Mini Olo because Yolo: Remembering Roy!

[Retropete]

A mate sent me a link to this board on Facebook marketplace. He knows I have a couple of Sunova boards I have been enjoying lately.
I clicked on the link and the board is so wrong looking by today's standards. It was made in 1999 by Bert Burger in WA. He pioneered the balsa peripheral stringer used by the evil Firewire surfboard anti-christs.
Looking at the pics online I could see some obvious water damage and it had filthy wax on the deck making it look very unloved.
I told my mate..."No thanks but thanks for the heads up."
Anyway a few weeks go by and the ad for the board pops up im my marketplace suggestions. Its down to $200 from what price I can't remember.
So I figure I am passing by the sellers location so might as well go have a look.
First sight of the board and I am shocked at the amount of rocker. I pick it up and despite the water damage which was due to a ding on the rail, now repaired, is still super light.
The 2 balsa over eps Sunovas I have are both really light. This board is even lighter than my 8' one. Even has nice hand made timber fins glassed on.
It has a small unrepaired hole in the deck and a crack in a line of the finish coat on the bottom. Easy fixes with solar rez.
So I offer him $150 (yeah, I know, what was I thinking?).
Take it home and clean it up and repair the damage.
Looking at it again it hits me. Apart from the tail looking Meyehofferish I'll be damned if it doesn't look like one of Roy's infamous banana rockered Olos.
The board is 8'1 x 20&1/8" x 2&5/8" and says Mal gun in pencil next to the dims.
Can anyone recall when Roy says he started doing his banana rockered Olos?
I have a white Gath kicking around in the garage somewhere I could dig out but no fluro steamer to complete the costume.
Again...what was I thinking? Hey maybe I will email Bert with some pics and he will swap it for a nice new board if he plans on having a museum of his old boards someday...Hmmm...I think I'm dreaming here.

 

[Woke AF]

needs tunnel fin w/ the whale bumps.
don't forget to only surf it from the sweet-spot!

 

[GWS_2]

Are we sure this wasn’t some kind of high temperature warp?

 

[Retropete]

needs tunnel fin w/ the whale bumps.
don't forget to only surf it from the sweet-spot!

I don't think it has one.

 

[Retropete]

Are we sure this wasn’t some kind of high temperature warp?

Let's do the time warp again!
I'll have to email Bert and quizz him.

 

[GWS_2]

Have you tried to surf it yet?

 

[jkb]

That is literally the most rocker curve I've ever seen in a surfboard.

You're going to be able to pull barrel rolls at chopes with that thing

 

[Retropete]

Have you tried to surf it yet?

I took it for a test paddle this morning. Trouble was it was only breaking on a sandbar which was producing heaving, shifty closeouts for 95% of the waves. No time for this old carp to get to his feet even with that prodiguous amount of rocker. Supposed to be better waves in the next few days from a cyclone. I actually think it would be fun to just ride prone because even though its 8'1" the rocker would let you take some reasonable drops. Or even getting rid of the fins and using it as an alaia.
Looking at the board I doubt its a heat induced warp because its comprised of balsa panels in the lay up and surely they couldn't warp that much without showing stress fractures in the glass?

 

[Retropete]

That is literally the most rocker curve I've ever seen in a surfboard.

You're going to be able to pull barrel rolls at chopes with that thing

I'd like to see Roy on it.

 

[sdsrfr]

Operation Warp Speed.

hold on to your butts. you’re stocked!

 

[Retropete]

I just had a thought...I saved $999,985.00 off the purchase of a board from Roy!
Hang on...even more because that $150 is Aud.

 

[JaM71]

It will be on gumtree by the New Year

 

[racer1]

It's either going to suck or go mental.

 

[Mr J]

Retropete, technical discussions on the Olo have no place in a serious design forum, however you have acquired something of historical significance as it must be one of the earliest examples of Bert Burger's perimeter stringer. Doesn't Waxfoot live up your way? He has some sort of museum project going.

 

[Mr J]

It's either going to suck or go mental.

No, there is only one possibility. Despite its rocker I think the Olo would move forward on a wave because it was so heavy and Pete is saying the Sunova Wave Hog is super light. Aarghh what was I saying in my previous post

 

[Retropete]

It will be on gumtree by the New Year

Why that long?

 

[Retropete]

Retropete, technical discussions on the Olo have no place in a serious design forum, however you have acquired something of historical significance as it must be one of the earliest examples of Bert Burger's perimeter stringer. Doesn't Waxfoot live up your way? He has some sort of museum project going.

Geez, I hope he doesn't see this thread. That will put the kybosh on my planned $20 profit margin if I flip it.

 

[Northern_Shores]

What is the benefit of starting the tail rocker at the nose?

 

[Mr J]

Geez, I hope he doesn't see this thread. That will put the kybosh on my planned $20 profit margin if I flip it.

you should try and complete a wave on it before selling. I look forward to the cyclone swell ride report.

 

[GWS_2]

Looking at the board I doubt its a heat induced warp because its comprised of balsa panels in the lay up and surely they couldn't warp that much without showing stress fractures in the glass?

Yeah, I don't know. I've seen some pretty extraordinary type warping. Saw one that was stored in the rafters of a garage. Support under nose and tail, deck up, and then stuff was stacked on top of the board in the middle. My father set a board out in his side yard to die years ago. This yard could get pretty warm. For some reason the board was deck up in the sun. The glass-on fiberglass fin warped like crazy. The board was made about 1969, and at some point I realized it was worth something. So I was going to remove the fin and put a duplicate on. Then somebody told me to dip the fin in a pot of boiling water and pull it straight. So I did. The fin was like taffy after a few minutes. Pulled it straight with a pair of tongs. Fixed the rest of the dings and showed it to the guy that shaped it. He offered me any new board I wanted in trade.

Now I wish I hadn't traded it, but whatever.

That thing is a trip.