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the catalogue #109

1965

Gordon and Smith, Noserider

9 ft 7"

#109

MANUFACTURE
MANUFACTURER: Gordon and Smith Surfboards, Captain Cook Drive, Caringbah
SHAPER: Unknown
DESIGN: Noserider
DESIGNER: Phil Edwards

SPECIFICATIONS
CONSTRUCTION
Stringered foam blank with volan glass?, Laminated black and white foam tail block (see image below).
Resin gel coat decor.
DIMENSIONS

*Length :*	9	ft	7	inches
*Width :*	21 3/4	inches		*Wide Point :*	-ve 5	inches
*Nose :*	16 1/2	inches		*Tail :*	14 3/4	inches
*Thickness:*	3	inches		*Pod :*	4 1/2	inches
*Nose Lift :*		inches		*Tail Lift :*		inches
*Weight :*		kilos		*Volume :*		litres
Other, Flyer/s ::		inches

FEATURES
Nose: Round
Tail: square
Deck: flat
Bottom: flat, round
Rails: 50/50
Rocker: tail lift

FIN
9 1/2" x 11" base.
Dorsal, three way laminate.
Leg rope hole.

DECOR
DECALS
Deck
Large 'Gordon and Smith/Sydney Australia'
red/black rectangle - on nose.
Bottom:

MARKINGS
Deck: nil
Bottom:

COLOUR
Deck
Blue nose, White band at sweet spot, Maroon to tail block - Gel coat.
Bottom
Blue nose, White band at sweet spot, Maroon to tail block - Gel coat.

NOTES
BOARD HISTORY
Paul Flack Collection. Photographs January 1997.
DESIGN HISTORY
A longboard specifically designed for maximum noseriding performance, brought to prominence at Tom Morey's Innvitational Noseriding Contest,1965 July 4 Ventura California.
'Won' by Mickey Munoz riding a Hobie Surfboard, shaped by Phil Edwards, featuring flat nose rocker, kicked tail and a concave nose.
US designers went into overdrive in the develpoment of Noserider models: The Eliminator by Greek Surfboards, The Ugly by Con Surfboards, The Penetrator by John Peck/Morey-Pope Surfboards, The Performer by Weber Surfboards, The Stretch by Gordon and Smith Surfboards.
Variously featuring flat nose rocker, narrow high kicked tails, concave and stepped noses, fin variation (Hatchet fins byDewey Weber, Tunnel fin, The Fin Wing? ) and the first low rails (by Tom Morey, further development at Gordon and Smith Surfboards by Mike Hynson, Mike Haley and Skipp Frye).
A Nose patch became a common decor feature -contest scoring was based on the time a rider could stand on a marked section of the front 25% of the board. Manufacturers often added these, particually to noseriding models, but many riders added the decor post-production.
This feature was a excellent marketing tool for Morey-Pope's coloured aerosol wax alternative -Slipcheck andcompetitor Grip-something.?
This was the first professional contest - 25 invitees, purse of $1500.oo.
This was the first objective contest - the rider scoring against the clock.
A ride of 20 seconds was/is outstanding.
See Notes About Surfing.
Phil Edwards' design and the host of variations were exported to Australia by late1965.
REFERENCES
Books.
1. Edwards, Phil : Edwards, Phil with Ottum, Bob : You Should Have Been Here An Hour Ago
Chapter 11 : The Great Nose-Rider Caper
See Phil Edwards' Noserider plans 1965
2. Kampion, Drew. Forward by Bruce Brown : Stoked : A History of Surf Culture
pages 103 -104
3.Young, Nat with McGregor, Craig : The History 0f Surfing
pages 100 -101
CONDITION: 8

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