I wanted to share a board a found under a house in Encinitas, CA about 1975. I bought it from the original owner for $25. There is nothing featherlight about it.
It’s very hard to see but looks like .14310.
Wow, looks to be in great shape. Nice board. I wish we took care of the old ones stuffed behind the house rotting away and only ridden during the summer. Mike
My ex father inlaw left it in the sun and burnt the nose on the bottom (the dark circle) when I was skiing in Park City for the winter. I have been surfing it on and off for 30 years. Top turns on a dime, nose rides great, better in waist to head high, but too much rocker for large waves.
Doug,
Would you post a photo of the number on the board, or post what the number is, along with any symbols, dots, or letters that are part of the number sequence. I may have shaped the board. The number tells the story.
Doug,
Your board was shaped by Fred (Buzzy) Smole. Buzzy always put a dot in front, and behind the number. Boards that I shaped had the letter T as the last character in the number sequence.
Bill, it looks like .14310. I posted the photo along with the label. I bought it the fall of 1975 from a police officer in Escondido. I was 19 and his brother was a grower on my route. I use to supply seed and compost to jojoba growers all over SD county. I also bought an 8’6" Morey Pope round pin with the same fin but it didn’t work as well, so I took out the fin in case this one broke, so I have two fins. Did you shape it or know who did?
Got it, always thought it was state of the art when it was shaped. Any idea what year?
Doug,
My suspicion is that the board was shaped in 1967 or early to mid 1968. By 1968 the ‘‘mini board’’ (boards under 9’ 0’‘) revolution had begun, and board size began to drop rapidly into the sub 8’ range. The original fin is quite valuable in its’ own right. The board has a collector value in the $2,000.00 range. More, to the right collector.
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Doug,
My suspicion is that the board was shaped in 1967 or early to mid 1968. By 1968 the ‘‘mini board’’ (boards under 9’ 0’‘) revolution had begun, and board size began to drop rapidly into the sub 8’ range. The original fin is quite valuable in its’ own right. The board has a collector value in the $2,000.00 range. More, to the right collector.
Bill,
Andy Anderson (Stoked-n-Board) doesn’t list a “Featherlight”, but does show a “Mike Doyle Pointed Tail” in 1968 with redwood & colored foam stringer construction (albeit full length) and nearly the same logo, the only difference being that the yellow background surfboard is full length and protrudes above, as well as below the Cardiff logo. The s/n given would actually fall into the range Andy gives for the later Superlight (January 1968 - September 1969). Is this board possibly a transition between those series?
-Samiam
Not likely that it’s a ‘‘transition’’ board, but may well have been shaped for one of the guys at the factory. The modified decal, (Mike Doyle
being cut off), would seem to indicate that. It was not uncommon for the guys to modify decals, and use multiple decals. The board appears to be a custom order.
Nice Board !
Bill,
I have a “60’s” Hansen. It’s a 50/50 that I saved from a dumpster in the late 70’s & made my own fin for it and I still ride it today…
It is a 9’5" with a lime Green deck from the middle to the nose with a black pinline around the color only .
Number. ~19366~
Do you Know anything about this board ?
Thanks,
The board was shaped by Richard Templin. Richard left Hansen in 1969, as I did, when I formed the Surf Systems company that year.
Richard always used the ~ symbol on each side of the number. It was for quality control, so that Don could tell who the shaper was, without going to the paperwork.
Bill,
Thanks for the info !!!
Jon,
Your board is nearly identical to one that I posted here a couple of months ago. It has the decal with the feather but is actually called a superlight. The lettering is in red and is nearly faded away. That is probably what happened to your lettering. It is a great riding board. In fact I had mine out just last weekend. I had to take out the original fin because it was starting to deteriorate. I replaced it with a 9.5" fiberglass greenough type fin and it rides even better that before.
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Doug,
My suspicion is that the board was shaped in 1967 or early to mid 1968. By 1968 the ‘‘mini board’’ (boards under 9’ 0’‘) revolution had begun, and board size began to drop rapidly into the sub 8’ range. The original fin is quite valuable in its’ own right. The board has a collector value in the $2,000.00 range. More, to the right collector.
Bill, I don’t think I would sell it. I got away from surfing and when I started surfing again it was the only board I had left. Surfed it exclusively for a couple of years, 1990-1992. I love the 3/4 stringer. It allows the board to flex when you are in the nose. Was that a custom thing or something Don was using on his featherlight’s?
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Nice Board !
Bill,
I have a “60’s” Hansen. It’s a 50/50 that I saved from a dumpster in the late 70’s & made my own fin for it and I still ride it today…
It is a 9’5" with a lime Green deck from the middle to the nose with a black pinline around the color only .
Number. ~19366~
Do you Know anything about this board ?
Thanks,
Thanks Jon, can you post a photo of your board? Interested in your fin. I took my extra fin and sanded it down to remove the oxidation and plan to try it. It looks great.
Doug,
The 3/4 length stringer was a standard feature of the model, and could be custom ordered on other boards also.
Here’s the photos of 3GZ (Jon’s) Hansen 5050 with homemade fin.
I have the exact same board. Hansen featherlight 3/4 stringer with the pintail. My top is less aged than these photos. But my edges of the nose have a couple of patches. Bottom is green. Serial number 16944T Meaning Mr. Bill Thrailkill must have shaped mine. I’ll post a photo soon. Nice to meet you guys. I’m Robby from Port Neches, Tx.
Aloha Robbie,
It amazes me how many of those older boards, that I shaped, are still around. Hell, I’m amazed I’m still around! Do you still surf the board?
Wanted to post my feather light Hansen, got it somewhat recently and cleaned up some old paint. The numbers are pretty hard to read since it looks like it’s been glassed over. Someone decided to strengthen the deck by putting two pieces of wood and glassing them in. Whole bottom has been hot coated over with color and the fin is set. Love to know what year these were made around.
Thanks,
Thomas
