I just visited Bird Huffman’s hut off Morena in SD, California for the first time and saw your two boards. Wow. The balsa gun has a template that evokes the entire history of surf boards. Stunning! I hope whoever bought it puts it in the water at least once before hanging her up on a wall somewhere (they got $uch a deal too!).
The rest of the shop is plenty inspiring too. Kinda like KP’s garage on steroids. Kudos! A must stop for anyone interested in the history of surfboards from the 1940’s on up. Socal and San Diego-centric but thats ok. And most of them are for sale too!
The balsa gun you saw is 9' 7'' x 21'' and is the only square tail balsa gun I've ever made. The board dates from 2001, and the stringer pattern is a copy of the stringers in my 1959 pintail balsa gun. I took the board to Bird to sell for me, a few months ago.. He said no, he wouldn't sell the board for me. When I asked him why not, he said ''Because I'm buying it for my personal collection.'' He also asked me to make a foam gun for him for his trip to Tavarua, for Cloudbreak. You probably saw that one too. It's by the front desk. You are right, he got a good price on the balsa gun. I've known him since he was 14 yrs old. Some 40 yrs now. Thank you for the kind words about the board. Always makes me feel good!
Check out the Simmons. I know it’s made the Sacred Craft tour but it is still a wonder to look at. It needs a Liddle Point Breaker next to it for comparison…No secrets there. You can fondle everything except the boards on the ceiling!
Be sure to buy something though. T’s, hoodies, Lis Fish…
I'm gonna make that trip. Heard it's like the Mecca of surfboard afficianado's Morena Blvd fame. Gonna stop in on that "low tech lab" place too. Gonna see if I can steal a few of their cutting edge secrets before they geeve eem up to the Chi-Coms. Ceviche y Cerveza anyone? Hd McDing
Yup, that's it alright - broomtail, double single fins, can't miss it, even disguised as a shirt rack LOL - I hope to find out what kind of pixie dust is in there before they put me out to pasture!
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Talk about hold with that lead fin added. I assume the stringers are chambered.
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The smaller ''lead fin'' has the primary function of reducing the possibility of fin stall during an abrubt change of direction. (AoA) The stringers are chambered. Western Red Cedar, and Basswood T-Band. Finished weight of the 9' 1'' x 21'' board, with fins, is 17 pounds.
I've been afraid to ask, BUT I've got to know, ''How do you know what a shark penis looks like?'' No, wait, don't tell me, it might be T M I ! I'm so conflicted!
