A photo is a time capsule. The first official Victoria shop about 1980, the year we began making our first foam core boards. None are visible in this photo, so it is probably pre 1980. Rent is extremely expensive in Laguna, so the shop is a study in maximizing space. The Tour: (clockwise from 9 pm.) Sliding door to shaping room with brooms etc. Middle slot with brushes on wall is the resin storage bay. Furthest back is sliding door to the office/showroom, a spacious 8′ x 9′ space. Main room, old Rainmaker skimboard on back wall, glassed while at Lewis and Clark College in Portland Oregon in 1971. Finished boards storage all around wall on hanging racks, ventilation ducting (a huge expense for us), back wall a mysto wood warper, at the time our best invention. Outboard motor hanging from ceiling by ladder for voyages in the Makana, “The Gift”, my grandfathers 14′ outboard motorboat circa 1950, modified by David Kahanamoku and myself to have a cabin, and reinforced deck and stringers, for wild forays to the Hollister Ranch for surfing nirvana. Oh! the stories I could tell. Overhead surfboard storage racks, David Kahanamoku shaped yellow surfboard in final glassing stages is below. Resin/tarpaper covered floor, usually the racks to the right, on sawhorses were pulled into the room for glassing 20 skimboards at a time, Note the milk cartons for mixing resins. We still recycle everything we can at Vic and many of the wood structures in the shop are still in use today, though they are incorporated into completely different forms. I gave up that ladder only this year when we sold our house, as it was more useful to the new owner, than to me. Co-founder, Peter Prietto was probably still my business partner. The back door out of the office gave us great fresh air. In 1982, when our landlord, George Burkhardt built a new complex just around the bend, we moved there and expanded into two units. Now we are up to 5 units here and a separate glassing facility down in San Clemente. Click on picture to make it larger. Tex Haines
