I have had this board for the last few years and ride it every now and then. I am not sure if it is a original or a remake. I want to find out more about it. What can you tell me about it. Its a 9’6" and is a single fin.
i can tell you that it would look very nice under my feet
maybe early 1968?
Uhmmmm - the shape is the shape, the condition is pretty good, but the key here would be the fin-finbox. The originals often had ( if I remember right) a non-adjustable long-base Wave-set box with ( usually ) a Lexan or nylon fin, while newer ones have the Bahne/Fins Unlimited box which is in use to this day.
If it's the former, it's an original but the fins are long since extinct - be nice to it.
Oh, and I gotta ask - isn't that leash attachment kinda uncomfortable where it is?
Hope that's of use
doc...
Not too familiar with longboard boxes. Figuring this looks pretty adjustable. As far as the leash attachment goes…My brother rode the board before I owned it and he didn’t feel like buying a longboard leash so he mounted that 3M mount in the middle so he could ride it with no leash. It doesnt get in the way too much. More when you are waiting for waves the leash will get caught up around my feet or around the back of the board. For the most part now I am leash less. I would remove it but for that occasional time I am teaching a friend to surf it is nice to have.So you are saying I wont be able to find a replacement fin?
Okay, that's the old style box and it's an original fin and thus an original board, not a repro. Good.... but definitely not the original fin screws, those look like some marine stainless oval head screws with finishing washers...which isn't a bad idea, as the old plastic can get old and brittle and the bigger area under that stainless finishing washer can help. I would back out one of the screws a little, make sure it's a machine screw and not a self-tapping sheet metal screw or similar. If it's a sheet metal screw , you need to do something about that immediately.
Anyhow - You see how the plastic on that fin looks kinda weathered? That's Lexan, and originally it was a very pretty transparent blue ( see the photo on the classicbingsurfboards link below) before that ol' devil UV got to it. It's not as tough as it used to be, either. UV breaks down the long-chain molecules in the plastic.
Now, that fin was injection molded, and they haven't molded those for, oh, what's this, 2010? - call it around 40 years. A similar but shorter-base version was made ( my first board uses that setup - still have it) and was later remade for the original Windsurfers, but the short base won't fit in that box you have.
And firing up an injection molder for this, that means you'd have to have ( unless you're a machinist) an injection mold made, book time on a molding machine, etc. And, maybe, patent issues with whoever now holds the original patents on that fin system. You could buy a lot of boards for the cost of that little adventure in manufacturing.
There's a guy who makes replacement fins (http://www.oneworldsurf.com/Press4.htm) - recent word is they are pricy but definitely done right ( http://www.classicbingsurfboards.com/bingrestorations.html ) - I guess he must have sprung for the at-least-$10,000 US that that little injection molding project would have cost. There's maybe 50 cents worth of Lexan in the things, but there's serious tooling and molding costs - it ain't just the cost of the plastic.
I have, in the past, on less-than-wonderful boards, routed out the original box and replaced it with the newer-style Fins Unlimited box, but your board is way too nice to do that to. You'll want another fin.
Okay, given that, you may think you're screwed. Not so. I made a fin to fit that box some years ago ( for a Farrely Stringerless, come to think of it) and it's still going strong. A lot of work, but it turned out sweet and rugged enough to make it 6" into the rail of a lifeguard paddleboard one day when the owner was having a bit of a brain cramp. .
Get hold of some 1" thick HDPE plastic, the stuff they make industrial cutting boards out of, roughly 12" x 12" and if you're patient you can make a new fin. I say patient, because I found that routers and sanders are not the best thing to use, the plastic melts rather than cuts. It ain't pretty. And the job is mostly done with hand tools.
Alternative B, and prolly better, would be to do a search here on 'making fins' or something similar, Bert Burger did a very nice photo-essay on fin making that you could follow and make a really good fin for this board.
But- what's your time worth and how skilled are you? Might be that rather than a whole lot of hours, it's worth it to buy one of those nice repros - your call there.
Lastly, and having bored the bejeebers out of everybody else....that leash attachment whatsit. Just where is it when you're paddling? Well South of your waistline, I hope, as that could be a little painful on the old groinal unit...
hope that's of use
doc...
dude thats a beauty of a board but please whatever you do DONT WAX THE BOARD FIN DOWN OR SET THE BOARD ON THE FIN!!!! it will bend or possibly break it. if your looking to sell it go see bird @ southcoast windansea surfshop (if your in san diego) He is a board collector and won't screw you around or you could sell it to me!!!???
also please if you ride make sure it is water tight dont want a classic like that collecting water.
I am a few thousand miles from San Diego, I live in Delray Beach, Fl right now. But I was hoping to bring it will me over the summer for some Santa Barbara points. As far as the leach mount goes, yes it can get a little annoying but I am thin guy and right fairly far forward so most of the time I am barely missing it. Plus it is fairly low profile so when I am wearing a full suit I barely notice it. and yes I am going to be a lot more careful riding her from now on. Could anyone give me a ball park range of what this board would go for? It needs a few spots professionally repaired (a few small presure dings I have repaired with suncure to keep the water out) but all in all in pretty good condition? Also I have a 7’ 10" G&S Hot Curl that is also a 60s board, how much do those sell for? I am trying to keep my father from selling it, and to give it to me!!! And as much as I would love to sell it and probebly buy a new quiver with the profit I dont think I could ever see this board go. I have sold a couple boards in the past and I always regret it. Plus it is WAY too much fun to ride.
"Could anyone give me a ball park range of what this board would go for?"
Hi -
Frye boards are in high demand. Without seeing it in person, a ballpark guess might be in the neighborhood of $1250-$2000. I've seen more recent models get that and there might be a premium on a nice vintage model like yours(?)
Like Doc says... take a good look at the fin, finbox and the screws to see what's up on that. An aftermarket replacement fin is definitely a good idea. Keep the original in a safe place where the dog won't chew on it, etc.
You might post pics of the Hot Curl. In my opinion the longboards with the split/flared stringers are more desirable than the later transition models. At 7'10" yours is likely a transition model. Does it have a straight single stringer? Is there a flower band inlay under the glass?
I wouldn’t be teaching my buddies to surf on that either. Steve Mcqueen would not approve.
You are the first to get that one. Congrats. Well I dont like too, but some of my friends are REALLY hot, and it is hard to say no.
Hi Doc…great seeing you posting again. I have owned a few Skips. They don’t go vertical that well, but they are special anyway. Fast. Skip just shapes beautiful surfboards. Look how well that design holds up still. To the owner of that board. Ride it. Screw the collecting junk. Boards like that were made to be ridden not hung on some wall and gawked at. I have a collection of old shotguns. The guys at the skeet range with all their modern junk got really hacked when I got third place with a side by side made in 1945.
My first board was a G and S Hot Curl. I think it was 7’2’‘. Maybe 7’11’. It’s been awhile. Those things rode really well. Mine was super thin.
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Hi Doc....great seeing you posting again.
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And you too.
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I have owned a few Skips. They don't go vertical that well, but they are special anyway. Fast. Skip just shapes beautiful surfboards. Look how well that design holds up still.
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That they do. My only problem with 'em is I worked for the local Weber shop and our cross-town rivals were the local G&S shop.....until they folded and we got G&S.
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To the owner of that board. Ride it. Screw the collecting junk. Boards like that were made to be ridden not hung on some wall and gawked at.
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My thinking exactly: if you're gonna collect things you won't use, collect freakin' stamps. Have an older board, great. Maintain it, use it carefully. If it's an older board worth having, it's worth having because it's a board that works well. So....it oughtta be used.
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I have a collection of old shotguns. The guys at the skeet range with all their modern junk got really hacked when I got third place with a side by side made in 1945.
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(chuckling ) See, I started out with a clapped out Savage 311, and its successor was a CZ side by side of about 1970 vintage. Fits me, points amazingly well, yep, I'm with you there. No engraving, blued and some plain checkering where it's needed, splinter forend and while I was offshore my hunting partner found it, used, for a hundred bucks.
Though - I recently swapped a car stereo for a humpback Browning Sweet 16, and I like those too. The 16 gauge is out of fashion enough that I also like that. Mebbe the pheasant are in for a thrill next fall. Though...it has a Polychoke. You wouldn't happen to have a modified barrel for a Belgian Sweet 16 gathering dust, would you?
doc....
I do have some old Belgians, but no barrels alone. My two favorites are my model 21 Winchester 16 and LC Smith 16. I don’t mind the modern stuff either, but nothing shoots like some of those old one. I have always liked the sweet 16’s. I like it all, but to me the 16 is special. It’s funny how the gun business is almost worse than the surf Business. More needless junk sold to fanboys than many a business. I love it when they show up to the range all decked out in the latest gear. Kind of like that pool shooting glove they came out with a few years ago. You could always spot an easy take when they were wearing one of those. ha ha.
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I do have some old Belgians, but no barrels alone.
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Nah, that was just a wild hope... though if you run across anything...
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My two favorites are my model 21 Winchester 16 and LC Smith 16. I don't mind the modern stuff either, but nothing shoots like some of those old one. I have always liked the sweet 16's. I like it all, but to me the 16 is special.
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Argh...now I have shotgun envy...again. Drat!
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It's funny how the gun business is almost worse than the surf Business. More needless junk sold to fanboys than many a business. I love it when they show up to the range all decked out in the latest gear. Kind of like that pool shooting glove they came out with a few years ago. You could always spot an easy take when they were wearing one of those. ha ha.
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Heh- yep, they got taken once and they don't have a learning curve, it seems. Though those that are selling off ( or trying to) their Mega SUVs and hopping into efficient cars, the people that have to have the latest model smartphone, photography junkies....y'know, the list seems to go on forever.
Ah well...times like this, I'm glad I'm a kneelo. I'm supposed to be a flaky iconoclast...
doc...
one thing to look for on that board is skips signature. if the board has some penciled on wings with skip signature than it's way more valuable. otherwise it's probably ghost shaped and still a pretty sweet board. definatley take care of it. dont let dings leak but I'm with the other guys ride the hell out of it