ID this surfboard?

September 16, 2008 12:26 PM

I'm looking for the provenance of this old, mid-size ("fun shape") Gordon & Smith surfboard.

I bought this used G&S board a while back and have gotten so many compliments on it that I want to learn more about it. One guy who saw it recently said, "I think that's a Skip Frye!" I had to look up who that was.
I want to know what year it was made and anything else about its birth, relatives, etc. I've emailed the company twice but haven't gotten any answer from them.

posted by MaudB to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (4 answers total)

Have you checked the whole stick for names/dates? It's not uncommon for the shaper to put some identifying markings (last name, date, etc.) in small text.
posted by Damn That Television at 12:57 PM on September 16, 2008

Usually on the back (not the deck), just above the single fin, will be handwritten dimensions and often a signature. Some boards don't have that though, it just depends on if the shaper decides to include dims and anything else before sending the board off to be glassed (finished). Can you take a pic of any of the writing you see on the board?
posted by iamkimiam at 4:33 PM on September 16, 2008

Also, the Gordon and Smith website has a history section. If that is a Skip Frye model, or one of the newer retro styles modeled after the Skip Frye template, then it's likely a very common board. But don't be discouraged, that's one of the amazing things about surfing...we get to ride what the pros ride, we get to surf at the places they surf, we get to wear the gear they wear. It's all available to us, and for the most part, it's relatively affordable. What other sport can say that?
posted by iamkimiam at 4:40 PM on September 16, 2008

Response by poster: Thanks. There are no markings on the board, unfortunately.
I looked over the G&S history section a while ago and didn't see this board on it.
I think it's from either the 1970s or 1980s, not later, fwiw.
posted by MaudB at 10:40 AM on September 17, 2008