Owl Chapman was a pioneer in shaping surfboards to match the speed and power of Oahu’s winter-time waves. He’s widely credited as the father of the shortboard revolution and—in the minds of many—is the most influential surfboard shaper to come out of Hawaii. Here, North Shore veterans—and legends in their own right—Rick Williams and Andy St. Onge share their collections of storied Owl Chapman surfboards.
Rick holds a triple stringer gun shaped by
Owl in his yard on the North Shore
Rick Williams examining the underside
of a repaired owl board
Rick Williams showing some of the ephemera he’s collected
throughout his career on the North Shore
Rick Williams holding a rare colored Owl Chapman design
An old fin design sketched for Rick
A few of Andy’s guns at home
Andy St. Onge carrying an Owl Chapman gun
at his North Shore home
