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the catalogue #211

1971 Plastic Fantastic Diamond tail Tri fin 6 ft

#211

MANUFACTURE
MANUFACTURER: Plastic Fantastic Surfboards, California
SHAPER: Dan Calohan
DESIGN: Tri fin
DESIGNER:

SPECIFICATIONS
CONSTRUCTION
Foam blank, 1/4" redwood stringer, Volan glassed with tint, spray deck.
DIMENSIONS

*Length:*	6	feet	1/2	inches
*Width:*	19	inches		*Wide Point:*	+ ve 5	inches
*Nose:*	13 1/4	inches		*Tail:*	11 3/4	inches
*Thickness:*	2 3/4	inches		*Pod:*	6 1/4	inches
				*Diamond:*	1 1/2	inches
*Volume:*		inches		*Weight:*		inches
*Nose/L:*		inches		*Tail/L:*		inches

FEATURES
Nose: semi pin
Tail: diamond
Deck: flat
Bottom: flat
Rails: thick down
Rocker: medium

FINS
Tri fin :
Centre fin : 5 layer laminated fibreglass
8 1/2 x 6 b @ 4 1/2 inches
Two wide base side fins : 5 layer laminated fibreglass
3/4 x 2 b @ 6 1/2 inches

DECOR
DECALS
Deck
Plastic Fantastic - Red/Yellow/black script and graphic at sweet spot
See images left and below.
Bottom:
MARKINGS
Deck
DMC - below decal.
Deeply marked into the foam, the markings have been filled with resin. Very unusual.
Bottom:
COLOUR
Deck
Red/yellow spray, black resin pinlines and Green laminated pigment/tint rail overlap
Bottom : Green laminated pigment/tint with rail overlap

NOTES
BOARD HISTORY
Purchased Nowra NSW 05.23.02
This board's history is a mystery.
DESIGN HISTORY
In Australia this design had a short but well publicised life circa 1971 - 1972.
Following the experimentation with the Twin fin 1, several designers used variations of tri-fin configurations. The rail fins were usually small and long based, the inside often foiled flat. Position varied enomously from behind to well in front of the central fin.
This early experimentation established the principle that pocentral fin would stiffen the board and make it track, while a position in front of the fin would loosen up the board and make it msitioning behind the ore manourvable.
Narrowing the angle of attack and tipping out of the side fins was a progressive process that produced the Cambell Bros.' 1973 Bonzer, a combined fin and bottom design based on Ruellego Delta designs. The original design , with leading rail fins, was retained on many kneeboards 1971 to 1976, see Crozier #58
The Tri fin was to reach its peak with the development of Simon Anderson's Thruster (1981) design, placing three similar fins at the tail extemities to maximize manouvreability in small waves. It was subsequently found to superior to all previous designs..
OTHER EXAMPLES
Barry Bennett/Bob McTavish # 9
Crozier Kneeboard # 58
REFERENCES
Film
1. John Severson's Pacific Vibrations , released circa 1971-2
David Nuuhiwa and Brewer Trifin
Jock Sutherland, Bill Hamilton and Jeff Hakman riding Plastic Fantastic boards.

2. David Sumpter's On Any Morning, released circa 1971-2
Burleigh Heads (second last sequence) in.
Ric Neilson : Blue bottom/red spray deck Tri fin - central wood veneer fin and two long base keel fins on the rails.
Paul Neilson
Jeff Hackman : Offset two tone, white/orange, Tri fin - two long base keel fins on the rails.
Unknown : standard Bonzer design, seen laying on grass.

3. Alby Falzon : The Morning of the Earth, released circa 1973
Reno Aberilla? on the beach at Rocky Point? Hawaii with Terry Fitzgerald, latter sequences.

Magazines
Surfer magazine Volume 13 Number 3 August 1971.
Article: "One + Two + Three, or the Tri fin Trip, page 49
Advertisement: Hawaii Surf Products :Ti Fin Kit, page ?
A pair of small adhesive side fins:
"The tri fin kit includes easy installation instructions and everything you need to convert your old single fin into a new tri fin instantly.
Placement of fins can be changed from day to day as conditions demand.
The fins are available in red, blue, purple, yellow, green and white.
Do your board a favor.
send $3.00 + 50c for post and handling.
Hawaii Surf Products, Box 394 Hermosa Beach, Ca, 93254."
Also note the advertisement below is for the Surf Strap, an early version of the legrope/surfleash that mounted on the nose of the board and attached to the riders wrist.

The Best of Tracks 1973
Article: Mike Davis : Design Through Development.
- factory photo, below.

Surfing World magazine Vol 16 # 1 1972 .
Advertisement: Bennett Surfboards :The Three Ingredients to a Quality Surfboard '

CONDITION: 5.
Deck is good except fot some staining, bottom is poor with the foam sunk below the stringer.

Tri fin, centre fin in box, circa 1972.
Surfing August-September 1972.

Bob McTavish: Huzza Wuzza
Tri-fin for Bennett Surfboards, Brookvale.
Tracks, May 1972, page 14.

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Geoff Cater (2003-2019) : Catalogue : Plastic Fantastic Tri fin, 1971.
http://www.surfresearch.com.au/00000211.html