Found this Sweet little number at a garage sale! 7ft Yater Gun, serial number 0739 under logo, resin tinted deck and rails, pin lined stringer, 11 inches of rocker! and no leash plug. I have not cleaned it up yet and most of the dark spots on the board are smudges and dirt. It is in beautiful condition and I was curious if anyone can tell me what year this board was shaped.
Many Thanks,
Steve
Nice score!!! thats from 1969 and the late John Thurston from Summerland shaped that board, very cool I have 2 of those at my place, there is a nice one at the beachouse in Santa Barbara right now in the used board rack 1400.00 ??? to steep in these times IMO. I have a Vareset fin for that , but it’s the only one I have and it’s a Greenough stage 5.
The number is just from the old receipt order # .
Yes. The front bolt is much longer than the rear one for the standard WAVE fins. The front of the fin base is typically 1-1/8" thick , while the rear is just 7/16".
One of my WAVESET fins:
Nice Sammy. Thanks.
Thanks for the comments! Yes it is a Variable Waveset fin box. The ammount of rocker was really throughing me for loop and yes not the slightest ammount of tail rocker. It has been a great conversation piece so far and I can't wait to clean it up. I did not mention the best part.....it cost me ten bucks, Super Score! I would love to know how it made its way to the east coast; more than likely a young military guy back in the day picked it up while stationed on the west coast before being transplanted to the east coast.
The serial number also made me think it might be a bit older since I have seen mid 60'sYater Spoons with serial numbers much higher.
Thanks again and cheers!
“Variable WAVESET”? So, it still has the insert? The variable system was a contraption that fit in a standard WS box. It was WAVE Company’s solution to allow adjusting fin placement without rendering their existing boxes obsolete (that came later).
You will find that serial numbers are not a good indicator of age with many labels. Some guys used different number sequences for different runs and such.
Not surprised you found a Yater on the EC. Many of my friends rode Yaters back in the 60s, and they were from RI.
You got a great deal.
Here is a closer look at the fin box. All my fins are to thick at the base of them to fit this box and it did not have a fin with it.
Yes. That’s because it’s an obsolete fin system and they don’t make fins that fit it, anymore.
You should be able to undo the screw at the rear, and there should also be a screw in the front, somewhere. This allows you to remove the “Variable” insert and will leave you with a standard WAVESET box, which is also obsolete.
You stand a better chance of finding a fin to fit the permanent box, than obtaining an adjustable WAVESET fin. Those are far rarer than the fixed version.
Oneworld surf makes replicas.
Hi -
I've removed the 'Vari-Set' insert and used a standard fixed WAVE fin in that type of box. You can see the slider plate with two threaded fittings down inside the slot. The hex bolt seen at the right can be removed and there should be another down in the hole at the opposite end. Remove those and the standard WAVE fin holes should line up. You'll have to get different length bolts if I recall correctly.
You will have an easier time finding a standard WAVE fin than a Vari-Set.
Kirk Putnam told me that the letter under the logo is indicative of the shaper... a "Y" indicates Yater actually shaped it. Yours looks like a "T"(?)
I'm not sure who that would have been.
Cool board. A keeper for sure. 10 bucks is crazy cheap!
PS - I just noticed it has a textured deck as well.
This is an ad for the adjustable WAVESET system.
It clearly illustrates the parts that comprise it, and should aid you in removing it so you can use a standard WAVE fin.
If the image appears too small, here…
Use this link:
http://anony.ws/di-M8Z5.jpg
What a great find. The outline templet looks great. Like Bill said The rocker was pretty much what was considered state of the art for the time.
WAVESET fin box? Hard to tell from the photo.
Classic example of a 1970 ''S'' deck gun. Way too much nose kick, and way too little tail rocker, but they were the fashion then.
Thank you for all the detailed info about the fin box! I will probably end up removing the variable set up. I have a few boards in my quiver but this is the first vintage board and it has sparked my interest in old boards.
Thanks again to all who commented!
Cheers....
I really like the S rocker in that board. Can any of you computer experts figure out how to scan the photo and get something where a person could make a rocker template? I would really like to have a few blanks made with those deck and bottom curves.
WOW Daddy , you don’t want that rocker template, I rode those things and they were the sh#t back in 1969 and went like a bat out of hell in a strait line . The best guy I saw surf those boards was Paul Kemitzer and Stu Fredricks , Paul would cut his fin down and had the sideslip thing down pat, super good surfer. Any Waveset fin you get your gonna have to shape down to fit the period , they are all to big accept maybe a Frye E- free, try and get the variset VI greenough , thats the fin.
I am interested in this shape for it’s sculptural aesthetic. It is a thing of beauty with all of the compound curves. I am doing this thing where we recycle old boards and turn them in to wall sculpture by grainpainting to look like wood. I have a gig coming up where a designer wants 6 boards all basically the same. I want to duplicate this board and make it around 6ft. long. SInce these are just wall hang sculptures that will not be ridden or handled they could be shaped out of cheap EPS foam and glassed with one layer of 4 ounce/hotcoated/sanded to 320 grit. No need for stringers,fins,leash plugs or logos…just a basic form for me to paint on. Do you think I could get them made for around $150 each in a batch of 6?? Hopefully by someone on the East Coast or am I pissing in the wind? Any input is appreciated. I have enclosed a pic of one of my early efforts.
Roger,
That is a striking wood grain paint job, but please stop pissing into the wind, you're getting everything wet!
Howzit Mr. Clean, Now your artitic side is emerging with that paint work,I have seen some nice Falsa jobs but nothing like that board. Since the boards are just wall hangers I think you can pull it off since ll you are paying for is materials, Right. Keep the faith since you can do it. Aloha,Kokua
