1990s Vintage Dale Velzy balsawood longboard

Name: 1990s Vintage Dale Velzy balsawood longboard
Brand: Dale Velzy
Price: 9995 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Mid-1990s Velzy balsawood longboard shaped by the late Dale Velzy (1927-2005). Features a 5-stringer design with gorgeous wood fin and tail-block. A superb example of Dale Velzy shaped balsa surfboard and beautiful functional art piece. Velzy is credited with conceptualizing many of the promotional techniques now considered a standard in the surfing world. This includes being the very first surfboard maker to form a surfing team, a practice which would became very popular in the future. Dale ‘Hawk’ Velzy made numerous contributions to the world of surfing and as a result was one of the first individuals to be inducted into the Hermosa Beach Surfers Walk of Fame in 2003, two years before passing away. Velzy began shaping surfboards in the 1940's in Manhattan Beach, California. Board of the day were hard to ride and transport due to the size and weight. Velzy saw this as an opportunity and started to shape surfboards using lightweight balsawood which made the boards easier to ride and transport. He soon outgrew his first board shop in Manhattan Beach which was opened in 1950, this shop would later be credited as the first commercial surfboard factory. Velzy later formed a partnership with the legendary board maker Hap Jacobs in 1953 and they teamed up to open a big shop in Venice Beach, California. Velzy's latest design of the time was ‘The Pig’ model, named for the wide section it had near the tail of the board. This new design became a game changer by enabling “hot-dogging” maneuvers such as riding the nose of the board aka hanging 5 or hanging 10, relating to the number of toes hanging off the front of the board. Velzy bought out Hap Jacobs but the timing could not have been worse as the IRS would soon come knocking. After financial hardship, Velzy started shaping for other labels such as Hobie surfboards. In 1962 he opened a shop in Newport beach which he shut down 4 years later upon moving to Arizona. Velzy moved back to California in the late 1960's, buying a ranch in San Clemente and shaping boards on a contract basis. Velzy is credited to have conceptualized many of the promotional techniques that are now considered standard in the surfing world. He was the first surfboard manufacturer to assemble a surfing team, a practice that would become very popular among board makers in the future. Dale 'Hawk' Velzy made many contributions to the surfing world and as a result was one of the first group of surfing pioneers to be inducted into the Hermosa Beach Surfers Walk of Fame in 2003, two years before passing away due to lung cancer.

Creator:

Dale Velzy (Maker)

Dimensions:

Height: 116 in (294.64 cm)Width: 21 in (53.34 cm)Depth: 3 in (7.62 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Fiberglass,Hardwood,Softwood

Place of Origin:

United States

Period:

1990-1999

Date of Manufacture:

1995-1997