“The board was some what based on the Marty Sugarman “Meth Model” with specific modifications.”
Is that the Marty Sugarman that was involved with The Doors??
Thanks Rich for posting!! It is great to hear from the guy who was there and done that. Back in the day, we used this series of pics to justify doing the same down here in the OC....Malibu shapers were guys we saw in the ads and "interviewed" anyone who showed up at the beach with one of these mysto boards underarm to try to delve out the magic. Shapes and lengths seemed to change on a weekly basis back then. When these pics came out in Surfer, I remember a crew working for about a week to try to dupicate this kick-out!!! LOL
Hi Rich, I recall your story. I was sanding some boards for you at that time and I remember waliking into the glassing area and watching MD doing his thing with the color on that particular board. Your recollections seemed pretty clear to me. Those were interesting times. Thanks for the story. Best TB
Regarding shapes changing quickly in the late 60's -- That was what gave Wilken Surfboards, and other small labels, a big edge over the big guys. We (at least in our minds) were able to come up with new ideas on a weekly or daily basis.
Without a big investment in an ad campaign for a particular model, we could advance a new design concept as rapidly as possible, where others could not afford to. Boards length in a few months would drop a foot or so at a time, and then another and another. My shaping stated out in the 9'-8" range in 1966 and ended up to the other extreme shaping and riding a 3"-11" twin fin fish in a little over 3 years.
In our shop, when we had a new idea that we couldn't wait to try out, Robbie Dick or I would shape a board in the morning, glass it in the afternoon, sand it early in the morning and be test riding it in less than 24 hours. Foam surfboard pioneer Dave Sweet, who's shop was just about 2 blocks away, could not keep up with the rapid advancement that took place during the "short board revolution" as fast as we and other small guys could.
Rich Wilken Photo: Robbie Dick with Glenn Kennedy in the background. Wilken Surfboards shaping room, Santa Monica, CA 1969
[img_assist|nid=1053198|title=Rich Wilken Photo: Robbie Dick with Glenn Kennedy in the background. Wilken Surfboards shaping room, Santa Monica, CA 1969|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=0|height=0]
edited (by Huck) to add
I don’t know if Marty hung out with the Doors, but he could have. I’ll have to ask him and get back to you on that later.
But it is possible, because Robby Kreiger and his twin brother Ronnie grew up in the Palisades and graduated from Pali High one year ahead of me in 1963. I was on the Pali High golf team with them, along with Jim Ganzer – Jimmy Z. I think Marty was either a half year ahead or behind my class at Pali.
R.W.
On another note, Ive heard about Dora and the Wilken Wonder Board. Ive also heard that Dora was known for having, or riding floral Wilken Boards. Not sure what to believe and curious about this board.
9-10 Yater Spoon-Esque Outline
Abstract poured Flower botom with pinkish brown tint.
Wedged high density colored foam (similar to vintage cons I have seen).
Hippy fabric flower shaped inlays on the deck in the middle and near the tail
Hand cut gold foil logos with no writing..?
Original Waveset box was ripped out, so it now has a modern box.
Anyone know anything?
OK. this one goes back to about 1967 when I was shaping these flex-nose step deck board. There should be a number and my iniatials someplace on the back deck or bottom of the boards. I did the "Acid Splash" color work free form during the glassing process.
As you can see the label and foil seal were first put on with clear resin ( we soon learned that was not a good idea) so that the overall color did not take well on the foam, as on the other portions of the board. I don't think Miki ever rode this board, unless he tried it for a wave or two at State Beach, at the foot os Santa Monica Canyon, in Pacific Palisades.
I can't say if this was a team board, my own board, a stock board out of the shop or a custom order. I did maybe a hundred different "Acid Splash" boards during the late '60s. Later I went to doing this type of free form colored resin design directly onto the foam (prior to glassing) that made the colors more vivid and less muddy looking.
Even though I never did drugs, contrary to many of my team member activities during the Flower Power time frame, people use to say "Far out Rich -- you must have really been stoned when you did that one."
PS Grant - The color work on the top deck is cut out of floral fabric and placed under the deck layers of fiberglass during the glassing process.
https://swaylocks7stage.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/photo2_0.jpg
Another example of one of my “Acid Splash” desigs from back in the ±1967.
Rich----Really fun to read your comments abouy those times and boards, I’ve got a Bud Cravens that is of the type you mentioned in your last post, I’m sure he was influenced by you and Kennedy, Lowel
thank you! PM sent
Believe me it was a Wilken. As I was riding a Wilken board , a Marty Sugarman “Meth2 “ with a similar “acid splash” on the bottom and got waves I didn’t deserve! Rich Wilken was a money guy and had it goin' at that time. I can remember a story about Dora glassing some headers on one of Marty’s boards! Mickey wound up suing Rich for use of “his image” in a promo. Very early Dog town Days too! Aloha
Great read. Thanks for sharing. I rode a board built in 1965 last week. A lot of surfboard but she had a good feel.
Not sure how the saying goes but something like, " you will have difficulty going forward without understanding the past".
A lesson not only for designers and builders but humanity in general.
Saw a nice acid splash with nose and tailblock a couple days ago... FROM CHINA. Lion Tamer, How do you sleep(pass out?) at night?
Rich remember "Skipper Fats"?
@ Maka
OK, “Skipper Fats” rings a distant bell in my memory but I can’t nail down details of who or where. I need more clues to un-fog my images from the distant past.
Rich
Hi Rich. Harwood was his last name. Good surfer and very clean shaper,craftsman. I met him way after his time at the'BU. He was shaping out back of his place in Torrance. He was fighting some bad habits but was very generous sharing his workspace and knowledge. Just was wondering if he was still around. Back then, if you did'nt know someone who was willing to share, better pick up the broom because it was a long, long road to the shaping bay.
P.S. Fats had some great Dora stories.
Skipper Fats. Now that’s a blast from the past. I met him when he, and a group, came down to surf Windansea in 1960 or '61. Seemed like a nice guy, skilled in the water. He was trying to engineer a drinking contest between his crew and the Windansea crew. It didn’t come about, which was probably a good thing.
Hi Rich, love the abstract flower resin art. Mind if I do a tribute version on my next board? When you say you did some on the foam first, did you add catalyst to this and then just glass normally when it went off? Might go some native Australian style flowers, kangaroo paw could look good. Will post some pics, thanks.
good on ya Ross !
let me know when , and I'll come and take photos with my new [early] chrissie and b'day pressie [thanks , simon / 'lazarus' !]
Well....
..... how GOOD is " Swaylock's " , eh ?
ask a question about a board from 1967 ,
and very soon , the shaper replies !
cool boards , Rich Wilken !
cheers !
ben
@ P-co
“ACID” SPLASH COLORING 101:
Tape off your blank in any shape of splash you want to do. It can either be and entire side, that can be taped off just as if you will for glassing or in any combination of panels or squreas etc as you may want. Using laminating resin (other resin has wax in it and will not allow the fiberglass to bond to the foam properly to the foam), set up several small tubs or paper cups of resin with the various colors you want to use in your acid splash. Since you will be doing the colors directly on the foam, and not needing to saturatte a layer of fibeglass at the same time, a little goes a long way.
Yes, you will need to use catalyst in the resin or else the colors will run during glassing making them muddy looking, and smear as you lay down the fberglass cloth in the next stage. So yes, let the colored lam resin on the foam set up before you lay on any cloth or logos. Add catalyst to each cup of resin and either pour, dribble , toss or apply the colored resin in any combination or style you want. Remember that what ever color hits the white foam first will be te color that is the most dominant in that portion of the foam. Where colors overlap, colors may mix and become a combination of the vaious colors you apply. Too many colors can also make your design dirty looking.
Next use a glassing rubber squeegee to spread and remove the excess colored resin. All you want to do is add a thin layer of color and also not add too much added weight to the finished product. Since the small open cell bubble structure of foam blanks acts as small little wells for the color to set in, so thinner is good enough to do the job of coloring the blank. Excessive squeegee work and also muddy colors. Even mistakes can sometime become the most interesting portion of you finished look.
You can use strong vibrant colors as well as lighter trands parent colors as you wish. Flower out lines and such are best in a solid opaque color where as some largerers area, or total over all splash jobs are best in all transparent colors. You can also partially acid color splash only portions of the blank, and leave some parts virgin white and use a light transparent tint in the glassing layer. This method may tint and change some of the underlying colors tha you first put on the foam, loosing some of the artistic design that you first applies on the foam.
Like I said earlier, you first need to decide what portions of the board you want to color in a splash, or individule panels. It may help you to think of this techniques as being similar to air brushing on a raw blank prior to glassing it.
Good luck and I would enjoy seeing any photos of your finished attempts.
Rich Wilken
Hello all - I found this Rich Wilken meth model and bought it a few weeks ago. I have been having a blast riding displacement hulls of all kinds the past several years and I was at a local board collector’s house checking out some boards and this shape really caught my eye. I liked the foiled rails on the nose, the belly, the pin tail, etc. I was hoping some of you awesome people on this thread might shed some light on this board. I have read all I can find online about Marty Sugarman and Rich Wilken during that time frame (including this thread) and this particular model has some really cool history behind it from what I can tell. I am still fixing this up, so haven’t ridden yet. How did these ride? I have heard mixed things about transition era boards. I may put a 4 oz deck patch on the back half of the deck where the foam damage is, but it’s all sturdy as is. I am picking up an original waveset fin this weekend so should have this in the water pretty soon for a test ride. see pics. they don’t really give it justice. once I get the fin and do a few repairs, then clean it up, it will look better.
Thanks!
