Doug Haut boards

poussin · Joined: 14 Sep 2000 Posts: 191

Hi All,

I,ve been wondering about Doug Haut boards.
I know there is at least one of you out there who uses and covets these boards.

I'm very curious about them. Maybe 10-15 years ago, someone had a Haut board in there attic and offered it to me for free. I turned it down since it was so old school.......
Now I'm kicking myself over it! It was a mix of lime green fading into a darker
green (beautiful to the eye) and in perfect shape.
Doug Haut is a local shaper in Santa Cruz and as far as I know, is still shaping,
but primarily surf boards.
I thought it could be really cool to have him shape me a board but am not sure if his shapes would still be good in todays world of boards.
I think there is one of you out there who sails his boards and loves them.
Please chime in here and let me know your thoughts.

Look forward to hearing from you or anyone else with info on these boards and Doug Haut.

Thanks!

Greg

kevinkan · Joined: 07 Jun 2001 Posts: 1661 Location: San Francisco

yeah you definitely should've taken that Haut! I've never sailed one of his boards, but I've surfed some of his shapes and really like them. I believe his son, Matt, was also a windsurfer and shaped boards as well.

There's a guy up here who surfs OB and Crissy who has a newer custom Haut sailboard... looks to be in the 5 year old range IIRC.

ERROR!!! · Joined: 26 Feb 1998 Posts: 170 Location: East Bay

My first two boards were manufactured Windsurfers which were twelve feet long. In the very, very early 1980's, Kevin Mitchell and I each got a twelve foot styrofoam surfboard blank and custom shaped it ourselves in Berkeley. We could make the boards shorter but we couldn't put much nose rocker into them because the blanks were so flat. We drove them to Haut Surfboards in Santa Cruz and Doug fiberglassed them and put fin boxes into them. We added mast step and foot strap inserts. I believe we were Doug's first windsurfer customers. Thank you, Doug, for your contribution to windsurfing. I learned to fiberglass boards for myself, experimenting with concave bottoms and tri-fins, plus experimenting with seat harnesses, mast extensions and seven meter sails (see image). Eventually, I decided to stop working with hazardous chemicals. By the way, Kevin Mitchel was the first person to windsurf at Half Moon Bay and we were among the very first to windsurf at Wadell.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

2bluehawaiins · Joined: 07 Mar 2002 Posts: 194

I have a collection of about 8 sailboards all range from 1992 to 98.

I have a few favorite ones that I still sail all the time when it's really windy.
8'2" chop hopper and an 8'0 when it's super windy. They are both around 68 lt, I'm not sure as they were both custom glass boards.

They handle super windy conditions and chop great.

When conditions get crazy I always pull out a Haut board and feel super confident that it can handle anything.

2bluehawaiins · Joined: 07 Mar 2002 Posts: 194

The sail above is a 3.6 and that is my 8.0 Haut.

Doug has shaped surfboards for decades and I have never found a sailboard that carves a jibe like his boards and the boards are scary fast.
I have two haut surfboards also both 7'4" hybrid boards.
Here are just a few sailboards I still have today.

The green one, second to the right is a magic board for sure!

Super light 17 lb

Got it for $100 and have sailed it for years, my favorite at Tomales when its about 25 mph average.
Notice all my boards have the mast track back not old school from the 80's.

2bluehawaiins · Joined: 07 Mar 2002 Posts: 194

I couldn't help I had to post one more. Ok two more.

ShreddinEd · Joined: 27 Mar 1994 Posts: 172

Cool collection 2Blue. Love the graphics, wish they'd come back.

ERROR! what year is that picture at Berkeley from? It's in that period with harnesses but not RAF sails, that's so cool old school! Did you sail Waddell with those things?

ERROR!!! · Joined: 26 Feb 1998 Posts: 170 Location: East Bay

edscott, the picture is from a drag race in the very early 80's at Berkeley. I bought some Pacific Surf Sails from Barbara Ochel, who sold me my first Windsurfer in the late 70's (serial #94451). Here's a picture from the early 80's at Wadell.

Ronald.C · Joined: 30 Oct 2004 Posts: 123

hello, totally unscripted here.

The timing could not have been better.

My Haut (it's my wife's really) is 2 days shy of 24 years old. We lived up the street from Doug's shop on Swift Street, 353J Western Drive. Funny how things stick in your memory. Picked it up on the way home from work on Christmas eve.

That board is the root of all my windsurfing evil. I know it's hindered my progress, but when it's on, the ride is still magic. It's been a few weeks, but it sits ready to go. Without a doubt, the longest and most faithful tool in my box.

The King's below has opened the door in some new and fantastic ways. Just last Saturday was the latest. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, shared with a couple of known windsurfers here, was truly my best for the year.

The Lopez above has only been ridden once in 2 years since getting the King's, but its too good to ever get rid of.

Merry Christmas and thanks for sharing the Doug Haut stories