A poster on Longboard.net mentioned that the new DN noseriders being built fall far short of the originals from the 60's in every way (his opinion, of course). Not a knock on the fantastic range of boards under the Bing label that Matt C. has successfully managed.
The poster did mention Tyler Surfboards as the only contemporary label that even gets close to the 60's boards. Tyler boards are super expensive, however. I'd would add a Cooperfish to that category, too.
Any old school shapers with experience with these boards that you can still order from that would be under Tyler/Cooperfish price points? The more obscure the shaper but legit, the cooler that is to me. List of guys still shaping? Contact info? The poster mentioned someone called Bendeson? (not Mike Eaton). I suppose super dense blanks with wide stringers and 2 x 10oz Volan decks and bottoms has to be the minimum for materials just to get the weight right. But the shape has to be the most important factor, which was his point. Thanks.
Jimmy Lewis —Maui. Start with the right blank and rocker. You can't get a DN Noserider out of a stock blank. Jimmy used to get his blanks from Walker. I'm saying nothing further about rocker. Jimmy probably has a website, but can be reached thru Lenny Cappe at Hawaiian Islands Surf and Sport, Kahului, Maui. He also has a neice that reps his boards up in the Northwest. I don't know what the connection was between Jimmy, David and Bing in the old days, but Jimmy has been making that shape for years and they work great. If you want one from somebody who has the credentials, but is a little lesser known than Matt Calvani's CNC machine, go to the trouble to get one from Jimmy.
I agree with the Jim Phillips choice too. However I for whatever reasons don’t find his stories as entertaining as Barry does. Picked up a couple of good tips from Jim through the years and appreciate his craftmanship, and friendship. Head and shoulders the best guy on the hill.
Mr. Nuuhiwa (his dad) driving around in his 66 Datsun stationwagen was a sight to behold especially when he was advanced in age, and while he looked relatively frail behind the wheel, could pretty much kill you before you knew it, if he wanted to. Norm’s for breakfast, and order “puppy chow” as he would say.
When I worked for David in the early 70’s, I remember Mr. Nuuhiwa would bring the Datsun into the dealer every week just to have it checked out. He really loved and took care of that car. David had this big old white Jaguar, and he used to toss me the keys, and tell me to go pick him up.