"Janice" is an 8' 8" Tom Blake style Hollow Chambered Surfboard

"Janice" is an 8' 8" Tom Blake style Hollow Chambered Surfboard"Janice" is an 8' 8" Tom Blake style Hollow Chambered Surfboard Tom Blake 'Cigar Box' Surfboards were developed in the 1930s and they are a common generic reference to the hollow style boards that heavily influenced post World War II watermen, waterwomen and surfers. Janice was a dedicated petite Tutu who loved to fish and be out on the water. She used the family olo, and as she aged she wanted something lighter. During the summer of 1954, using

"Janice" is an 8' 8" Tom Blake style Hollow Chambered Surfboard

Tom Blake 'Cigar Box' Surfboards were developed in the 1930s and they are a common generic reference to the hollow-style boards that heavily influenced post World War II watermen, waterwomen and surfers. Janice was a dedicated petite Tutu who loved to fish and be out on the water. She used the family olo, and as she aged she wanted something lighter.  During the summer of 1954, using marine grade plywood her husband and son made her this 'Cigar Box' type of hollow board, 8'6" x 22 3/8" x 5 1/8" so she could paddle out beyond the reef and catch fish.  She wouldn't really surf it; except, after catching dinner for everyone, she would stand up and ride a wave in, almost always to the shore. Sometimes holding her catch high and sometimes struggling with multiple fish. No longer water tight and with a special loose piece making noise when the surfboard is turned it remains a fantastic piece of history. What a great board, in near museum quality, for the amazing woman in your life.  All original except for the later addition, in the 70s, of a bow eye to affix a Diver Down flag because her adult grandchildren like to use it as a platform to free dive.