I recently bought a 10ft Kahuna surfboard from a guy in Cape Elizabeth,Maine. He told me he bought it new in Portland in the late 60s or early 70s.
He didnt have much more than that for the history of the board. The stringer has 10 written on the top and 10’0" written on the bottom behind the fin.
Not sure if its the original fin but i couldnt find much info about these boards online. Very little rocker with thick square ish rails. Thanks for the help
The fin is original. The shape of it, is not. Originally a D fin, it has had the trailing edge modified, to a more ‘‘modern’’ shape. Frankly, it looks more mid 60’s, than late 60’s. Good condition, considering the age.
Made in Cranston, RI. 1965-66. A real low grade popout of the period. Fin is probably original, as many popout companies simply modified existing stock to look like the “speed fins” of the day.
Note that the fake tailblock bisects the stringer, but the stringer is still visible right to the end.The most amazing thing about this board is the lack of tanning. They used cheap foam and cheap resin for these. They turned brown in one Summer. I hope you didn’t pay more than $50 for it.
The fin in question has an very vertical leading edge, a bit odd actually - not similar to ‘da Cat’ fin IMO, which has a more raked leading edge.
I’d defer to Bill (Thrailkill). The flat foil speed fin is very believable as a “reshape” as was often what we did in questing for higher performance and maneuverability.
The tailblock kinda threw me off… obviously because the t band continued on past the normal chop where tailblocks get added.
I’d never heard of the label, but it reminded me of West Coast popouts like “Tiki”, “Ten Toes” and “Duke Kahanamoku”… oh, and also “Shark”.
I get regular emails from the Surfing Heritage Museum in Southern Cali asking me if I have ever heard of this label or that… there are literally THOUSANDS of them… sometimes I can steer them into filling gaps they are looking for, but more often than not, it was just some guy that drew up a label, announced himself “in business” for a year or two, then was never heard of again.
Peace.
P.S. The fin outline looks like a knock off of the Yater “Dork” fin of the 60’s.
Very true. Around that time there were three or four popout labels being sold in RI. Mostly done by non surfing businessmen trying to cash in on the surf craze. Goldie’s was another.
Anyone could buy a popout blank from Foss Foam, and have some kid glass it and stick a fin on. Many wound up in rental stock at beach concessions.
PS: Do you know a guy named Lorenzo?
Thanks for the help, the guy I bought it from surfed it maybe 4 or 5 times and its been in storage ever since. I’ve already surfed it a couple small days and its a pretty fun log. I figured it was just an old pop out. No leash plug which I love and I will surf it on a bigger day soon to see how it does. I also am not sure if I know Lorenzo, sounds familiar but I’m terrible with names. Thanks again everyone for the replies, pray for waves
I remember going into Ron Jon surf shop when it wasa small block building and a old trailer in a dirt lot on Long Beach Island. this would have been 1963 I was 12 years old . They had a Shark Surfboard and Kahanamoku boards. and a couple of other boards. Those were the first real Boards. At least they were to a 12 year old Gram Kook. My Father rented a Board and spent the day wiping out pearl diving and nearly drowning after getting hit in the head. But I was stoked couldn’t wait to get out there again.
