After 20 years apart I’ve been reunited with my old 10’10" Brewer gun. It’s pretty beat up and probably what I would call a “C” as far as condition goes (as you can see in the photos). But all the fin damage and denting aside it is still an 80’s hand shaped Brewer shaped by Dick Brewer himself and glassed by Jack Reeves. This board was made for Recardo Pomar, Felipe Pomars brother. I bought it mid 90’s while living on the North Shore and I know the history of the board before it came to me. After me it was owned by Dale Wester who rode it for those 20 years until I recently talked him out of it.
So the questions are many with this gun. What’s it worth? Is it so special and valuable I should just restore it and hang it? Should I just ride it as is? Should I clean it all up, knock the single off and make it a quad, gloss and polish it and then ride it? I’m tempted to do that.
As for me I’m on the fence between paying the bucks to restore it to like new condition and making it a quad and riding it for a while.
But I have no idea who to look to do a quality restoration. I’m in Norther Cal but could make the trip to So Cal if a quality restoration guy can be found and the price isn’t too crazy.
Hi billywillgo -
You know how it is on this site… everybody has an opinion about stuff like this.
I’d say the good news is the opaque red color. Typically pretty easy to match when doing ding repairs.
I think you should go over it carefully and do the best ding repairs you can - complete with wet/dry feathering out and buffing. I see at least one good pressure dent in the bottom I might chase with a repair to get it flat.
I would leave the deck pressure dents alone unless the glass is sheared along the stringer.
Once all the repairs are finished, maybe hang it except for special occasions. You seem to have an appreciation for the board and it’s history.
For those reasons it could (and should) remain in your stash of boards. It might just be me but an ‘important’ board, even if only to you, shouldn’t get all hacked up with fin mods, etc. I’ve done it to boards and lived to regret it. That slotted fin is kind of cool.
Thanks John, I think you’re right and that’s the corse I’ve been going since I got it back. Just slowly fixing dings and filling dents. We’ll see how that goes. I’m also just curious as to what a Brewer shaped gun is worth these days. But that’s also not so easy to judge, ha.
B
Bring the board down to the show. Randy Rarick, as well as others, will be there, that can provide some answers to you. John is correct, don’t muck with the fin, other than to fix it.
I wouldn’t molest it. Me, I’d make it water tight and ride it. I would not do a “Restoration”. In my eyes that kills its value.
There are 30 guys on here could virtually copy that board if they were so inclined. To me a “Restoration” back to like new condition is no different than is someone made a duplicate from scratch.
Back in the early 90s I bought a new Brewer / Reaves 7’6 pintail with hopes of getting some bigger waves with it. An absolute beauty of a board. I had it for two years and only paddled out on it a couple of times due to a lack of worthy swell. Ended up trading it for another daily driver. Its one of two boards that I wish I hadn’t sold over the years.
[Quote=mako224]I wouldn’t molest it. Me, I’d make it water tight and ride it. I would not do a “Restoration”. In my eyes that kills its value.
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I totally agree with this. Whatever you do, don’t give it to that guy Bill mentioned!!!
A number of us here could reproduce boards from the past right down to the logos if we were so inclined. To me its not much different from those restorations.
Yep. that’s the board Dale was riding in Step Into Liquid. He bought it from me 20+ years ago and caught many waves towards his record on it. He’s doing good and still surfing pretty much every day.
