Hobart Alter
Encyclopedia
Hobart "Hobie" Alter, born October 31, 1933, is a founding pioneer in the surfboard shaping industry, creator of the Hobie Cat
, and founder of the Hobie company.
One of the most successful entrepreneurs in surfing history, Hobie Alter is widely remembered as the man behind the development of the foam-and-fiberglass surfboard. His label, Hobie, remains one of the top-selling surfboard brands of all time. He is also the creator of the Hobie 33 ultralight-displacement sailboat and one of the finest mass-produced radio-controlled gliders, the Hobie Hawk.
During summer vacation 1950 "Hobie" hit on an idea to bring together his two loves, woodshop and water. He asked his dad to pull the Desoto out of the family's Laguna Beach, California garage, and the history of surfing was about to enter a new era.
Hobie began by building beautiful 9-foot balsawood icons for his friends. They worked well! Hobie's hobby had become a business and his dream of never owning hard-soled shoes or having to work east of California's Pacific Coast Highway was becoming a reality. A couple of years and 40 tons of sawdust later, Hobie opened up Southern California's first surf shop in Dana Point, California. Then in 1958 Hobie and his buddy Gordon "Grubby" Clark (as in Clark Foam
) began experiments making surfboards out of foam and fiberglass. The new boards were lighter, faster and more responsive than anything else in the water. Demand skyrocketed, production cranked up, and everyone wanted to be on a Hobie surfboard. While the Beach Boys were making records, the legendary Hobie Surf Team was setting them. Hobie's lineup virtually comprises the surfing hall of fame; Joey Cabell, Phil Edwards
, Corky Carroll
, Gary Propper, Peter Pan
, Mickey Munoz
, Joyce Hoffman
and Yancy Spencer among many, many others. The shaping innovations and meticulous attention to detailed perfection are still Hobie trademarks and the Hobie Surf Team still strikes fear among their competitors.
Hobie was born and raised in Ontario, California, but his family had a summerhouse in Laguna Beach, where Alter got into the full array of ocean sports. Initiated into surfing by Walter Hoffman, he started shaping balsa boards in the early ’50s. When the family’s front yard became a litter of balsa-blank glue-ups, hardened patches of resin and piles of balsa shavings, his father moved him off the property by buying him a lot on Pacific Coast Highway in nearby Dana Point for $1,500. That was 1953. In February 1954, with the first stage of the shop completed, Hobie Surfboards opened its doors after a total investment of $12,000. “People laughed at me for setting up a surf shop,” Hobie remembers. “They said that once I’d sold a surfboard to each of the 250 surfers on the coast, I’d be out of business. But the orders just kept coming.”
Alter augmented his own considerable shaping skills by hiring other talented board-builders, including Phil Edwards
and Reynolds Yater. With the introduction of foam-and-fiberglass technology, Alter brought Joe Quigg
over from Hawaii to help keep up with demand. Then came the high-volume production shapers like Ralph Parker and Terry Martin, guys who have shaped hundreds of thousands of surfboards over the years. Other Hobie shapers included Dewey Weber
, Mickey Munoz
, Corky Carroll
, Don Hansen
. Bruce Jones
and the Patterson brothers.
After experimenting with foam for a couple of years, Hobie made a breakthrough in 1958, finally achieving the right skin hardness for shapeability with the right core density for strength. He decided to set up a separate foam-blowing operation in nearby Laguna Canyon and recruited one of his glassers, Gordon “Grubby” Clark, to make polyurethane
surfboard blanks. Almost immediately, Gidget
was released, and surfing (and the demand for surfboards) boomed. “If that movie had come out in the balsa era,” says Alter, “no one could have supplied them.”
The new foam boards were called Speedo Sponges and Flexi-Fliers, and Hobie was soon manufacturing 250 a week. Clark eventually took over the foam operation, renaming it Clark Foam
, and he’s serviced the lion’s share of the world’s surfboard blank market ever since.
Alter was a solid competitor in his younger days. He won the second Brooks Street contest in Laguna
in 1954 and placed third and fourth at the Makaha International Surfing Championships in 1958 and 1959. He was also an excellent tandem surfer, placing second in the event at Makaha in 1962. Alter added to his personal notoriety by making the Guinness Book of World Records in 1964, surfing the wake of a motorboat 26 miles from Long Beach to Catalina Island.
The Hobie competition team was the one to beat in the ’60s, and the company sponsored the most successful competitors on the West and East coasts, including Corky Carroll
and Gary Propper.
After sailing on the Woody Brown
's Manu Kai, Alter patented the idea. Brown did not contest this, just as he had refused to contest Tom Blake's claiming of his invention of the surfboard skeg
. Alter's subsequent Hobie Cat
became the nucleus of a very successful worldwide catamaran business.
Alter sold Hobie Cat
to Coleman
in 1976, and his sons Hobie Jr. and Jeff carry on the family tradition, operating Hobie Designs and overseeing the company's licensing operations. Today, Alter divides his time between the mountains of Idaho
(where he skis in the winter) and an island in the Pacific Northwest, where he anchors a 60-foot, foam-core, twin-diesel power catamaran he designed and built himself.
Hobie cat
A Hobie Cat is a small sailing catamaran manufactured by the Hobie Cat Company. Begun as a manufacturer of surf boards in the late 1950s, Hobie began manufacturing catamaran sailboats in the late 1960s and has become the largest manufacturer of small catamarans in the world...
, and founder of the Hobie company.
One of the most successful entrepreneurs in surfing history, Hobie Alter is widely remembered as the man behind the development of the foam-and-fiberglass surfboard. His label, Hobie, remains one of the top-selling surfboard brands of all time. He is also the creator of the Hobie 33 ultralight-displacement sailboat and one of the finest mass-produced radio-controlled gliders, the Hobie Hawk.
During summer vacation 1950 "Hobie" hit on an idea to bring together his two loves, woodshop and water. He asked his dad to pull the Desoto out of the family's Laguna Beach, California garage, and the history of surfing was about to enter a new era.
Hobie began by building beautiful 9-foot balsawood icons for his friends. They worked well! Hobie's hobby had become a business and his dream of never owning hard-soled shoes or having to work east of California's Pacific Coast Highway was becoming a reality. A couple of years and 40 tons of sawdust later, Hobie opened up Southern California's first surf shop in Dana Point, California. Then in 1958 Hobie and his buddy Gordon "Grubby" Clark (as in Clark Foam
Clark Foam
Clark Foam, founded in 1961, was the premier manufacturer of surfboard blanks -- foam slabs, reinforced with one or more wooden strips or "stringers", which are cast in the rough shape of a surfboard. Company founder Gordon "Grubby" Clark settled on rigid polyurethane as the material for his...
) began experiments making surfboards out of foam and fiberglass. The new boards were lighter, faster and more responsive than anything else in the water. Demand skyrocketed, production cranked up, and everyone wanted to be on a Hobie surfboard. While the Beach Boys were making records, the legendary Hobie Surf Team was setting them. Hobie's lineup virtually comprises the surfing hall of fame; Joey Cabell, Phil Edwards
Phil Edwards (surfer)
Philip Edwards is a legendary surfer. He is credited with being the first to surf the Banzai pipeline in Hawaii, being the first professional surfer, and creating the first signature surf board. He was the subject of a cover story, and his photo appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1966...
, Corky Carroll
Corky Carroll
Corky Carroll was a professional American surfer and is considered a pioneer in the sport by becoming the first real professional surfer as well as being the first to receive endorsements.-Life and career:...
, Gary Propper, Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
, Mickey Munoz
Mickey Munoz
Mickey Munoz, born in New York City in 1937, is one of the early pioneers of surfing but is perhaps more famous for his work as a surfboard shaper. Munoz, a historical figure in the surfing world, has been featured in many popular surfing documentaries such as the 2004 film Riding Giants...
, Joyce Hoffman
Joyce Hoffman
Joyce Hoffman is an American surfer, considered a woman's pioneer in her sport. She is often regarded as the first female international surfing star and was one the first inductees of the International Surfing Hall of Fame.-Biography:...
and Yancy Spencer among many, many others. The shaping innovations and meticulous attention to detailed perfection are still Hobie trademarks and the Hobie Surf Team still strikes fear among their competitors.
Hobie was born and raised in Ontario, California, but his family had a summerhouse in Laguna Beach, where Alter got into the full array of ocean sports. Initiated into surfing by Walter Hoffman, he started shaping balsa boards in the early ’50s. When the family’s front yard became a litter of balsa-blank glue-ups, hardened patches of resin and piles of balsa shavings, his father moved him off the property by buying him a lot on Pacific Coast Highway in nearby Dana Point for $1,500. That was 1953. In February 1954, with the first stage of the shop completed, Hobie Surfboards opened its doors after a total investment of $12,000. “People laughed at me for setting up a surf shop,” Hobie remembers. “They said that once I’d sold a surfboard to each of the 250 surfers on the coast, I’d be out of business. But the orders just kept coming.”
Alter augmented his own considerable shaping skills by hiring other talented board-builders, including Phil Edwards
Phil Edwards (surfer)
Philip Edwards is a legendary surfer. He is credited with being the first to surf the Banzai pipeline in Hawaii, being the first professional surfer, and creating the first signature surf board. He was the subject of a cover story, and his photo appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1966...
and Reynolds Yater. With the introduction of foam-and-fiberglass technology, Alter brought Joe Quigg
Joe Quigg
Joe Quigg is a retired American basketball player. He was a key player on the 1957 National Champion North Carolina Tar Heels and a second round draft pick by the New York Knicks in 1958....
over from Hawaii to help keep up with demand. Then came the high-volume production shapers like Ralph Parker and Terry Martin, guys who have shaped hundreds of thousands of surfboards over the years. Other Hobie shapers included Dewey Weber
Dewey Weber
David Earl Weber, , known as Dewey Weber, was an American surfer.Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he stood out for his unique surfing style...
, Mickey Munoz
Mickey Munoz
Mickey Munoz, born in New York City in 1937, is one of the early pioneers of surfing but is perhaps more famous for his work as a surfboard shaper. Munoz, a historical figure in the surfing world, has been featured in many popular surfing documentaries such as the 2004 film Riding Giants...
, Corky Carroll
Corky Carroll
Corky Carroll was a professional American surfer and is considered a pioneer in the sport by becoming the first real professional surfer as well as being the first to receive endorsements.-Life and career:...
, Don Hansen
Don Hansen
Donald Ray Hansen, is a former professional American football linebacker in the NFL from 1966 to 1977. He was known as an extremely hard hitter and an underrated as well as overachieving linebacker....
. Bruce Jones
Bruce Jones (surfboards)
Bruce Jones is a founding pioneer in the surfboard shaping industry.The company he founded, Bruce Jones Surfboards, has built premium surfboards since 1973....
and the Patterson brothers.
After experimenting with foam for a couple of years, Hobie made a breakthrough in 1958, finally achieving the right skin hardness for shapeability with the right core density for strength. He decided to set up a separate foam-blowing operation in nearby Laguna Canyon and recruited one of his glassers, Gordon “Grubby” Clark, to make polyurethane
Polyurethane
A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
surfboard blanks. Almost immediately, Gidget
Gidget
Gidget is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel, Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas. The novel follows the adventures of a teenage girl and her surfing friends on the beach at Malibu. The name Gidget is a portmanteau of "girl and midget"...
was released, and surfing (and the demand for surfboards) boomed. “If that movie had come out in the balsa era,” says Alter, “no one could have supplied them.”
The new foam boards were called Speedo Sponges and Flexi-Fliers, and Hobie was soon manufacturing 250 a week. Clark eventually took over the foam operation, renaming it Clark Foam
Clark Foam
Clark Foam, founded in 1961, was the premier manufacturer of surfboard blanks -- foam slabs, reinforced with one or more wooden strips or "stringers", which are cast in the rough shape of a surfboard. Company founder Gordon "Grubby" Clark settled on rigid polyurethane as the material for his...
, and he’s serviced the lion’s share of the world’s surfboard blank market ever since.
Alter was a solid competitor in his younger days. He won the second Brooks Street contest in Laguna
Laguna Beach, California
Laguna Beach is a seaside resort city and artist community located in southern Orange County, California, United States, approximately southwest of the county seat of Santa Ana...
in 1954 and placed third and fourth at the Makaha International Surfing Championships in 1958 and 1959. He was also an excellent tandem surfer, placing second in the event at Makaha in 1962. Alter added to his personal notoriety by making the Guinness Book of World Records in 1964, surfing the wake of a motorboat 26 miles from Long Beach to Catalina Island.
The Hobie competition team was the one to beat in the ’60s, and the company sponsored the most successful competitors on the West and East coasts, including Corky Carroll
Corky Carroll
Corky Carroll was a professional American surfer and is considered a pioneer in the sport by becoming the first real professional surfer as well as being the first to receive endorsements.-Life and career:...
and Gary Propper.
After sailing on the Woody Brown
Woody Brown (surfer and catamaran inventor)
Woody "Spider" Brown was a surfer and designer notable for introducing modern surfing to America and for the invention of the modern catamaran.-Early life:...
's Manu Kai, Alter patented the idea. Brown did not contest this, just as he had refused to contest Tom Blake's claiming of his invention of the surfboard skeg
Skeg
A skeg is a sternward extension of the keel of boats and ships which have a rudder mounted on the centre line. The term also applies to the lowest point on an outboard motor or the outdrive of an inboard/outboard...
. Alter's subsequent Hobie Cat
Hobie cat
A Hobie Cat is a small sailing catamaran manufactured by the Hobie Cat Company. Begun as a manufacturer of surf boards in the late 1950s, Hobie began manufacturing catamaran sailboats in the late 1960s and has become the largest manufacturer of small catamarans in the world...
became the nucleus of a very successful worldwide catamaran business.
Alter sold Hobie Cat
Hobie cat
A Hobie Cat is a small sailing catamaran manufactured by the Hobie Cat Company. Begun as a manufacturer of surf boards in the late 1950s, Hobie began manufacturing catamaran sailboats in the late 1960s and has become the largest manufacturer of small catamarans in the world...
to Coleman
Coleman Company
Coleman Company, Inc., is an American company that specializes in outdoor recreation products. Historically, Coleman is known for camping gear....
in 1976, and his sons Hobie Jr. and Jeff carry on the family tradition, operating Hobie Designs and overseeing the company's licensing operations. Today, Alter divides his time between the mountains of Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
(where he skis in the winter) and an island in the Pacific Northwest, where he anchors a 60-foot, foam-core, twin-diesel power catamaran he designed and built himself.