Saw this the other day online. A guy bought an old Hobie in a shop in NorCal a while back. He figured it was some old beater that somebody had covered up with a layer of blue pigmented resin. I guess his curiosity finally got to him and he decided to see what was underneath the added layer.
This is what he discovered.
That is a very distinctive appearing board. Why else give it the ‘‘Easter Egg’’ treatment?
I know, Bill. Looks to have at least six Hobie lams and the white pigment was original. Does not look like it was covered due to extreme damage. Could have been stolen a long time ago.
Whole thing seems a little fishy to me. Even the Butch VanArtsdalen’s Personal Board inscription. Hynson would know.
Aloha Mako,
I’m sure it’s the real deal. Using a pastel full coverup, is a smart way to hide a stolen board, in plain sight. Looks like a normal Hobie, not a one off team board, or special order. At WindanSea, in the late '50’s and into the '60’s, ‘‘own personal’’ boards of notable surfers, commnded a higher price in the used board market. Al Nelson, Diff, and other ‘‘regulars’’ sold ‘‘own personal’’ surfboards, routinely in that time frame.
All of the early Hobie foam blanks were pigmented. They were done in a solid pastel pigment. Created by adding a darker pigment to white which resulted in a pastel or “Easter Egg” effect. The early foam pours were brown, streaky etc. Ovet the years I have owned two. One with “Mylar” logo. Go ahead. You’re thinking it. Ask me how I know all this. Lowel
How do you know all this?
Hobie told me the whole story on the early foam boards that he and Grubby Clark did. There were a few Hobies on display at a Sano event back in the late 90’s. Hobie was looking them over (my Mylar lam included).he looked closely at a few and commented on them. It was pretty low key. Lowel
A friend of mine sent me pics of one of the Hobie Easter egg boards a few years ago. It so happens that his wife’s aunt bought a Hobie around 1958 and it was one of those. Pastel blue, solid pigment job. He had sent me the pics to get advice on a restoration because they were going to have it restored and surprise the aunt on her birthday. I have posted pics of that same board here on Swaylocks. It may have been about 8 years ago.
All that aside, the board in my original pics has nothing to do with the Easter egg batch. It was re-pigmented for reasons unknown.
My reason for posting the pics was to see if anyone could verify that it is indeed a Hynson shape. In any case, the current owner was told to contact Hynson. That would solve some of the mystery, for sure.
Al Nelson, Diff, and other ‘‘regulars’’ sold ‘‘own personal’’ surfboards, routinely in that time frame.
Nice to know…
Still struck me a bit strange
I mean you really would not want to be caught with a stolen board
extremely bad luck if is was Butch’s.
Gone now but still well respected at my house…
Yes Michael Hynson could and would tell you . If he can remember . There’s an age their where a person can remember whether or not he tools his mess this AM, had a BM or wiped his Ass. Of course he would say he shaped it. When you Boyz start speculating; you really get out there.
Speculating?
It has Hynson’s name on the stringer, so no one is “speculating”.
But, I guess when some people age their eyes begin to fail.
