There’s an old photo of Mike Hynson leaning into a Haleiwa wall laying out a turn few others would have been capable of at that time. That turn was something of a happy accident, a mistake made in the shaping room that would eventually change our concept of how surfboard’s should be made.
According to Mike, “I was not yet an experienced shaper and I made that board thinner than I had wanted. When I rode it, however, I found it turned better than any board I had ridden before.”
Now, more than a decade after that board led to the aforementioned turn, it seems obvious that a thinner surfboard makes turning easier. At that time however, in the early ’60s, floatation was paramount in our thinking, and thicker boards floated higher and therefore usually paddled better.
But Hynson wasn’t finished messing with the rail just yet. A few years later, while shaping for Gordon & Smith Surfboards, he designed, shaped and operated the generically named Mike Hynson model. While the outline of Hynson’s board had three stringers and appeared similar to the Phil Edwards model by Hobie, some revolutionary new features had been incorporated.
The most obvious, perhaps, was in the fin. Nicknamed the “Red Fin” because of its unique color, much of the fin’s wide base had been removed. While fins were already getting smaller thanks to genius kneeboarder George Greenough, the Red Fin was the first production model to my knowledge to feature what became known as a “speed fin.” This alone offered greater maneuverability.
It had a square tale with ample curve and a narrower nose than most boards of the time. Turning the board on its side, it became obvious that these were not the round “baseball rails” featured on most other surfboards from that era. This knifed rail seemed bizarre to me at the time.
With zero knowledge of hydrodynamics, I failed to realize that a sharper rail shed water rather than held on to it. Still, I never would have purchased a Hynson model if two of my high school heroes, Darryl Diamond and Ronnie Hurd, had not been riding them. Because of them, I traded my last $75 for a used Hynson.
The next weekend, I went to Rincon with some friends to discover that each time I tried turning my new board, the rails caught, resulting in a long swim to shore. After several attempts I became frustrated and, with nothing to lose, decided to attempt turning as hard as I could. Then, the board I had deemed a dog roared to life. I felt the rail grab, the board accelerate and realized I’d done the hardest turn of my life.
By the mid ’60s Hynson again began experimenting with the rail. The result was one of the most significant revolutions ever in surfboard design, the down rail. This led a new generation of surfers into previously uncharted territory on a wave.
On Jan. 10, 2025, Mike Hynson passed away. His brilliant and curious mind never quit rearranging surfing’s deck. For that alone, I remain endlessly grateful.
Part 1: Remembering Mike Hynson
