Every LongBoard Has a Story
A second visit to the shaping shed.
It felt just as good wandering through the racks of boards as the day before.
And as I walked I was drawn to a particular shape.
i walked over to the rack where it sat and began to brush away the dust unveiling another beauty. My hands worked quickly and carefully i needed to look closer.
"H can I get this one out?"
Lawrie looked at me with a broad grin " lets just clean this girl up first" he helped me wiping the dust off
As his hands wiped off the surface H shared some secrets of this board…...he explained this board was a competition board made for surfing Burleigh point on the Gold coast,he remembers it was the same year his daughter was born 1965. Lawrie Cradled it as he took it down, he said...
"It is a stringer less board with more bottom roll for the point also a fair bit of nose rocker".
i asked Lawrie if the fin was original as i never seen anything anywhere that had a amazing mesh pattern like that.
H said he use to buy slabs of made glass from of a local boat builder for fins then shape them.
Lawrie remembers the first time he took this board to a competition …..It measured 1/2 inch too short,
thats right it was 8' 11.5" it was to short for the 9 foot rules……. too short for 9' competition.
H said he remembers placing the board down on the measuring line and the organiser saying" its too short Lawrie by 1/2'"
H looked down in amazement a slight pause then saying to the organiser "look now" H explained the board had a big nose rocker for the point, so he stood on the boards nose and it extended out to 9 foot competition standard.
Lawire later added 1/2" to the board.
1965 competition board made for Burleigh point.
9' X 23 x3"
Wonderful stuff Cobra. Heaps of nose lift on the board in that last shot. Or is the angle deceiving my judgement ?
Select to expand quoteTed the Kiwi said..
Wonderful stuff Cobra. Heaps of nose lift on the board in that last shot. Or is the angle deceiving my judgement ?
bit of both Ted,but you must take into account the year made and the fact its full custom for a break ,something very special
And a huge rolled bottom ! The 10 footer I recently made has a rolled bottom - but nowhere near as extreme as that one. That looks like the biggest roll I have ever seen - by a long way. I like this pinched rails as well - hardly any foam on them by the look of it. Did H tell you how the board went?
Re the length issue - I have been informed by the old boys at the beach here that that is the reason a lot of boards were made at 9'1 or 9'2 was to avoid that issue - where the tape measure used to fail to take in to account the rocker outline - and hence the longer shape of the board.
Loving this thread.
spot on ted I've never seen a roll like that before,,,,but then, i wasn't surfing in 1962-1965 and haven't seen a lot of boards from that vintage.
Edit..the pics don't show all the things happening with the bottom of that board.
Great Pics .Makes me wonder what would have happened if we had the internet back in the 70s .When Hohensee came over here most of us were riding 6'10" - 7'6" .Here was these guys riding 5'2" -5'10" interesting times .Everything changed over night ,the first time I had ever seen really short boards .
The man is a legend. Great post Cobblers 
Thats a pretty high tech shape for the time ! Thanks for the background story too Cobra..........................
Select to expand quoteTed the Kiwi said...Ted the Kiwi said..
Nice work Cobra - this is your best post ever
+ 1
Can I really + 1 my own comment? 
Well I have - great work Cobra. Thanks.
Course you can...
Awesome post up Cobra, cheers
would love to hear how the board performed and what he learnt from it. how custom boards for certain spots evolved
Select to expand quotechrispy said..
would love to hear how the board performed and what he learnt from it. how custom boards for certain spots evolved
i will ask him chrispy.. not just now..he will think I'm a fark'n freak
he's got a nice board that would suit you chrispy.
Hot Buttered single fin in MINT 1 in 500 boards stamped.
Lawrie kept it after a bloke traded in on a custom.
Lawrie don't like keeping others brand boards..but thought this might be worth a $ or 2
don't know how $$$$.
i can post pics.
Select to expand quotethePup said..
Geez that looks to be in top nick even tho it's a small section of photo mate 
yep its in mint condition pup.
Select to expand quoteTux said..
I'm calling thread of the year and its only January
Correct and I hope it does not get hijacked with crap.
cool thread-found this vid from the ABC
After shaping surfboards in Brisbane for many years, Laurie Hohensee opened one of the first surf shops in Queensland and shows us some of the tricks to shaping the perfect board.
www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2010/02/11/2816701.htm
He's a funny guy H, I asked him how many boards have you made H,
He just started laughing
Select to expand quoteMacaha said..Tux said..
I'm calling thread of the year and its only January
Correct and I hope it does not get hijacked with crap.
I'll be sure to keep my mouth shut
Interesting quote in the article attached to the vid. (Look at the list of names who worked with/for him)
Having worked in the surf industry since the 1950s, it's no wonder Laurie has collaborated with many of Australia's surfing big names. Peter Drouyn, Keith Paul, Ronnie Woodward, Rick and Paul Nielsen as in the Nielsen Brothers, Geoff Darby, Tony Dempsey, Michael Peterson, Nev Hyman, and they're just a few of the guys.
"And every time someone sees a sticker on a board they're oh no why aren't I on there you know and I mean if I had everybody on the sticker, the stickers would be longer than the surfboards.
"But I told them I don't forget that you worked for me."
cool guy, thanks cobra
Select to expand quoteMacaha said...Tux said..
I'm calling thread of the year and its only January
Correct and I hope it does not get hijacked with crap.
Only if the trolls turn up
Select to expand quoteanthonyg1 said...
Interesting quote in the article attached to the vid. (Look at the list of names who worked with/for him)
Having worked in the surf industry since the 1950s, it's no wonder Laurie has collaborated with many of Australia's surfing big names. Peter Drouyn, Keith Paul, Ronnie Woodward, Rick and Paul Nielsen as in the Nielsen Brothers, Geoff Darby, Tony Dempsey, Michael Peterson, Nev Hyman, and they're just a few of the guys.
"And every time someone sees a sticker on a board they're oh no why aren't I on there you know and I mean if I had everybody on the sticker, the stickers would be longer than the surfboards.
"But I told them I don't forget that you worked for me."
cool guy, thanks cobra
Yep he is a pretty cool bloke the old H
other names that worked for H
Glen "Toby" jones, great shaper and champion bloke
And terry vosper
walked into this shop this arvo and found one of H's boards
is that artwork off Jack Johnson's album .seen it before.
