Reynolds "Renny" Yater (born 1932 in Los Angeles) is a

surfboard A surfboard is a narrow plank used in surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding an ocean wave. They were invented in ancient Hawaii, where they were known as ''papa he'e ...

builder. He was one of the first commercial surfboard builders of the 1950s.Shaper Renny Yater
Boardroom the Movie Yater shaped fiberglass boards in the early 1950s, worked for Hobie in the mid-1950s on balsa boards and in 1957 went to work for

Dale Velzy Dale Velzy (September 23, 1927 – May 26, 2005) was an American surfboard shaper, credited with being the world's first commercial shaper. He opened the first professional surf shop in Manhattan Beach, California in 1950, personally hand fashio ...

's shop in

San Clemente, California San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway betwee ...

shaping balsa boards. He opened Yater Surfboards in the fall of 1959 on Anacapa Street in Santa Barbara before moving the shop to

Summerland, California Summerland is a census designated place (CDP) in Santa Barbara County, California. The population was 1,448 at the 2010 census, down from 1,545 at the 2000 census. The town includes a school and a Presbyterian Church. There are many small busin ...

in 1961. In 1964 zoning laws changes and in 1965 the shop opened on Gutierrez Street along with a retail surf shop at 401 State Street. In 1967 the shaping operation moved to Gray Avenue. The retail shop closed in 1971. His board designs include the Yater Spoon, Nose Specializer and Pocket Rocket. Customers included Joey Cabell, Gordon Clark, Mickey Dora, Philipi Pomar, Kemp Auberg, Bob Cooper, Bruce Brown and John Severson. Another Yater retail store opened in 1991 at 10 State Street in Santa Barbara and continues in business with Yater's son Lauren at the helm. Yater had a role in 1960s surf movies including ''Big Wednesday'' (1961) and ''Walk On the Wet Side'' (1963). In the film ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella ''Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph Conr ...

'' (1979), Robert Duvall wears a Yater T-shirt and has a Yater Spoon board (an 8'6"), the latter of which is stolen by the patrol boat crew (in a scene that was cut from the original version, but seen in the

Apocalypse Now Redux ''Apocalypse Now Redux'' is a 2001 American extended version of Francis Ford Coppola's epic 1979 war film ''Apocalypse Now''. Coppola, along with editor/longtime collaborator Walter Murch, added 49 minutes of material that had been removed fr ...

version).Surf boards
Honolulu Surf Museum

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yater, Reynolds 1932 births People from Los Angeles Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States Living people