My friends dad has had this board in his garage for a while now. Anyone know anything about it? Looks like a popout from the 70s, but I wasn’t around then so who knows…
I also realize that these angles probably aren’t the best for showing off a board. Whoops.
[img_assist|nid=1072584|title=Surfboards America Rocker 2|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=75|height=100][img_assist|nid=1072582|title=Surfboards America Rocker 1|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=75|height=100][img_assist|nid=1072581|title=Surfboards America Hull Bottom|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=75|height=100][img_assist|nid=1072580|title=Surfboards America Logo|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=75|height=100]
I only say popout because I don’t think its signed by any shaper. And it rides like shit (although I have no idea how to really ride a hull). I’ll take a picture of the box when i get a chance, I thought I had one but I guess not.
Trying really hard to remember his name. The last I heard he was in Vista Ca. A very good shaper who never got his dues. The guys from So. Orange and SD County will know. It’s right on the edge of my brain. I owned one in the late ‘80’s. He shape a friggin’ ton of boards. He was a machine. Lowel
I sold Surfboards America in The late 60's at my shop in NJ. They were made by a guy from Virgina Beach. That board might be by the same guy or it might be by someone else. I can only come up with a first name of Marty.
stoked-n-board lists two or three outfits with a similar name. One out of N Carolina, one from Va Beach, and another from Van Nuys, CA. The ones from Van Nuys were shaped by Cere Muscarella.
The label on this board doesn’t match any of that info, since it says Leucadia and Florida. Puzzling.
Slingerland---------------- He was shaping under Surfboards America or Surfboards USA in North San Diego Co. Late '80’s early '90’s. He could flat turn 'em out.
Mike Slingerland was shaping Surfboards Hawaii in the late 70’s and early 80’s at Surfings New Image. When SNI went out of business around 1984, Mark Livingston who was a silent owner of SNI kept the Surfboards Hawaii name and had Slingerland keep shaping the boards and getting them glassed at Moonlight. Around the same time Ed Clapp re-registerd the SH tradedmark which had expired and got the rights to the name. Mike had long time relationship with the Japanese, who sought out his shapes under SH name, and loved the autheticity of American made surfboards. In a response to the situaltion, Mike created the Surfboards USA brand as a logical next step from Surfboard Hawaii. A lot of his spectacular work shows up on the SurfySurfy blog. I don’t think there’s any connection with him and Surfboards America.
First off, that's a ''transition board'', not a hull. The early shortboards (68-70) were all over the place in design; largely because it was unexplored territory but also because of the mood of the times. Many of these boards would ''ride like shit'' today, we've learned a lot about what works since then....
The hull designs came from Greg Liddle taking some elements of some of the transition boards and developing them in the early 70s.
Does anyone think George Miller of Daytona Beach Surf Shop might have had anything to do with this Surfboards America label?
Good question. I’d guess that the label was the result of two guys or more on opposite coasts. If Miller was the Fla side, who could have been the Leucadia guy?
If crazysurfer1818 is the kid in that photo, then I can understand his confusion about popouts, signatures, and hulls. He’s pretty young and wouldn’t be aware of any of this stuff.
Atomized ------------- Thanks for clarifying that. Bought one of his thrusters in the late '80’s at Hamels in Mission. Good shaper. Outside of SD County no body up North seemed to have heard of him. Is he still at it??
Thats my friend, but we’re the same age. I understand a fair amount about surfboard design (or at least I tell myself I do), but as for surf history, I’m learning new things every day. And I guess I don’t know what a true hull is either. So much to learn!
Anyways, thanks for all the help. I’ll try to get a picture of the fin box ASAP, but I don’t know when the next time I’ll see this board is…
Great attitude! If you look at the hull threads on here, you can learn a lot about those boards and get an idea of what elements of the transition boards were carried into them. And also the things that were changed/developed.
A pic of the fin box will help date the board, but at this point I would bet it's from 69-70. Especially if the bottom is round in the front.
69-70 is what I’d guess. Fin boxes and systems changed so much in the transition years. Designs came and went quickly. Some companies lasted little more than a year. Then, outfits like Fins Unlimited revamped their entire design every year or two.
