You never know what a day will bring. How nice when a surfboard from your past finds you…. Like an old favorite song that inspire all those not quite lost memories. So does that surfboard.
A couple weeks ago I got introduced to Ryan through a friend. Ryan was doing some repairs on an old Wilderness from back in the day so he could surf it. And he was able to come by so I could give the board a look over. I like looking at old work I’ve done and compare what I see to what I’m doing today.
Number 31 from the early beginnings of Wilderness Surfboards 1969. This one is 7’8”, a bit longer than most of the Wilderness boards I shaped, if my memory serves. As well this one has a more pointed nose outline than most. The Hulls I make now are refined versions of the original ones. The bottom and decks have the same lines, the rail apex line is the same and I use the same outlines too.
The old design was flat out the back. What I do different now is the flat area I’ve got runs just in front of and through the fin then eases off out the tail.
I’ve got to say the big difference between the old Wilderness and my Hulls now is foam volume. The Wilderness was a good 3 ¼ thick with a more full rail than what I do now.
And really that is an evolutionary thing. I’m pretty sure I’ve written about the volume deal before which may not be thought about much.
The evolution of surfboards took on some accelerated changes from 1966 through 1970, 1971. My own experience in board size… which equals volume… went from 9’0 to 8’0 to 7’6 then 7’2 from fall of ’67 to fall of ’68. One year. I don’t have that old 7’2 but guarantee its foam volume would be a fair bit more than the current 7’ Stubbie I ride.
Back in the day we were learning what we could do as we progressed. Was the old 7’2 as responsive as the current 7’ Stubbie? No, but at the time the 7’2 was more responsive compared to what I had in that 7’6 and 8’0. And really there is more to it than responsiveness. We refine and test and refine some more. The changes we make now are slow, not anything like the changes from the late sixties into the seventies. So it is with my Hulls, the same lines and curves refined over time.
It’s fun to find an old board for the history and discovering the riding experience it has… or had from time gone by. It’s amazing that the Wilderness surfboard though quite used is still alive… if that can be said. And, of all the hundreds of thousands of surfboards made, one that my hands shaped finds its way to my door after some 50 years.
Thank you Ryan for bringing it by.
D.R.
