Found this on its way to the trash while walking on the beach last winter. I intend to repair and surf the board and would welcome any comments on its origin.
I noticed that despite the cosmetic lines, it does not have a stringer. There is no leash plug and the side-fin boxes must have been added years after the board was shaped. I have no idea how to get a large fin in the box as the fin system looks to be very much obsolete. Thanks in advance.
Photo?
Photo?
Yeah, WTF?
Sorry; don’t know how to post photos (actually tried to delete the entire post). Here is a link to a few shots though:
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/spo/875453828.html
Thanks.
Dewey really need to answer this?
Its just too hard!
Is it really a Dewey Weber though? I have never seen any of his boards with this particular logo. And if it is what is the approximate year?
dig you google ‘weber surfboards’, how many are there?
as to age, my guess is nowhere expert, however, through
the mid 70’s is a good guess.
Is it worth anything?
well Dewey didnt shape it, he employed a lot of raw
young talent or untalent back then. A walk through his
shop back then showed alot of crude work assoc. with his
label. I dont know the particulars, but my guess back then
was he was just cruizing or ‘just surviving’ on his name
and hiring inexperienced local kids to do shaping for his shop.Although my perceptions could be askew from reality.
Dewey Weber board. Box is circa 1969/1970, no tools or screws, had ‘‘locking lugs’’ to hold the fin in. That fin system was short lived. The FU 10 1/2 inch box blew all the ‘‘contenders’’ away! Depending on the side boxes, they may be original. Weber used to buy my ‘‘Presslock’’ fin system, for ‘‘tri-fin’’ application. Any photos available of the boxes?
I took another look at the photos. The side box in the photo IS ORIGINAL TO THE BOARD. It is the PressLock system I described. I have some of the fins for that box, from the period. I believe the center fin is also still available.
looks like the Guidance Fin System used around 69-71 by weber, con and a few others
Tomp,
You are correct. I couldn’t remember the name of the system, but that’s it! It was also the pre-leash time frame, that’s why there is no leash cup. That is also why you see some boards of that period with a hole drilled in the fin.
Many thanks for the replies. It’s great to receive input from people with so much knowledge and experience with surfboards.
I’m sure it will surf like a dog but I’m looking forward to restoring the board and getting it back into the water.
It’s hard to see exactly what the fin box looks like in those pics. If it is a Guidance box (dovetail slot) it would date right around 1970 to 1972. The Guidance system was very short-lived. Mostly, due to the fact that the fin would pop out if bumped from the back. As far as stringers go, it was pretty common to have what’s known as a glue line in place of an actual wood stringer. The purpose being weight savings. Typically, a piece of colored paper was glued up where a stringer would normally be placed.
While the logo may seem unusual, Weber used a lot of different designs during the 70s, pretty much abandoning his classic, 60s version.
Many can be found at:
http://www.surfcrazy.com/stanleys/surflogosd.html
For instance, this one with the same type face:
the blank looks like a clark “quick shape” I worked for Bay cities glassing in the early 70’s one of my jobs was gluing stingers.
mostly redwood but we did have colored foam stringers, thats what it appears to be. Grant Reynolds had clark deliver blanks that were already cut and we glued them using big rubber bands. Dewy had a small work shop a few bays up from Bay cities. Bing was around the corner on the hill Phil Becker had his place close by as well. I have an idea who shaped it but not for sure about his name… I just love these walks down memory lane!
Bsea
Great stuff! I’m very motivated to get this board water tight and back into the water. Anyone know where I could find a center fin for this system?
Anyone know where I could find a center fin for this system?
Good luck with that one. Can’t be too many of those around. They weren’t used by a lot of manufacturers, and not for very long, either. You’d have better luck if it was a WAVESET, and those are tough to come by except for the pricey ‘repros’.
Anyway, you need to figure out exactly which fin system it is. There were three diferent outfits making a ‘dovetail’ style box around that time. I think it’s a safe bet that you have a Guidance, because I had a Weber in 1970 and it was a Guidance fin box. Your photos don’t show the box all that well (double entendre?). Anyway, look at this for comaprison:
Well, sometimes I just dont get why some people get
all excited about some of these old single fins.
P.O.S. in my opinion. Yet I learned to surf and cut
my teeth on these.
Now a twin fin fish thats a different story.
Much more useful board.I abandoned those around 84’, much later than most.
However, I’m in the never going back crowd, precisely
because I’ve already been there.
Different strokes for different folks
Wow - nice advert! I think that is the exact box so I’m probably SOL on that point.
Otis - I totally agree the board is a dog (my current preference is a Hess shortboard or, if it’s really hollow, a thinned out Xanadu). What excites me, however, is the idea of taking a board that was “given up on” and consigned to the dump and putting a little time into it and getting it back into some waves. Sounds silly I guess but it gets me stoked. The board’s about 40 years old; it deserves a few more good waves.
Those Guidance Systems fins show up on eBay every now and then. You might have to wait a few months. Or you could try one of the Longboard Collector Club swap meets. There is a meet October 25 in Seal Beach and another on December 6 at Doheny. The Doheny meet is usually the largest of the year.
Or you can use a router to remove the box, fill in the hole with foam, and start over. If you want to maintain the board as original and allow it to be used with a Guidance fin in the future, you could try leaving the box in place and filling the cavity with pour foam. Then glass a fin on top of the old box.
One final option is to push a standard Fins Unlimited style box fin into the Guidance box. The Guidance box is 3/8" wide so a modern fin fits perfectly. Then you could glass it in place. Or if you are more creative, try to come up with a wedging system to keep the fin from falling out. You might have to re-locate the roll pin or maybe use just a little resin. Then you could ride the board and still have the option of removing the fin.