Born in
Los Angeles in 1932, Reynolds
"Renny" Yater
started surfing when he was
14. He started production
shaping surfboards in 1953 at
the age of 21, but not under
his name. From 1955 to 1957,
he glassed balsa boards for
Hobie Surfboards in Dana Point
and then refined his shaping
skills while working for Dale
Velzy in San Clemente from
1957 to 1959. When surfing hit
the mainstream, Renny chose to
keep his operation small and
the quality high when some of
his peers were ramping up and
turning out the numbers. He
made his name as a shaper for
the phenomenal Yater Spoon, a
spectacularly light and
maneuverable design for the
era that was incubated in the
long winding points of the
Santa Barbara coastline.
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