surfresearch.com.au
home catalogue history references appendix
surfresearch.com.au 
  the paipo* catalogue 
the paipo* catalogue
*A generic term for surfcraft usually ridden prone or kneeling, including the Paipo, Lamaroo, Handboard, Bellyboard, Surf-o-plane, Coolite, Kneeboard, Spoon, Slab, Mat, Boogie, etc, etc.
1920 Risby Bros. Prone board (Lamaroo), 3ft 6''
#00000335
1930 Solid wood Bellyboard 4 ft 5''
#00000172
1930 Solid wood Bellyboard 4 ft 3''
#00000173
1933 Surf-o-plane,  Dr Ernest Smithers 
#00000146
1950 Lamaroo 5ft 1''
#00000166
1950 Lamaroo 5ft 6''
#00000233
1953 Plywood Bellyboard 2ft 11''
#00000325
1956 Paipo, Balsa 3ft 8"
#00000113
1958 Balsawood Bellyboard 4ft - Ridden by Leigh Tingle
#00000345
1958 Surf-o-plane with surfing decor                                                                                                
#00000374
1960  Paipo Bellyboard  2 ft 8''
#00000194
1960 Plywood Bellyboard Twin fin 'Rocket'  4ft 6''
#00000204
1960 Paipo by Farfor, 3 ft 5''  Tapa cloth laminated bottom
#00000193
1960 Bill Wallace Balsa Bellyboard 4 ft
#00000307
1963 Barry Bennett, Bellyboard Twin fin 5ft 1"
#00000050
1963 Barry Bennett   Belly/Knee Board       5 ft 1" #00000366
1964 McDonagh Twin Fin Kneeboard 4 ft 9''
#00000311
1964 Wallace Belly/Knee board  5ft 3''
#00000313
1963 Skimboard by Blue Pacific 24'' (Diameter)
#00000237
1966 Bay Area Belly board 5 ft 5''
#00000197
1967 Barry Bennett  Kneeboard 5 ft 7'' 
#00000219
1969 Surf-o-plane Marlin model, surfer Nick Carroll
#00000147
1972 Midget Farrelly, Coolite 4 ft 10" Rubber fin
#00000034
1970 The Shoe by Shane, 4 ft 11''. Spooned deck kneeboard.
#00000195
1970 Zippy Board Small Hunters Toyline 16''
#00000203
1973 Jackson, Greenough Spoon 5 ft 10" 
#00000076
1973 Ron Wade Spoon  4ft 8''
#00000320
1973  Barry Taylor, Flextail Kneeboard 5 ft 6" Hand made fin box
#00000083
1973 Zippy Board Large Super Surfer  3ft
#00000202
1975 Rod Ball Design Ski tail Kneeboard 5ft 8
#00000227
1975 Backyard,  Spoon deck Kneeboard 5ft 6"
#00000068
1975 Belly Bogger 3ft 7''
#00000150
1976 Merrin, Air mat twin fin 5 ft 4" 
#00000066
1976 Crozier, Kneeboard  Slab 5 ft 4" Tri boxes
#00000058
1976  Moulded plastic handboard, 15 1/2'' 
#00000226
1976
 WaveTight: Capri, Prone board 4' 10" #00000370
1978 Sky Kneeboard 5 ft 8.5" George Greenough Design Shaped by Chris Brock 
#00000310
1979 George Greenough Design Kneeboard 5 ft 6.5"  Shaped by Chris Brock
#00000235
1980 Crozier Tri fin Kneeboard, 5ft 7'', Shaped by Peter Crawford.
#00000342
1980 Coolite Twin fin adaptation
#00000088
1980 Morey Boogie, Mach 7
#00000030
1980  Crozier Tri fin Kneeboard, 5ft 7'', Shaped by Peter Crawford.
#00000342
1980  Shane 4ft 9" epoxy belly-board by Tony McDonagh.                                                         
#00000373
1985 Express Four fin Kneeboard 5 ft 7''
#00000206
1985  Friar Tuck Four fin Kneeboard, 5ft 7'', Shaped by Dale Ponsford.
#00000343
1989 The Pod - Molded Handboard 12''
#00000205
1990 Zero Utra Light (Thruster Coolite)  5 ft 
#00000091
paipo* catalogue : images
Paipo Catalogue for...
Rod Rodgers, Baltimore, Maryland : My Paipo Boards and ...More.

Before bodyboards there was plywood.
Sean Ross, Pipeline, Hawaii.
Board by Paul Lindbergh's Hawaii Paipo Designs.
Photo: Alan (Bud) McCray.
Sean was a life guard at the Ehukai Beach (Pipeline) during the1970's.
Photo courtesy Rod Rodgers

David Swanson and his and Val Valentine's
Paipo Collection, Haleiwa, 2000.
Photo and article by David Pu'u
The Surfer's Journal,
Vol 9 No 3, 2000 Pages 122-123
Paipo, Lamaroo, Bellyboard, Surf-o-plane, Coolite, Kneeboard, Spoon, Slab, Mat, Boogie
Often denegated, usually ignored, prone surfboards play an integral part in surfboard design and riding performance.
Note..
1. The art of Hawaiian surfriding as evidenced by Captain Cook in 1770 must have developed in the Pacific islands over centuries. Obviously the initial ventures would have been on small boards in small surf, close to shore. Only with a vast increase in skill and experience over a long time and the availability of suitable materials (for example wili wili, an Hawaiian equivalent of balsa wood) would stand up surfing be possible.
2. Most surfers begin their surfing on prone boards - for example Mark Richards on a Surf-o-plane and Tom Carroll on a Coolite.
3. Many surfboard design features have either been initially developed or taken to their extremes by non-standup surfers, for example George Greenough.
4. In many cases, performance levels have been set by prone/kneel boards. This was partically the case up to 1974, before the introduction of the legrope. Prone or knee boarders, by virtue of their proximity, have more control of the board during wipe outs and this enabled them to ride deeper in the wave with confidence and to dominate at breaks were wipeouts were board destroying, for example Little Avalon, Sydney.
5. Subequent to the general adoption of the legrope, prone craft still establish some performance levels. Photographic evidence appears to confirm that Boogie riders ride deer and longer in the tube.
6. In other performance areas, such as "getting air", the manourves were established by Boogie riders ten years before being adapte by standup surfers.
catalogue menu
the catalogue : text
paipo* catalogue : text
catalogue master base :text
manufacturer/shaper index
surfboard catalogue : images
paipo* catalogue : images
fin catalogue : images
catalogue specifications
home catalogue history references appendix
Geoff Cater (1999 - 2019) : Paipo Catalogue.
http://www.surfresearch.com.au/00000000p.html