On Saturday, the “Henry Ford of Surfing” took his last breath in his Palm Desert home at the age of 80. Though he had been struggling for years with cancer, he passed away peacefully in his sleep while surrounded by friends and family. Hobart “Hobie” Alter Jr. will forever be remembered for his contributions that changed the face of the surfing and sailing industry.

Alter loved the sea. Born in Ontario, California, he lived for weekends at his family’s summer house in Laguna Beach. A strong desire to work near the water led Alter to his first job shaping balsa surfboards in the early 1950s under the supervision of mentor Walter Hoffman. By 1953, Alter’s father decided to help him move the operation to the coast. By February of the next year, with $12,000, Alter opened the very first Hobie Surfboards shop on Coast Highway near Dana Point.

As business began to thrive, Alter made the decision to switch from producing a balsa core board to a foam one. The transition was anything but easy. Because of the highly corrosive chemicals and the difficulty of the chemistry, no one before that point had been able to produce a high-quality product. Even worse, the production process destroyed the equipment, making mass production impossible. But Alter was determined. After years of rethinking and experimentation, he had a breakthrough in 1958 that allowed him to finally achieve the proper hardness for shaping, as well as the correct core density for strength.

Thrilled with the new product, Alter moved production of the foam cores to a separate plant, placing Gordon “Grubby” Clark in charge of production. The plant began turning out “Speedo Sponges” and “Flexi-Fliers” by the hundreds. Clark would eventually take over the foam production business and rename it Clark Foam.

A new era in surfing had begun, and as the 1960s surf fad swept the nation, Alter was the head of the movement. He was also his own best customer, using Hobie boards to compete and win a plethora of surfing competitions throughout the late 50s and early 60s.

The popularity of the boards led to shop expansion, with another surf shop opening along the east coast. But Alter wasn’t done inventing. He decided to apply his design knowledge to other action sports, starting with “street surfing.” With the release of Hobie’s Super Surfer skateboard in 1964, Alter opened his first skateboard shop and began producing boards.

Just a few years later, Alter moved into the sailing market, applying his lightweight, foam design to the “Hobie Cat” in 1967. Just as Hobie’s foam surfboard had brought surfing to the masses, the Hobie Cat was easy to control and steer alone, making it ideal for every sailor, regardless of skill level. Once again, Alter had a hit on his hands. He would eventually sell the business to Coleman in 1976 after selling more than 100,000 boats.

Thanks to his creative thinking and drive, millions of people enjoy water sports every day. View a tribute to Alter from the ENCYCLOPEDIA of SURFING below.

Image is screenshot of video by ENCYCLOPEDIA of SURFING on Vimeo