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the catalogue #363 
1975  Barry Bennett- Lightning Bolt  Pintail   Shaped by Gerry Lopez          7 ft 4" #363
MANUFACTURE
MANUFACTURER: Barry Bennett Surfboards, 180 Harbord Road, Brookvale.
SHAPER:  Gerry Lopez
DESIGN:  Flyer pintail
DESIGNERS: Gerry Lopez
SPECIFICATIONS
CONSTRUCTION
Fibreglass on foam blank, two 1/4" redwood  stringers, post-production leg rope plug (later removed).
DIMENSIONS
Length:
7
feet 4
 inch L2: 7ft 3''
Width:
18 .75
 inches
Wide Point: 
+3.5
 inches
Nose :
12
 inches
Tail: 
 11
 inches
Thickness:
2 7/8
 inches
Pod:
0
 inches
Weight:
kilos
Volume:
litres
Nose/L:
inches
Tail/L:
inches
Flyers:
  @9 inches



FEATURES
Nose:  pin
Tail: flyer pintail
Deck:   flat
Bottom: flat with very sight vee in tail
Rails:  down, soft, hard in the tail 
Rocker: medium
FIN:
 8.25" x 6'' base x 9'' span @ 6''
White laminate? 
No photograph.
Left: Bottom decal, detail.
DECOR
DECAL/S:
Deck: Large red and black lightning bolt at sweet-spot.
Designed by Gerry Lopez, off-set to the right at the front.
Bottom :  Lightning Bolt by Bennett Surfboards (R) Lightning Bolt Unltd. Surf Co. Inc. 1972
 in  green oval and red lightning bolt, at the nose.
MARKINGS:
Deck: LOPEZ  T, pencil on stringer, rear sweet spot.
Image below is not from this board, but #363 does have the same markings.
I neglected to take a suitable photograph.
Bottom: 
COLOUR: 
Deck: Clear
Bottom: Clear
NOTES
BOARD HISTORY
Lightning Bolt Hawaii
Dimensions and photographs Bennett Surfboards, 21st June 2014.
Many thanks to Barry and Greg Bennett.
Catalogue No. ?

During the mid-1970s, Gerry Lopez was a regular visitor to Sydney for the Coke Contest and had a licensing agreement with Bennett Surfboards to produce Lightning Bolt models.
On viewing the board 30 years later, Gerry was thought it was possible that the board was shaped by him, suggesting that the pencil marks LOPEZ on the blank may not be definitive.
He kindly autographed the board in black marker.

DESIGN HISTORY
A extension of the Hawaiian Gun, that traces it's origin back to  Fran Heath and John Kelly's Hot Curl design of the mid - 1930's.
Established as the preferred big wave design in the 1950's by master shapers George Downing and Pat Curren, the pintail gun was the favoured design of Richard "Dick" Brewer:
The Pipeliner, for Bing Surfboards,1966, 
The Mini-gun, for Lahaina Surfing Design, 1967, and the
Pocket Rocket, for Plastic Fantastic Surfboards and Inter-Island Surfboards (image below),1968.

Brewer's designs were a major shaping influence on his understudies - Jock Sutherland, Jeff Hakman, Reno Abelliro and Gerry Lopez.

THE SHAPER
Gerry Lopez had been a Brewer team rider at several companies before shaping with Dick Brewer at Surfline Surfboards, Honolulu: and at Dick Brewer Surfboards, Hanapepe,  Kauai, circa 1970.- 1972 
He started his own company, Lightning Bolt Surfboards, circa 1972.
Although an talented surfer in all conditions, no surfer has been so strongly identified at one break like Gerry Lopez is with the Pipeline, Oahu.
The longest reigning "Mr. Pipeline", he set the standard for deep tube riding 1971 to 1977.
His major contributions were the application of a fluid and relaxed style in extreme condition (see image below) and the principle that the safest place to ride large waves is inside the tube.
These are reflected in the fine lines and subtle curves of the boards.
The identification between Gerry Lopez and the Lightning Bolt logo is nearly as strong as that with Pipeline, although he left the company  circa 1995.
He was at the forefront in the extension of surfing in Indonesia, circa 1975.
Gerry Lopez made further contributions in the development of Windsurfing, circa 1985, and Tow-in surfing, circa 1995.

REFERENCES
Magazines
Articles
1. Drew Kampion :The Life and Work of Richard Brewer.
The Australian Surfer's Jourrnal Volume 2 Number 3, Winter 1999, pages 72 - 95.
2. Phil Jarratt : The Last Soul Surfer -  Profile of Gerry Lopez
Surfer Volume 20 Number 8, August 1979, pages 28 to 39 
3. Mick Mock : Richo's Choice
Deep Number 18, Spring 2000, pages 22 to 33.

Advertising : 

Film
Alby Falzon : The Morning of the Earth, 1972 - Last sequences
The cinematic performances of Gerry  Lopez (surfing - not acting) are numerous and he regularly featured in surfing films throughout the 1970's.
.The Morning of the Earth sequences are the earliest that I am aware of.

CONDITION: 8.



Gerry Lopez : a fluid and relaxed style in extreme conditions, Pipeline circa 1973.
Photograph by Lerner.
Surfer Volume  14 Number 3, September 1973, page 48.


Richard Brewer, Gerry Lopez, Reno Abelliro 
and Pocket Rockets , Maui circa 1972.

Photograph : David Darling
Australian Surfer's Journal
Volume 2 Number 3 Winter 1999, page 76.

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home catalogue history references appendix
Geoff Cater (2014) : #363 Bennett-Lightning Bolt Pintail, 7ft 4'', 1975.
http://www.surfresearch.com.au/00000363.html