Tinker had Dale in Rockaway, NY for a demo. Dales teeth were in terrible shape and he had a throbbing toothache. Dale gets Tinkers ammo can of tools and finds channel lock pliers inside. This is not something you ever want to witness! Soon he has the offending tooth out and in short notice has a bag of jelly doughnuts, munching away on them. It makes my teeth hurt just thinking about it. Bill Bahne eventually springs for a set of dentures for Dale.
While riding for Donald Takayama, Dale sits in on his new shape. Now only those of you that have EVER shaped a board for Dale can really appreciate this; Donald is done and Dale asks if Donald can make it any thicker. WTF? Donald bends down and scoops the foam dust off the floor and tosses it back on the shaped blank.
About 2002 I shape Dale a Surfboards Hawaii. Dale has ridden for EVERY southern California label and he come back ranting that this is the best board yet. The next day he comes to me and says, "You know I rode the board at low tide and it ripped, but when I took it out at high tide it did NOT float me as well with all that extra water under it.” There was ABSOLUTELY no point of arguing with him – he fought any explanation tooth and nail that he may have been wrong.
Dale hated the nose rider I shaped for him. Only at the insistence of others who rode it also did he relent and get back on the board. He took the board he hated so much to the Oceanside Longboard Club Noseriding Contest and ripped. He won the contest on it beating the competition by a total of 2 minutes of nose time and took home the grand prize of $3,000.
Dale loved his boards until the 28th or 29th of the month, then they went on the auction block to pay the next months bills.
Dale does not surf anymore. He had nerve damage in his neck and had been sober a long while, but the alcohol was a self-medicating haven for him. He also suffers from sever depression. From what I have seen of his childhood, I would be seriously emotionally depressed too.
God love him and watch over him
