My story post 55. The day I broke into Dick Brewers house.
I moved to Kauai in late spring 1994 but it wasn’t until ’97 that there was full time surfboard work for me. It came via Max Medeiros at Hawaiian Blades. In ’97 Max returned to Kauai and set up shop in Lihue town. We connected and I started working for him, shaping, sanding, and laminating… depending on what was needed.
As his factory got rolling some of the guys that shaped on the island brought boards to the factory for laminating. One of those guys was Dick Brewer. Dick eventually needed some help with shaping, he had more work than he could do on his own, and I got asked to step in and help.
Most of the work I did for Brewer was what I’d call team shaping. 2 guys shaping one board. One guy would outline and rough out and the other guy would do the finish work. I did the finish work and one of the long time Kauai board builders, Mike Wellman, did the rough work… I think we were a good team even though I’d never see Mike.
Mike worked out of his place in Wiamea town. After he finished roughing out a number of boards they would get transported to either the Hawaiian Blades shop or back out to Brewers on the north side. So I would either finish boards in my shaping bay at Hawaiian Blades or drive out to the north side and finish boards in Dicks shaping room at his house.
Since I lived on the south side, when I got called to go out to Brewers it would be a full day deal. The drive was at least an hour so I didn’t want to go that distance unless there was a big load of boards to do, and Brewer guys would always work that out for me.
So one day I got a call to go shape but was told that Dick was going to Oahu and no one else would be at the house. “We’ll leave the key under the front door mat” I was told. And, “all the boards you need to do are in the normal spot out side the shaping bay.” Dicks shaping room was inside his house or at least attached at the end. It did have an outside door but I always accessed it from inside the house. Anyway, when I got to the house and looked under the door mat there was no key. Somebody forgot….
I tried the door but it was locked. I went around the back and tried the 2 back doors, they were locked. I tried the siding glass door at the family room… locked. I’m thinking ‘What????? I’m came all the way out here???” as I’m walking around the house… I stop and look up at the balcony. ‘ Is that sliding door up there open? I think so’.
I walked back around the other side of the house to the new and under construction garage/shop and to my surprise saw the extension ladder… perfect! Grabbed that thing, lugged it around to the balcony, set it up, climbed up and over the railing and in the house I went. Relieved, I unlocked the front door, put the ladder back, went back to the house and shaping room and went to work. Usually there were 10 or 12 boards to do and that day was no different.
A couple weeks later I got a call from Dick to come out and shape some boards. I told him “hey, last time I came out the place was locked up, but, I found a ladder and got in through the upstairs sliding door you know?’
Dick said “now there’s a man that wants to work!”
D.R.
I moved to Kauai in late spring 1994 but it wasn’t until ’97 that there was full time surfboard work for me. It came via Max Medeiros at Hawaiian Blades. In ’97 Max returned to Kauai and set up shop in Lihue town. We connected and I started working for him, shaping, sanding, and laminating… depending on what was needed.
As his factory got rolling some of the guys that shaped on the island brought boards to the factory for laminating. One of those guys was Dick Brewer. Dick eventually needed some help with shaping, he had more work than he could do on his own, and I got asked to step in and help.
Most of the work I did for Brewer was what I’d call team shaping. 2 guys shaping one board. One guy would outline and rough out and the other guy would do the finish work. I did the finish work and one of the long time Kauai board builders, Mike Wellman, did the rough work… I think we were a good team even though I’d never see Mike.
Mike worked out of his place in Wiamea town. After he finished roughing out a number of boards they would get transported to either the Hawaiian Blades shop or back out to Brewers on the north side. So I would either finish boards in my shaping bay at Hawaiian Blades or drive out to the north side and finish boards in Dicks shaping room at his house.
Since I lived on the south side, when I got called to go out to Brewers it would be a full day deal. The drive was at least an hour so I didn’t want to go that distance unless there was a big load of boards to do, and Brewer guys would always work that out for me.
So one day I got a call to go shape but was told that Dick was going to Oahu and no one else would be at the house. “We’ll leave the key under the front door mat” I was told. And, “all the boards you need to do are in the normal spot out side the shaping bay.” Dicks shaping room was inside his house or at least attached at the end. It did have an outside door but I always accessed it from inside the house. Anyway, when I got to the house and looked under the door mat there was no key. Somebody forgot….
I tried the door but it was locked. I went around the back and tried the 2 back doors, they were locked. I tried the siding glass door at the family room… locked. I’m thinking ‘What????? I’m came all the way out here???” as I’m walking around the house… I stop and look up at the balcony. ‘ Is that sliding door up there open? I think so’.
I walked back around the other side of the house to the new and under construction garage/shop and to my surprise saw the extension ladder… perfect! Grabbed that thing, lugged it around to the balcony, set it up, climbed up and over the railing and in the house I went. Relieved, I unlocked the front door, put the ladder back, went back to the house and shaping room and went to work. Usually there were 10 or 12 boards to do and that day was no different.
A couple weeks later I got a call from Dick to come out and shape some boards. I told him “hey, last time I came out the place was locked up, but, I found a ladder and got in through the upstairs sliding door you know?’
Dick said “now there’s a man that wants to work!”
D.R.
From a page in the log book
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