Nat's Nat

Rarely does good luck come my way when it come to finding quality, old boards cheap. My day job has me chained to a desk so I don't get out on the road much to scavenge rubbish tips, junk shops and deceased estate auctions as much as I'd like. My best chance comes from using my eagle eye to spot something of value that's been poorly listed on eBay. The best example of this is when I once found a Lightning Bolt twin fin listed under 'Canoes'.

Recently I spotted a listing from the Western Sydney suburb of Milpera, that's more famous for the 1984 father's day bikie massacre between the Comancheros and Banditos than it is for surfboards.

The seller had listed just one photo of a dinged BB logo.

Now, Barry Bennett is a fine shaper and an important figure in the development of surfboards in Australia, founding Dion chemicals and blowing the first polyurethane blanks in Australia. But Bennetts are pretty common and not that collectible.

Unless, as I've mentioned before, you find one by of the guest shapers like Nat young or Gerry Lopez.

So I put a bid on it and was winning the auction at $46.

Then, 12 hours before the auction ended the seller posted new photos. I immediately recognized the plan shape and thick rails, that matched my red Nat and was stoked to see the cross legged Buddha logo of Nat Young.

I was so excited!

12 hours to go and I was winning at $46. I upped my bid and called my friend , who shall remain nameless.

I told him how I couldn't believe my luck and how excited I was. I told him where the listing was and told him to go look it up and check it out.

It is a this point the story goes bad.

He claims there was some confusion as to my intentions with the auction. The story ends in a cavalcade of anger and accusation as the auction ends and I find I've been out bid by this very same nameless character. Like the wise King Solomon who ordered the baby cut in 2 I have made him agree to on sell it so neither of us will get to keep it but hopefully it will go to a more loving home.
For its not about possession, its about discovery and appreciation.

Dirty Wax is your freind.

When I was 11 I went shopping for my first second hand fibreglass surfboard with my mum. We drove around to all the dusty, gritty surfboard factories in the back of Brookvale to look at the second hand boards that had been traded in on customs. My mum was not impressed, all the boards were dirty and covered in old wax.
I said "don't worry mum, the old wax comes off".
She said, 'well, obviously it doesn't.'
She refused to believe me, because if you could get wax off an old board there is no way people would tolerate leaving them like that. They just look so bad.
This has been my blessing and my curse since I started collecting old boards.
Really old, caked on wax can be hard to remove and I have tried many methods with different levels of success.

One of my first attempts was to put the board in the shower at home and turn on the hot water. This doesn't actually remove the wax, it just liquefies it long enough for it the spread all over both sides of the board, the walls and glass of the shower. By the time it hits the cooler metal drain it collects and solidifies, blocking the drain.
This takes much long to clean up, pretty much all weekend, than simply scrapping down the board.

Another method I don't suggest is the put it out in the sun to 'soften' then forget and go to the beach. Upon return I have found huge delam bubbles pushing up on the deck. Again the hot wax simply collects on the cooler underside on the now worthless board.

Acetone will remove wax quite effectively I have discovered. But after cutting through the wax it keeps going through the resin till you are left with patches of exposed fibreglass matting and another worthless board.

On a cold day, when its hard to push the plastic wax comb through the tough bumps of wax, don't turn to the use of a bread knife. It will cut through the wax, but its not until you give the board a final wipe down that you'll see how you've actually scratched the thing to death.

Ten mins in the sun, a nice new wax comb with a good straight edge and an old tee shirt with liberal amounts of mineral turpentine is the best method.

That orange peel smelling stuff is great, but I can only get one or two old boards per bottle out of it. Turps is cheap.

Be sure to collect all the wax shaving in a ball or on a piece of newspaper because if these get on your shoes they are harder to get out of the carpet than it is to clean the shower.

When taking photos to sell a board on ebay, a quick rub with kerosene on a rag will give a finish equal to 2 hours on the 1200 grit and a wool buffer.

For all trouble I've had with old wax I still love it. Because nothing gets the price down to $20 at a garage sale for a $500 vintage surfboard than saying 'yeah I don't know, I don't think I'll be able to get all that old wax off'.

Custom Twin fin, ready to ride.

My new Deus Customs twin fin is ready to go.
Anyone going from Bali to California in the next couple of months?

UFO

Rusty 'Stealth Fighter Jet' twin fin spotted at Sacred Craft.
Does it work?
I don't know.
Do I want to try it?
Yes.

Whale

Some were calling it the biggest swell in 65 years. Waves of 18 meters were recorded off Tasmania.
All I know it was big enough to deposit this visitor on the ledge at the point.




photo from Brett Walker

Deus / Boardcollector surf Swap No'3

Deus Surf Swap 3 will be boardcollectors last Surf Swap in Sydney.
I will be relocating with the wife, child and dog to Encinitas, 1 of top 3 best surf towns in USA.
As much as I'd like to take 60 plus boards with me to California, most are going to stay here, but I'll be offering a heap for sale on Stefan's wall of vintage.
Come along and say Goodbye.

Surf Antiquarian

Here's a link to a nice article in the European magazine POC on the Boardcollector by Shelly Jones, page 55.
I'm pretty stoked to be sharing page space with the legendary innovator Bunker Sprekles and his ridiculsley short 'space chip' surfboard.





Photo by Trevor King.

Deus / Boardcollector surf Swap No'3

New additions include SPUNK RECORDS with fresh music CD's and DVD's like Andrew Kidman's Last Hope and surfer artist Bret Walker.

We still have room on Stefan's wall of vintage for your pre-1990 stick of any price or condition. To reserve a space contact keith@deus.com.au or 0417 217 530

Team Bolt, team jacket.

While cleaning out under the house I found this beautiful, satin, Team Bolt bomber jacket that I stumbled upon a number of years ago in Hawaii. It goes perfectly with the Team Bolt twin fin and adds another layer of detail and interest to my collection, for me.
I like to imagine it could have belonged to one of the 70's Lightning bolt team riders like Gerry, Rory, MR or Margo.
Around the same time I started picking up old wetsuits from the same era as the boards from my collection. Thinking that I could surf the boards in the matching wetsuit and get the whole experience of the different eras. I found out quickly, of course, that this was a stupid idea, as stiff, heavy, second hand wetsuits are as useful as second hand food.

Deus / Boardcollector surf Swap No'3

What: Deus / Boardcollector vintage and retro surf Swap No'3.

When: Saturday 9th of October. 9am till 4pm.

Where: Deus Ex Machina carpark. 104 Parramatta rd Camperdown. Sydney.

Who: The who's who of Australian alternative surf culture.

Alby Falzon. Pioneer and film maker. Will be here with Morning of the Earth paraphernalia, surfboards and DVD's.
Marty Worthington. Australia's most famous airbrush artist. Famous for art work gracing Terry Fitzgerald's speed machines, will be here with examples of his work for sale.
Tony 'Air Speed'- Pinstriper and custom painter. Will be here to pin stripe your vintage surfboard, skateboard, sign or toilet seat (as per Big Daddy Roth).
Jeff- Bric a Brac.
Graeme from Bing- with his latest made made offering direct from the USA.
Benny from Six Ounce- Pulling out his collection and representing for the boys at Surf Culture Bondi Junction.
Wayne from the Central Coast- showing and selling a life time of collectible surfboards.
MEX- and his collection of Australian surf Culture.
Tony- bringing his beautiful vintage surfboard collection. All for sale to the right buyer.
Surfaid- will be doing a booth to help our surfing neighbours to the north.
PLUS
Monkey Bike club will be here will bikes on display and for sale.
PLUS
Deus Cafe will be doing Bacon and Egg rolls for brekkey with espresso coffee and Pizza slices, garlic prawn skewers and Corona's for lunch.
PLUS
Lucky door prizes.
PLUS
Stefan's wall of Death. Bring your pre-1990 surfboard and $10 and we will sell your board for you while you enjoy a beer or coffee and walk the meet. I'll be busting out my collection and throwing it up on the wall!


We can fit a couple more stall holders if you get in quick.
Contact Uncle Keith on keith@deus.com.au or call him on 0417 217 530 with any questions.

See you there!


photo by Alby Falzon.

Single Fin Exhibition from Deus Bali celebrating the creation of the single fin.

Allow me to share with you the beautiful, hand sewn, hand screen printed catalog from the Single Fin exhibition at Deus Bali.