I need some help finding the history of a board that was given to me from my stepdads dad. My dad thinks (said) it was made for braniff airline when they opened up to Hawaii. If any one could help I would appreciate it.
Looks good from here! How long and wide is it? Sounds like its been in the family for awhile, is there a story how your stepdad’s dad ended up with it?
Any more pictures? Got a picture of the bottom side?
Any other writing anywhere on the board at all? pencil writing on or near the stringer?
Can’t really tell from the one pic, if it was actually made for surfing, or just a decorative promotional item, like the “surfboards” on the walls of Trader Joe’s. My guess is it was just a decorative promotional, never intended for actual use, but still of value to a collector of surf culture advertising memorabilia, as well as Braniff / Aloha memorabilia, which from a cursory look at ebay, is a collecting category unto itself.
You might try to research Braniff advertising to see if they used the surfboard in their ads - I would think that would increase the value, if you had the old ads to go with the surfboard. Again, quick google search says Braniff began flying to Hawaii late 1960’s, so I’m guessing the surfboard was from that time period. Not sure the connection between Braniff and Aloha, did Braniff purchase Aloha Airlines? Or maybe they just contracted with them? Someone that worked there would know. If Aloha Airlines is a completely separate entity, then the board is of interest to Aloha Airlines collectors as well.
Curious about dimensions - is it 9’ long? 7’? looks like a longboard (9’) from here, but can’t really tell.
I rode a near identical shape, 7’ 10’’ x 21’ single fin’ in Calif. and Hawaii, up to 15’ @ Sunset with comfort. It looks very ridable to me. Time period 1969 to 1975.
That outline looks typical for 1969-70. A little net research says that Braniff began service to HI in '69.
They had previously been doing flights to HI under a military contract, bringing personnel to and from SE Asia.
the tail outline almost has
a john mobley look
to the template’s backline
kinda like beaver damerel’s
board when the swing back
from hyper narrow
to 21’'wide started in late 69…
…ambrose…
mobley made cool boards
beyond the sound of the
diff or brewer or dotson
drum beat…
Hey bill the outline looks good to me too, the difference in those decorative boards is in the rocker and the glassing, also they often have no fin and no fin box, since they are made to mount on wall, which is why I asked to see bottom view. The template shape looks very surfable!
Dick Mobley, perhaps?
jflop,
Dick Mobley, (RIP) was a SoCal surfer/boardbuilder.
what is that inside the fin box?
There is a screw at both ends to screw the fin in with
Dirt.
It’s a WAVESET box. That’s for sure.
So, looks like its a surfable board - that was never ridden - that’s a cool find. Kind of a collectible item from several different angles, does anyone know who might have made the board?
I have been told there is another one out there that says “Braniff” in green.
Do you have a fin that went with it? Don’t know if you’re thinking of selling, but if you are, the more info you can gather, the better. Can you talk to anyone who worked there at that time? Very cool board.
Not so sure about that. Look at the first pic and note the discoloration on the deck, near the tail. Looks like water damage stains, to me.
north shore john mobley
shaped for pacific surfboards
lived in a treehouse…
…ambrose…
went west to new guinea
goes the story
where is he today?..
Hey Sammy yes I did see that, and I’m not sure either, because there aren’t many pics and there’s a lot you can’t see, but I figured that could be from being stored or displayed outdoors. It just didn’t look like there were any of the typical dings and dents you would see on a board that had been ridden. Not sure if the original poster is a surfer, but if not then I think at some point it would be beneficial to take the board to someone who does surf, and who has some knowledge of surfboard history, and get their take on the board. Would be interesting to hear what someone like Bird Huffman might have to say about it.