Inadvertently brought a gun?!

[benjl]

This board came up cheap the week before my accident and I thought why not take it for a spin. The image from the seller had part of the nose chopped off and with dimensions like 7'4 x 21 x 2 7/8 I thought it would likely be a minimal / hybrid type.
When I picked it up today (had already paid for it the day before my accident), I noticed it was much more refined and gun-looking than what I was anticipating.

When I finally got it home to take a good look all the pieces started to come together when it mentioned it was shaped in Hawaii and it's not just a quad set up, it has futures EA fibreglass quads which are renowned big wave fins.
This started getting me fascinated as to the story of this board. I think I will keep these fins for my new custom when the surf is heavy!
The tail and nose are pretty refined, feels more thin and refined than my new rounded-pin custom. The 2 7/8 rails feel very thin for those dimensions.
The concaves are a deep single throughout the whole board, maybe a very slight double in the back half to quite a bit of vee in the back third of
The tail.

Do any of you guys know this shaper, background, predicted details of the board etc?

[oldmansurfer]

Papa Sau is from Kauai. Very good shaper and that board is probably made for big Hanalei

[Big H]

Looks like something for my quiver! Nice!

[benjl]

Ah really? How do these dims compare with something typically gunny? Or what you'd see around there? What does he typically charge?

Quite a parallel kind of design. Certainly doesn't look like. 7'4 board that is 21" wide! My minimal is 7'2 and 21 1/2 and this board visually looks like a short board in comparison

[benjl]

Also what's the need for a tight squash instead of a rounded pin for a board like this?

[oldmansurfer]

That looks like a round tail. Maybe it is made for an old man like me

[Big H]

Not a gun...too wide for that....more like a big boys board for bigger waves and long paddle outs....appreciated when it is a few hundred yards or more out back or when the sweep is pulling hard.

[oldmansurfer]

Is that a fin box? I looks like my first board which is made so you can ride it as a quad or single fin or a thruster. So it is probably made for an older surfer but compared to my 7'6" board it is more narrow and thinner so perhaps it is made to be duck diveable and also for someone in better shape than me Overall the shape looks like it should paddle well and handle a lot of different conditions. The tail is wide but not that wide and the widest portion of the board is right under where your waist should be which will make it balanced and paddle well. If you added another inch all around it and and inch of thickness you would have my 7'6" board 7'6" x 24" x 3.75" except your board has more rocker

[oldmansurfer]

Papa Sau is based in Hanalei so probably the majority of his boards are made for Hanalei. He is well known here as a premier shaper. I have heard great things about his progressive longboards. I know he does lots of shapes but I guess since I am older I don't have much contact with the younger surfers who he shapes for. Does that board say it was made for jim? It could be Jimbo the famous fat surfer you often see pictures of because he lives on the north shore of Kauai or did at one point .

[CosmicQ]

That's shorter than mine. This is my 8'6" fun board. It's my first board going down from a 10' long board.

[benjl]

Yeah I think it says something like 'M.sauson 4 Jim on the stringer' or M.Samson 4 Jim.

It's got a 5x futures fin box. I'll try and get some better photos in the daylight but it's hard trying to pick it up while holding crutches!
The tail is actually pretty narrow and thin, it feels thinner and more narrow than the rounded pin on my new 5'9 custom which is supposed to also be quite pulled in.
The glassing feels pretty strong too

[dtc]

Having refined (thin) rails was pretty common back in the day. It's only recently that carrying thickness all the way to the rails all the way along has been the norm

These are pics of my longboard (9'1 X 22 1/4 X 2 5/8), which was made in (gulp) the 1990s...anyway notice how thin the nose and tail are; it's not a gun by any means. I guess it's maybe slightly what would be called a 'performance longboard' today but it's not really performance. My thumb is across the nose so you can see how thin it is

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[waikikikichan]

Benji , I would categorize the board you purchased as a Fun Gun. Pointier than hybrid/fun board. Fully than a true gun. But not really what they call a "desert island" board.

Working at a surf shop near the University of Hawaii, always got broke college newbies trying to buy a board. We'd always recommend to them " get something about 8'6" - 9'0" to learn on. They always come back to show us their boards they just got for cheap on Craigslist. Full on pin tail Waimea bay rhino chasers. Yours ain't one of them.

[benjl]

Thanks Waikiki, I was surprised it had a tight squash rather than a pin or rounded pin given the conditions it's likely made for?

It's a sweet board, I don't really know what to do with it! Almost seems a waste to sell it but I don't really have a need for it, let alone that I'm not going to be able to surf for quite a while.

Wish I knew the story of the guy it was shaped for and what he got up to in Hawaii, and what waves it's surfed before

[waikikikichan]

Search for "Jimbo Pellegrine". Not sure if that is the "Jim" that the board was made for, but if it is ........................ cool.

[Big H]

Unless you need cash or it's jamming up the apartment, I'd hold on to that.....at least have a surf on it before selling.

[oldmansurfer]

I went and checked out what he used to ride because since he lost an arm I think it has changed but anyway his boards were thicker and wider than that one so it wasn't for Jimbo Pelligrine. To surf Hanalei in the 6 to 10 foot Hawaiian size range many surfers want more board and more than a step up board but they still want to duck dive it so longer and wider but not more volume.

[benjl]

Here's a couple more pics in good lighting, it's a beaut looking board.
Definitely looks like it could handle some size!

I also felt the bottom concaves better and it has a vee in the nose which is what I'd expect for a big wave board

[waikikikichan]

I would shorten that leash rope. Why is the board waxed up, if you can't go surf ?

[benjl]

Its just how I brought it from the guy, same with the leash