Surf board display ?

[Kelly Colin Mark]

In 1997 I left California where I surfed every day, sometime 3 times a day. I kept my 3 boards, thinking that one day I might pick it up again, but I've been landlocked in Toronto and haven't had the chance. I can't, however, bear to get rid of my boards.

I was thinking about building some sort of unit or bracket to hold and display my surfboards. I think I'd prefer to display them vertically as this would reveal their lovely curves better. I took a look around and the only display brackets I could find were more utilitarian, designed for people who plan to use the boards. I don't expect to need to do that.

Has anyone built such a thing ? If it matters, my boards are 7'6", 6'4" and (my baby) a 6'0 potato chip.

thanks in advance for looking.

[Jamie Buxton]

Hmmm... Isn't a surfboard shaped a bit like a guitar? I've seen fancy-ish holder/display schemes for them. Perhaps you could lift some ideas there.

[Jon van der Linden]

Can't think of any quality examples out there. Even the "surf museums" have cheap setups. I'd make a nice base that conforms somewhat to the tail shape and lifts the board enough off the ground so it's away from people's feet and sets the board at an appropriate viewing height. Dowels are a common solution to hold the rails, but covering with pipe insulation doesn't look so hot. I'd try cork as a relatively nice non skid surface to protect the tail and rails.

Best solution... wax 'em up and get back in the water!

[Kelly Colin Mark]

Thanks Jamie and John for the comments. I'm actually hoping to mount the boards at eye level or maybe even higher, nose-up. To do so, I'm thinking that I might want to have the board lean forward to the viewer.

Best solution... wax 'em up and get back in the water!

I'd agree that's the best solution. But I have a family now. I had hoped to be able to take road trips to satisfy the jonesing, but it didn't work out so well. I'd be way out of shape and spend most of the trip getting back into shape to be able to catch waves. I was always one of those guys who, if I wasn't surfing every day, I'd lose it really quickly, especially when I was surfing my little board.Last time I surfed, I got caught in a rip at Haleiwa, lost my board, caught in the impact zone, and almost drowned. An epic swell was rolling in. The next day they held the Eddie in epic conditions.

I still think my 6'0 Al Merrick is one of the most beautiful things I've ever held in my hands.

[Jon van der Linden]

I still think my 6'0 Al Merrick is one of the most beautiful things I've ever held in my hands.

Even with the qualifier "one of" you may still be in serious trouble if your wife is reading this!

Swimming and skateboarding are the only things that come close to keeping you in shape (kinda need both LOL). I know my own physical limits are way down from when I was surfing 4+ hours a day. I've helped people in trouble out there and I know I don't want to be one of them. Here in Santa Cruz it's even worse because of the cold water and having to drag a wetsuit around.

I'm not clear on how you're thinking of mounting the boards. Eye level and nose up make me think horizontal and vertical respectively.

[Kelly Colin Mark]

Even with the qualifier "one of" you may still be in serious trouble if your wife is reading this!

Swimming and skateboarding are the only things that come close to keeping you in shape (kinda need both LOL). I know my own physical limits are way down from when I was surfing 4+ hours a day.

Jon - for me, the rate-limiters were a) physically being strong enough to paddle, and b) remembering where my body needs to be on the board and how to subtly control how its planing by shifting my weight, while paddling. As I'm sure you know, with a potato-chip and so little buoyancy, the latter is really critical. If I hadn't been surfing for a few days, I was strong enough to paddle, but I'd "forget" how to get the board to plane efficiently. I'd be paddling, but I just wouldn't be moving fast enough to catch anything. Shifting weight a few mm forwards or backwards would be big, and I'd lose that quickly.

I'm not clear on how you're thinking of mounting the boards. Eye level and nose up make me think horizontal and vertical respectively.

You're right, they are somewhat contradictory. I have a stairwell at our cottage that I'd love to hang my boards in, vertically, probably above the landing where the stairs turn around. I wrote eye-level because I was thinking eye-level when I was at the top of the stairs, but the bottom of the board would really be about 6' above the landing. From the top of the stairs I'd like to be able to be looking at the middle of the deck of the boards, almost perpendicular to the main axis of the board. Vertical placement reveals the curves of the boards more nicely and would allow one to almost imagine holding on to the rails.

But really, what I'm looking for is a way to mount/display the boards; exact placement can be figured out later. I'm thinking I'd want a design that minimized distracting from the board.

Does that make sense ? Maybe I should consider having something done in Plexiglas instead.

[John Sanford]

Your best option would be to suspend them from the ceiling. You could make a sling using fishing line, which would almost give the illusion of them floating in mid air. I used to hang model airplanes this way, and it's actually much easier than people think. Literally all it takes to hang most model airplanes is a simple loop of line, and you can easily alter the orientation of the plane. You could do the same sort of thing with a board, although going with a mostly vertical orientation would require a crossing "wrap" that starts captures the fin.

The fishing line solution allows the board to be the total focus, with no distractions at all.

[Kurt Misner]

You could make a sling using fishing line, which would almost give the illusion of them floating in mid air. You could do the same sort of thing with a board, although going with a mostly vertical orientation would require a crossing "wrap" that starts captures the fin.

The fishing line solution allows the board to be the total focus, with no distractions at all.

I agree, make hard mounts on the wall behind the fin, and up at the nose and possibly suspend. I imagine a grooved board (or driftwood) sticking out from the wall to set the fin in, then a eye bolt higher up to connect the lease to. You could use the lease as John suggested the fishing line could be. Either way, you'd be emphasizing the board, not the mount. The mount would be relatively hidden behind a board that appears to be floating away from the wall. It would remind me of when Huntington would close out quick and send me and the board shooting skyward. I could neve make a 6.0 work (I'm just too big). My fav was a Robert August 9'3" round nose. Unfortunately, it delammed, and broke in 8' swells north of the Huntington Beach peer. No other board felt as good. Good times though.

Here's a rough sketch:

[Carl Swanson]

I have been surfing for over 20 years. Can really appreciate what you want to do here,
because my wife and I lived in CA for a few years. Although I didn't retire from surfing,
I have retired my boards shaped for reef (big wave) conditions.

Can only imagine having the room in my home to display them! However, there were times
where I thought "What if...?"

If this were possible for me... my favorite photo that displays a surfboards shape is the one
circa late 70's of Jeff Ho. http://bluraymedia.ign.com/bluray/im...5024609917.jpg

Or a display of this board (for example) on the flat, balancing on mid point of board. After all, this is
where our weight of our front leg balances us over.

This display would be great, as John mentioned, with (relatively) invisible test line. You could even
display them with nice chrome hooks and escutcheons holding the string/test line/chain. You see this
display in museums and restaurants for "retired" surfboards.

I always thought of the idea of having one arm per board balancing each board in it's center point
of foil. This would look great in a rosewood of some sorts.

If you are interested, I can send you a drawing a translation!

Carl