NOTES
BOARD HISTORY
Source : John Embery
Collection, Shoalhaven Heads NSW. With Thanks.
Purchased circa
1995 at garage sale, St George's Basin NSW.
Dimensions and photographs
23 July 2005
Repaired dings to
nose, tail and bottom and fin.
The fin maybe original,
but is probably reshaped due to damage.
Amateur repairs
have removed much of the rovings, replaced with fibreglass cloth patches.
As a result of damage
and repairs, the fin is not straight.
A circle silhouette
on the tail probably indicates surf craft registation label, possibly Randwick
1968-1969.
See Surf
Permit Sticker.
MANUFACTURER HISTORY
See Hayden
Surfboards
circa 1967 the Dot decal was introduced.
circa 1968 , the factory relocated to 164 Alexandra Parade Alexandra
Headland, after a fire.
SHAPER HISTORY
See History - Surfer Biograhies - Robert
Connelly
DESIGN HISTORY
For an extended
history of the development of vee bottom boards see:
history:
a period of transition 1967-1968
Between February
and November 1967 intensive competition between Sydney manufacturers and
their
stable of
surfer/shapers (primarily Midget Farrelly (Surfboards), Palm Beach and
Bob McTavish at Keyo
Surfboards,
Brookvale) saw length reduce from 9 ft to 7ft. inches
Reduction
in length was a major step forwards in performance with a tighter turning
arc.
This saw a
concentration on the tail area to improve turning....
- the widepoint
was moved back, and in some cases emphasised.
- deep vee
panels in the bottom
- wide planning
tail, in many cases with a chamfered tail to adjust water flow.
- Greenough
style flex fins were standard and fin placement was advanced towards the
back foot
The nose was
now only two steps away (not four), and nose riding was not overlooked...
- the nose
retained a wide round profile, and sometimes featured a concave
Volume lost
by length reduction was offset by increasing width and the deep vee tail
and many top surfers
continued
to kneel paddle, although average surfers could only paddle these boards
prone.
- the use
of deck patches is common
- many boards
continued with a stringerless blank.
Rocker was
slightly increased, with a bit more nose lift.
Rails retained
the standard 50/50 egg thin rail.
Standard Greenough
style fins got finer and longer, in experimentation with extreme flex.
Some fins snapped
above the
base, many show warp or twist.
Colour was
mostly clear, with decor restricted to decals, volan overlaps and patches.
Resin pinlines
or pannels were rare, Pigment/tint rarer.
Usually only
one decal, placed on the deck, at either sweet spot.- note this example
has unusual decal
placement.
Decals were
larger, more colourful and psychedelic/art deco in design, for example
the G$S deck decal.
COMMENTS
A classic design
of the period by a noted surfer.
The double foam
stringers are unusual, and probably intended as an indication of quality.
The Clark Foam decal
is of interest - the original US foam manufacturer,
I am unaware of
the brand being manufactured in Australia. Also noted on #303.
REFERENCES
Magazines
Interview : Tracks Magazine (compilations of previously published
articles) :
The Best of Tracks (Vol. I) 1973
Jimmy O'Keefe : A Life in the Sun... The Robert Conneely Story
The Australian Surfer's Journal, Volume 3 Number One , Summer
2000. pages 24 to 237.
Film
1967 May Paul Witzig's The
Hot Generation
CONDITION:
4 |
