Fiberglassed Hollow Plywood with Balsa Rails
Shaper
Pete Peterson
Date1948
MediumFiberglass, Plywood, & Balsa
DimensionsBoard: 10 13/16 ft., 23 1/4 x 3 1/2 in., 39 lb. (329.5 x 59.1 x 8.9 cm, 17.7 kg)
Nose: 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm)
Tail: 18 1/2 in. (47 cm)
Nose: 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm)
Tail: 18 1/2 in. (47 cm)
ClassificationsSurfboards
Object numberS.57
DescriptionPreston “Pete” Peterson positively ruled Mainland surfing during the 1930s. Recognized amongst his fellow surfers as the country’s best surfer, Peterson won the Pacific Coast Surfing Championships four times out of ten; he won in 1932, 1936, 1938 and 1941. More than a contest surfer, however, Pete Peterson was a waterman in the truest sense of the word. Not only was he the first person to paddle to Catalina from the Mainland, Pete Peterson also became a Hollywood stuntman and an innovator of ocean vehicles and lifeguard rescue equipment. Some of his lifesaving creations include: paddle boards, soft rescue tubes, all-fiberglass hollow boards; and foam/plywood/balsa sandwich surfboards. This board may be one of the last boards that Pete Peterson made, and it also shows Simmons’ influence. There is an unusual rocker in the bottom, and there are balsa rails instead of the redwood rails normally used by Pete Peterson. This board has a fiberglassed plywood top and bottom. It is hollow with a drain plug; it also has a Peterson decal on the tail. The board has a 2 oz. cloth, and it has a long, shallow wood fin. Renny Yater said he got the board as a trade-in for a new board. On View
On viewCollections
c. 1935
