Hobie™ Surfboards is a legendary brand, born from the dream of its founder and true pioneer Hobie Alter in his parents' garage in 1950, when he decided to put his passion for woodworking to use in surfing. His father backed the Buick out of the garage to make room for a balsa wood delivery, Hobie pulled out his drawknife, and carved his very first surfboard. Friends quickly started coming over, and in no time, there was no room left for the Buick: the Hobie adventure had begun.
Hobie and surfing grew up together. A few years and 40 tons of sawdust later, Hobie opened the first surf shop in Southern California in Dana Point.
By 1958, surfboards were, with few exceptions, mainly made of balsa wood. Surfer Phil Edwards noted that working with balsa was expensive, with two-thirds of the boards littering the shaping room floor by the end of the day. Hobie, ever ingenious, remembered a winter evening in 1954 when Kent Doolittle had slipped a small block of polyurethane foam into his hand. Impressed by its strength-to-weight ratio, waterproofness, and ability to be laminated with polyester resin, Hobie had carefully stored the information for future use. By 1958, with balsa becoming more expensive and harder to find, he knew the future had arrived.
This is when Gordon "Grubby" Clark (Clark Foam) entered the scene. Clark, an engineering student and laminator for Hobie Surfboards, partnered with Hobie to produce polyurethane foam for surfboards. The expansion properties of "this junk," as Hobie called it, were incredible. Fearing that competitors (Velzy or Noll) would steal their formula, the duo rented a dilapidated, weather-beaten shack in a secluded coastal ravine, blacked out the windows, and set to work perfecting their new technology. "The revolution was subtle," Edwards recalled in his 1967 autobiography, "and total." It forever changed surfboard manufacturing and gave birth to the watersports lifestyle. Hobie and his friend Gordon "Grubby" Clark began experimenting, literally inventing the polyurethane foam surfboard. These new boards were lighter, faster, and easier to surf than anything before. Suddenly, everyone wanted to be a surfer – and every surfer dreamed of a Hobie.
By the mid-1960s, while the Beach Boys were riding tubes, the legendary Hobie Surf Team was dominating in the water. The Hobie team brought together a true pantheon of the best surfers: Phil Edwards, Joey Cabell, Corky Carroll, Micky Munoz, Joyce Hoffman, Joey Hamasaki, Gary Propper, Billy Hamilton, and Herbie Fletcher are just a few of the champions who have sported Hobie™'s distinctive diamond logo over the years.
Hobie and Boats: In the late 1960s, Hobie became interested in boats. Hobie developed a prototype for a light, fast, and easy-to-maneuver catamaran, inspired by the Polynesian double-hulled catamaran. History quickly repeated itself. What Hobie's foam surfboard did for surfing, the Hobie Cat did for sailing, introducing a whole new way to enjoy the sun and thus revolutionizing an entire industry. For the past forty years, the Hobie Cat has been the most popular sailboat. It remains the best-selling catamaran in the world, and it is rare to find a body of water, on any continent, that does not have a fleet of Hobie regattas.
In the years that followed, many other nautical innovations emerged from Hobie's imagination: the Hobie Power Skiff, a 10-meter monohull, an 18-meter power catamaran for offshore navigation, innovative fishing floats, and a wide range of kayaks. The Hobie logo became synonymous with excellence in everything from radio-controlled gliders to skateboards, as well as the world-renowned polarized sunglasses and sportswear.
Hobie Alter, through his vision, contributed like no one before to the rise of surfing (and sailing) by enabling watersports enthusiasts worldwide to get on the water with innovative and high-performance equipment. Hobie Alter was unique. He didn't just create surfboards and catamarans; he created a true lifestyle, a new way of understanding our aquatic world. The dream born on the beach in 1950 became a reality, not only for Hobie but also for new generations of dreamers and surfers.
Today, from its headquarters in California, Hobie Cat Company and its international subsidiaries produce an impressive collection of watercraft distributed worldwide. In addition to the sailboats that made its reputation, Hobie Cat also offers stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, and boats for recreation and fishing. Each product line is complemented by a wide selection of parts and accessories.
As for surfboards, Hobie™ today works with some of the best Californian shapers like Gary Larson or Adam Davenport to shape/glass custom Hobie™ boards for customers and surfers.
Discover our range of Hobie™ Handshaped and Made in USA boards here, or contact us to order your board. Also, don't miss the 2 books available on Hobie™ and Hobie Surfshop, both for sale at Woodstockshop.com
