Vintage 8’3” inter-island advice

This board has been sitting in my garage for over 20 years it’s approx 8’3"x23"x3". Is it something intersting?  Thanks so much for any thought have no idea what to do with it. 

any thoughts appreciated thanks!








Good looking old board.  Always liked the Inter-Island logo.  I would clean it up, repair any dings and paddle it out.  Probably a good rider.  

Nice board. There is a thread somewhere discussing the Inter Island label. The oriignal label was “Inter Island Surf Shop”. When Gordon and Smith in San Diego began producing them, the label was changed to “Inter Island Surfboards”. If I may ask, where is this board currently located? 

For a history of the Inter Island Surf Shop label, check the currrent website. 

On a personal level, I would love to grab a wave or ten wth that board.

Interesting!  Yes the board is located in San Diego…  will look up that thread thanks!

Cool board. Ride it. Looks like you need to work on your bench press! Hah! Kidding. Mike

ha!  def. need to bulk up to carry that board around!  it has a gash on the tail that needs to be fixed before it gets back into the water.  need to find someplace in San Diego to take it to fix it up.

If you are in No. County/ O’side, ask around at the airport.  Gotta be somebody around there that does ding repair.  The guys at Surf Supply will steer you onto someone.

Mickey Lake’s label. Started in the early 60s. Other shapers include Mike Diffenderfer, John Kelly, Sparky Sheufele,  and Joe Kitchens. They were made in Hawaii up to roughly 1969. Dick Brewer shaped them briefly, right around '69 and after he was doing shapes for Bing.

Your board was probably made in 1968 since it has a Waveset fin and it’s an 8’6".

Is there a serial number on it?

There’s no writing on it anywhere - it’s def. not 8’6" - it’s really right around 8’3" maybe a touch longer but less than 8’4" for sure.

thanks for everyone’s insights!  Will see if I can get this thing cleaned up.  Ya I’m up in Carlsbad…

 

I got the length wrong. Thought you had written 8’6". So even if it’s around 8’3" or 8’4", it was still made in 1968. By 1969 most all boards were under 8 foot and that shape is also a '68 style.

Inter Island Surf Shop in Hawaii is still in business and has been available in Hawaii since Mickey started the label. Late sixties and on, the was no real “brick and mortar” store, but Mickey, Joe Kuala, and Sparky all had laminates and boards were available to those in the know. With a reborn location on Kapahulu Avenue in Honolulu, more available to all. At one time, an IISS could be ordered from Jim Phillips in San Diego, and I believe that option still exists. The current shop at 451 Kapahulu is well stocked with new boards and also has some real vintage gems on display (one old Makaha gun by Sparky is my particular favorite). In my opinion, one of the great all time logo desiigns. The “Inter Island Surboards” label produced by Gordon and Smith had a relatively short existence.

That’s a nice shop.  Worth a visit to the website for anyone interested here.  Would like to check it out in person after the CCP Virus.  Get something good to eat at Rainbow while I’m at it.

As everyone else has been saying, fix it and then surf it. It’s a nice older board, perfectly adequate. 

But do it carefully. That Waveset fin is prolly a little fragile, judging from the oxidation on the surface, and while you can get replacements, they are not cheap. Not even close to cheap. I used to make a nice dollar carving replacements out of heavy plastic HDPE cutting boards, which gives you an idea of what they are asking for new old stock or custom replacements. Don’t even think about drilling a hole in it for a leash attachment, as was done back when.

If by some chance you have a 3D printer and a scanner, well, there’s a nice little sideline gig for you. The original injection molds for that fin system are long gone and I doubt there are enough Waveset equipped boards in existence to justify making new injection molds. Those are typically machined from thick aluminum plate - the plate isn’t expensive but the machining is, even in these days of computer driven milling machines. Then there is renting time on an injection molding machine - you need to do a pretty fair production run to justify that.3D printers are a new paradigm, sidestepping all those issues. 

And then there is this: https://qustom.com/projects/surfing-projects/the-waveset-fin-box-adapter-project#!/ccomment-comment26 - good idea, but as far as I can see it went no further than this prototype.  

This, by the way, explains why there are a number of extinct injection molded fin systems from back in the day. And why, if you have a more modern but unusual fin system, I’d advise stashing spares while you can still get them.

Do replace the original stainless flat head allen screws with new (they’re standard size, check your friendly neighborhood hardware store), I’d give them and the fin box threads a little grease or wax as anti-seize.  

hope that’s of use

doc…

Good stuff Doc.

Just wanted to thank you for the kind words, here and past. 

If you live long enough, well, you pick up a few things. Though some are flat out wrong, or outmoded, still, knowledge is never bad … if you’re willing to understand that it’s never finished, that things go on and there’s always something new to learn. And to pass on.

And oh, it’s fun. Keeps life exciting

Best

doc…

Thanks all super great info!  Looking into fixing it up and take it out sometime…