San Clemente Surfboard Builder Terry Senate Passes Away

Originally posted on SURFER | By Jim Kempton | Last updated Nov 22, 2024 2:20 PM ET

Terry Senate, shaper, surfer, and decades-long fixture in the San Clemente "surf ghetto" died of natural causes on Thursday, November 21, 2024.

Just last year Senate had been inducted into the initial class of the Los Molinos Boardbuilders Hall of Fame honorees.

“I’m just glad we got to honor him in time for him to enjoy the love,” said Damian Brawner, another pillar of the San Clemente board building pantheon.

One of the last of the old school masters, Senate started his board building career at Infinity, where shaping artist Steve Bahne taught him board design. He also mentored under the great Ben Aipa when he was making the first Stingers. Over the years Senate made boards for top waveriders - Shane Dorian, Ross Williams, Brock Little, and Pat O’Connell among them.

His boards were all custom hand-shaped and after over 40 years shaping, he had honed his skills to a fine art, constructing a successful business in a brutally competitive arena. But part of the reason Terry has so many loyal customers was that he took time to talk to each individual - as every truly good custom shaper does.

“Don’t ever underestimate Terry Senate,” Bob Hurly told me when he attended the 2nd Boardbuilders awards this summer. “He’s got chops.” It was the ultimate compliment from one master shaper to another. I don’t think anyone underestimated him – or his prodigious chops with a planer.

Everybody knew Terry’s good-natured humor, too. He was famous for telling bad jokes. His good friend elder statesman Brad Basham used to laugh about it with all Terry’s surf mates. “He’d say “Hey, wanna hear a joke,?” Brad would deadpan. “And then he’d tell you the same joke he told you two months ago! And 6 months ago!”

All kidding aside, Terry had been a top shaper here in the Los Molinos surf district for what seemed like forever – but probably only three decades. And he has beaten every health problem that had come down the pike.

But in August of 2024 after 45 years of shaping surfboards (18 with Infinity and 25 on his own label, Terry Senate Surfboards closed its doors. It was a sign that things were not getting better.

“Terry was such an a big heart and a great attitude” said Tom Gudauskas, patriarch of one of surfing’s great families and longtime friend of Terrys. “Such an amazing human - he will be missed by so many people.”

Terry shaped me a board once many years ago. I remember everything about it - it worked really well. When I think about the paddleout he will receive, I wish I had it now.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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