Hi Joseph,
I've contacted a friend who told me awhile back that he was thinking of selling his Vincent. When I hear back from him, I'll let you know if he's selling it and how you can contact him.
The Vincent is one of my favorite Bings. It's so odd with its round rails and thick, blunt square-diamond tail, almost like it was a Bing Lotus that got sawed off a foot up from tail tip. And the lam is the most outrageous, indulgent decal that Bing ever put on any of his boards. Bing has said many times that this is his least favorite decal.
The fin on both of mine is a removable Waveset fin. One is what was called the Bing #1 (looks like a DN Lightweight fin) and the other is the G&S style (long and swept back).
The Vincent came out in June or July 1968, just as the last Lotuses were made and near the end of the Australian V-bottom run. It is generally shorter than both those models, at 7 to 8 feet in length. Mike Eaton designed the board and probably shaped most of them. Duke Boyd from Hang Ten, who helped Bing with advertising, came up with the name. I originally thought that maybe it was named for someone... nope. We asked Duke a few years ago and he said he named it after a motorcycle he had owned when he lived in Panama many years ago called the Vincent Black Shadow. It's still a bit of a mystery on exactly what the origins of the art for the decal are and what it all represents. I'd ask Bob Dahlquist, the artist who created this decal and many others for Bing, but I haven't been able to find him. Anyway, I've speculated that the stern-faced dude with the mustache of grapes and vines, is Dalquist's portrayl of Bacchus, the Roman God of Intoxication. I hear there's still a celebration (big party) in honor of this guy in Rome each year, where everyone gets wasted and has an orgy. This model may be Bing Surfboards' salute to the Summer of Love in 1968, though I don't think Bing realized the full meaning of the Vincent's logo at the time when he was selling the board.
I have two of them, the red floral fiberglass one on the website and one with a wild resin acid splash bottom layup. I'll send you a photo of that one.
Ok. I'll get back to you when I hear back from my friend.
Tom |
