnt pay much But I LOVED IT!! , sad to see this happen. That building was built for Renny by the 8 Castagnola Brothers next door where he sold his Lobsters to their fish market. I met my wife there, and still worked there when I had my 1st kid, lots of great memories there for sure.
Great Story, and such a rich history!
People should realize that Yater has been out of that location for years, but is alive and well, producing some of the best boards of his 60 years of building surfboards. He has boards in production at the moment w/ most being at the Beach House in Santa Barbara.
Aloha to Sonny and George Castagnola for being so generous and hard working to this day, seven days a week!!!
A big thanks to Clyde for keeping it going for so long. So many great boards came out of that location it’s mind boggling! CB gave so many people opportunities when they where on the rebound. We did some really cool trades that were a major boost to my quivers over the years. Times have changed. The Underground lives!!!
Bruce, born and bread SB local!! … those were some good times to be a surfer anywhere but really nice in SB some great surfing and boards, Ronnie Wolf, Donnie Cambell, Scott Gall, Pugs, Wolfman, the Mosbey brothers Richie West the Talley brothers. Surf and Wear was the main shop < Bruce was manager back then. Rennys was more hardcore, small showroom up front boards built right in the back. Surfboards, T- shirt, Wax that was it. AAHHHH the sweet smell of Fish guts and resin! When I first worked there all 8 Castagnola Bros. were alive and their Mom lived across the street! musta been a 100 yrs old , only 2 left now George and Sonny. Small town vibe till Fes Parker moved in.
Bruce, born and bread SB local!! … those were some good times to be a surfer anywhere but really nice in SB some great surfing and boards, Ronnie Wolf, Donnie Cambell, Scott Gall, Pugs, Wolfman, the Mosbey brothers Richie West the Talley brothers. Surf and Wear was the main shop < Bruce was manager back then. Rennys was more hardcore, small showroom up front boards built right in the back. Surfboards, T- shirt, Wax that was it. AAHHHH the sweet smell of Fish guts and resin! When I first worked there all 8 Castagnola Bros. were alive and their Mom lived across the street! musta been a 100 yrs old , only 2 left now George and Sonny. Small town vibe till Fes Parker moved in.
It was wonderful to see John Bradbury back in there towards the end. Before he passed, I watched him dial into some soulfull boards and surf again. He was one stoked Hombre’!
what do they have for sale?
There’s an inventory of new and used boards - many types- and, possibly, some tools and supplies (but don’t quote me on that).
People should realize that Yater has been out of that location for years
Don’t know what made me think of this…back when it was still Yater a brother-in-law and his former boss set up a small business to make fiberglass helicopter landing pads that could be assembled on site. They “shared” the patent with the Navy and after a bit of wrangling they closed it down - don’t recall if other branches of armed services won out or what. I used to give him a ride to work once in a while if his VW was crapped out or somebody else in his family needed it. I don’t recall how much glass was used per pad segment but they went through resin by the barrel, maybe a couple every day. He said the guys at Yater finally had to come over and find out what the hell they were doing that used so much resin. You never know what people are up to in little industrial spaces.
I was 19 yrs old when I went to work at Yaters at that shop, it didnt pay much But I LOVED IT!! , sad to see this happen. That building was built for Renny by the 8 Castagnola Brothers next door where he sold his Lobsters to their fish market. I met my wife there, and still worked there when I had my 1st kid, lots of great memories there for sure.
photo : John Severson
Quote:
that’s a lot of bull!
that photo has so much going on it is hard to take it all in. the road sign behind kp is classy.
What the he!! is this glassed little thing with 5 finboxes?
thats just Pancho.
What the he!! is this glassed little thing with 5 finboxes?
One of Clyde Beatty’s many attributes was being an epoxy / styro advocate. This being one of the contract jobs, shaping and glassing these surfski designs. I was fortunate to get to see J.A. shape these from scratch. Many, many hours of unbillable R&D.
it makes me wonder who picked these up in the sale.
