Email:BalsaBill
Phone: 321-779-8580

We got a call from the staging company for the Beach Boy's tour.

They needed some surfboards for the stage set. After some discussion and my input and back and forth emailed images they agreed on vintage classic boards from the early sixties to coincide with the genesis of the band. They agreed that there would be something special about having period correct boards for the stage.

They didn't want pristine collector's items for a couple of reasons: 1. The budget didn't allow and 2. These boards would be travelling around the world with the tour and were bound to get beat up. In addition: The boards had to be de-finned for packing and shipping purposes.

I found some boards that were available but they needed some restoration (recoloring and a gloss coat). The problem: We only had 12 days to source and restore the boards.

With the clock ticking away I got ahold of the Surf Guy, George Jones in Melbourne Beach. If anyone could get the job done right and in a hurry it was George. After securing the boards from various collectors I delivered the boards to Surf Guy's secret laboratory.

We started with an old Vezy and Hobie both of which had seen better days. Rather than a complete resto to make the boards look new, they opted for keeping the vintage look but getting them stage ready which meant recoloring as close to the original as possible and a shiny new gloss coat.

We needed a third board and after looking at lots of photos they chose this Atlantic primarily for the color design.

"Do those boards have fins?" "Yup". "Take 'em off".

All in all this project brought back some memories. Click Here to see some photos I took of the Beach Boys on tour back in 1966

Click Here to see some photos from the Tampa, Florida Concert May 5, 2012

And Click Here to see how I build a balsa wood surfboard.