Ed Searfoss, an Unsung Hero of Surfboard History in Hawaii
- Marcus Maraih
- 18 January 2025

Author: Marcus M | SMH Chief Curator
One of the many missions of Surf Museum Hawaii (SMH) is to shine a spotlight on the under-appreciated and lessor known individuals who have been (and continue to be) extremely important to the history and culture of surfing in Hawaii. Ed Searfoss is one such person.
I met Ed years ago after being invited to the Country Surfboards private compound which is hidden in the mauka jungles of Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu. My invitation came through Mark Shepardson, the world’s most innovative body surfing hand-plane shaper, who had a custom wave-riding craft awaiting my pickup. Mark asked if I wanted to meet Ed – current owner of the iconic Country Surfboards label. Having counted a number of the label’s boards in my eclectic quiver through the years I jumped at the opportunity. Admittedly, I had only heard the Ed Searfoss name in passing. I knew he shaped and restored boards, but the name doesn’t ring out as loudly as say, Randy Rarick. Some of the best ones in this fringe culture of ours rarely do and remain glaringly absent in the otherwise comprehensive Encyclopedia of Surfing.

Country Surfboards was founded in 1967 in historic Haleiwa Town. Ed joined the label about five years later and used his fined-tuned skills in the shaping bay to quietly produce some of their best work. During those early years Ed connected with the aforementioned Randy Rarick to collaborate on an equally iconic Bear Surfboards label (founded in 1977) among other projects. As the years marched forward Ed eased-off of full production and took his decades of intimate knowledge and skill in surfboard design and applied it to high-end restoration. In doing so, Searfoss took on one of the most important roles in the preservation of surf history and culture in Hawaii. After all, the invention of the surfboard is comorbid with the invention of surfing.
Ed has salvaged and restored vessels that were crafted by the foam-generation’s forefathers, including those of Joe Quigg, Greg Noll, Pat Curren, Hap Jacobs, Dale Velzy, John Kelly, Bing Copeland, and Hobie Alter. Their boards were ridden by Hawaii’s wave riding pioneers at Oahu’s most challenging breaks, including Makaha, Waimea Bay, Pipeline, and Sunset Beach. Ed’s work is on display in world famous collections such as the Luis Real Collection, the walls of the Surfing Heritage and Cultural Center, and other surf museums on the U.S. mainland. Moreover, you’ll be hard pressed to find a serious private collector without a Searfoss-blessed board in their hoard.
Over the past decade Ed has worked closely with the planet’s preeminent vintage surfboard restoration expert, Randy Rarick. Rarick depends upon Searfoss to manage the glasswork on some of his most important restorations. This past summer I accompanied Randy on an early morning visit to Ed’s glassing bay to check in on works-in-progress. On deck was a Greg Noll Da’ Cat model, one of John Kelly’s experimental Hydroplanes, and a drool-inducing early 1960s Pat Curren elephant gun. Just another day at Ed Searfoss’ Country Surfboards.
The organized chaos within Ed’s restoration and glassing studio never fails to entertain. The space is delightfully littered with old laminates, displaced wooden stringers, and fins that collectively wait to be returned to the foam and resin embrace of a newly restored board. If missing a piece to complete your own collection and require a restoration your best bet is to connect to Searfoss. Message @surfmuseumhawaii on Instagram and we’ll help make it happen.


