 Yater shaped fiberglass boards in the early 1950s, worked for Hobie in the mid-1950s on balsa boards and in 1957 went to work for Dale Velzy's shop in San Clemente, California shaping balsa boards.He opened Yater Surfboards in the fall of 1959 on Anacapa Street in Santa Barbara before moving the shop to Summerland, California in 1961.In 1964 zoning laws changes and in 1965 the shop opened on Gutierrez Street along with a retail surf shop at 401 State Street.