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the catalogue #89 
1978 Windsurfer   11 ft 2''
#89
MANUFACTURE
MANUFACTURER: Ten Cate Sports Products  PO Box 58 Alemelo Holland
SHAPER:  Molded
DESIGN:  Windsurfer
DESIGNERS: Jim Drake and Hoyle Schweitzer
SPECIFICATIONS
CONSTRUCTION
Roto-molded polyester shell, filled with foam, molded centreboard  box, mast box and fin box, molded anti-slip deck.
DIMENSIONS
Length :
 11
 ft
2
 inches L2:
Width :
 25 1/2
 inches
Wide Point :
 +ve 12
 inches
Nose :
 16 1/2
 inches
Tail :
18
 inches
Thickness :
 4 1/2
 inches
Pod :
 9 1/2
 inches
Nose Lift :
   inches
Tail Lift :
   inches
Weight :
   kilos
Volume :
   litres
Other :
   inches

 
FEATURES
Nose:  rounded
Tail:   square
Deck:   flat,
Bottom:   flat,
Rails:  high chine rail in nose, to low chine at tail, mostly 60/40
Rocker: slight, nose lift
FIN
 8" x 5 1/2" 
molded black plastic
Wedged base with two stainless screws, based on Waveset design.
See below for centreboards.

For second generation Windsurfer fin, see below.
DECALS
Deck
Adhesive decal on tail :Windsurfer 
Bottom
MARKINGS
Deck: None 
Bottom: 
COLOUR
Deck: White
Bottom: White
NOTES
BOARD HISTORY
Manufactured February 1978.
Purchased Salvation Army Store, Tempe, Sydney  May 2000
DESIGN HISTORY
Earliest record of board and sail is credited to Tom Blake, circa 1935
Tom Blake and sailing surfboard,
Hawaii circa 1935
Blake : Hawaiian Surfriders 1935,
Photograph Section 1 
 

Plans and photographs were subsequently printed in 
Popular Science Magazine
August 1940, 
Pages 136-138.
In the early 1960s, S. Newman Darby developed a sailing board incorporating a pivoting square rig which he tested on on the Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania.
In 1964, he began selling his sailboards and a  promotional article by Darby was published in Popular Science, August 1965, Vol. 187, No. 2, pages 138-141.
The standard board was a rectangular box, built of plywood, and although there was a retractable centreboard, there was no fin, or rudder, and it was sailed with "your back to the lee side of the kite shaped square sail."

- http://books.google.com.au/books/about/Popular_Science.html

Also note Hands-Free sailing technique of  Bigler?,  in Hawaii, circa 1967 in Dale Davis' The Golden Breed, 1968.
Also note the interest in Surf-Sailing, initially by Woody Brown's catamaran at Waikiki circa 1940 and Hobie Alter's Hobie Cat, circa 1966.
Original rig design was patented in 1968 by Jim Drake and Hoyle Schweitzer (see below), the board was based on mid 1960's standard malibu board template.
Initially little interest was shown in the USA, but the design proved popular in Europe, essentially as an alternatine to small sailing boats.
In Hawaii, a small committed group radically pushed the design to it's limits in the surfzone, and in a short period had introduced the rubber universal,  harness and footstraps and eliminated the centreboard.
Early design was focused on board and fin shape, producing a virtual menagerie of variation.
See Sailbord Fin Catalogue.
By 1988 board design had relatively stabilised and the large manufacturers invested in producing lighter and stronger boards in epoxy resins.
This period  also saw dramatic advances in sail and rig design.
COMMENTS
The influence of surfing on the development of the Windsurfer is well documented.
The significant imact on surfing and surfboard design by windsurfing is usually downplayed by most surfing commentators...
1.The successful application of expoxy technology to surfboard manufacture has only been possible by accessing the expensive and difficult advances made by the sailboard industry betwen 1980 to 1990.
2. The development of tow-in surfing on the outer reefs of Hawaii was preceeded by extensive ''testing'' by sailboarders, essentially the same crew that pioneered tow-in. The use of footstraps being a crucial factor.
REFERENCES
Evans, Jeremy : The Complete Guide to Windsurfing
Evans Brothers Limited
Montague House, Rusell Square, London WC1B 5BX 1983.
Pages 12 to15.
CONDITION: 7.
FIN No. 2

CENTREBOARDS

Windsurfer Standard Centreboard

Wave/High wind Centreboard
London Patent Office Specification, circa 1971
# 1 258 317

Evans, Jeremy : The Complete Guide to Windsurfing
Evans Brothers Limited
Montague House, Rusell Square, London WC1B 5BX 1983.
Page 14.

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