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pods for primates : a catalogue of surfboards in australia since 1900

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glossary : w

W.a.v.e. (Water Apparatus and Vechicular Engineering)
manufacturing name for Karl Pope’s Hollow Wave boards of aluminium honeycomb construction (USA), circa 1973.
Karl Pope was previously a partner with Tom Morey in Morey-Pope Surfboards.
The company manufactured the Penetarator (John Peck), Blue Machine (Bob Cooper) and Tracker (Bob McTavish).
Other developments from the Morey-Pope oganisation were Slipcheck (aerosol grip), Bi-sect (transportable two part surfboard) and the Waveset fin system.
Tom Morey would later design the Boogie board.
Pope would reprise his transportable surfboard as the Tri-sect, circa 1999. See Popout.

warp
strands that run the length of fibreglass cloth,
see weft/welp.

Waveset / Safeset (Fins/Boxes) :
removable molded fins and companion boxes available to manufacturers as an add-on unit, first by Waveset ( Morey-Pope USA) circa 1965 and followed by Safeset, a very similar but not interchangeable system.
Removable fins were used previously to this, as early as 1954, but were restricted to individual manufacturers’ models.
By 1970 these systems were replaced by the Bahne system that was lighter and allowed manufacturers to fit their own fin designs.
This style of removable fin was used by Hoyle Schiwser and Jim Drake in their fist model Windsurfer and later by Tuttle in his bolt through fin design in the early 1990’s.
In Australia Waveset was imported by Bennett Surfboards and the Safeset system by Keyo Surfboards.

Wave Ski
Originally developed from a standard racing/rescue surf ski, by Snowy McAllister in the 1950’s, this hollow timber board was about 12 ft x 25 inches with a deep fin. It emphasized wave riding as opposed to the racing/ rescue requirements of the traditional design.
In the late 1960's Merv Larsen (USA), see Severson : Pacific Vibrations, 1971. developed a radically shortened model in foam/fibreglass construction with seatbelt and no fin (Hot Dog Ski).
In the 1980’s hollow molded fibreglass, fibreglass/foam and epoxy/foam boards (with fin/s and seatbelt standard) were developed for the performance and recreational markets.
See Shackelton, Roger; with Christensen, John : All about Wave skis 1984

wave story - a descriptive tale of the dynamics an individual wave and the rider's technique, usually an idealised case for instructional purposes.
Compare and contrast ...
session story - a descriptive tale of the activities of the rider or riders and the prevailing surf conditions for a specific time period, frequently from the padle-out to the return to the beach.
Commonly seen in surfing magazines as a report of a contest heat, detailing the wave conditions and the competitors performance.
surf story - a descriptive tale that has surf-riding or surf conditions as its focus.

wax
paraffin wax; usually mixed with colour dye, perfumes and softening agents; applied to the deck to repel water and assist grip. Water repellency is only effective when the molecule bonds have been stretched and broken, thus wax has to be regularly applied, roughed up with sand or striated with a wax comb.
See... The House of Wax.
First marketed waxes in Australia were by petrol companies, for example Ampol and Golden Fleece.
Quickly followed by Bower Boy from Manly.
Colour and scents introduced by USA import Waxmate by Surf Research, 1970.
Claim for first use by Alfred E Gallant (USA) post 1935, inspired by mother’s use or floor wax, who then advised use of sealing wax (Letters, Longboard Magazine, USA, 1999).
See also Slipcheck and Grip-something.
Note developement of adhesive deck grip in the 1980's.

Wax Comb
plastic blade (toothed on one side) for streaking or removing of wax previously applied to a board, first popular circa 1980.
See wax.

weft/welp - strands that run the width of fibreblass cloth, see warp.

weight
a design feature often referred to but rarely recorded.
Where mentioned, weight would probably be imperial pre 1970 and metric post 1970.
Note that at various times, some designers have argued that a heavier board is superior.
Tow-in riders, circa 1996, have been known to add ballast to their boards in severe wind conditions.

welp/weft- strands that run the width of fibreblass cloth, see warp.

Westie board (Sydney)
usually derogative,
a board manufactured by a company in the western (inland) suburbs of Sydney, as distinct from most manufacturers who set up in coastal suburbs, e.g. Brookvale, Mona Vale, Caringbah.
Brands include
Ron Surfboards (Belmore),
WM Surfboards (Auburn),
Shane Surfboards (originally Eastwood),
Age Surfboards (Bankstown), Wakefield (Granville/Parramatta),
Nirvana Surfboards (originally Enfield).
Other regions probably have equivalent labels.

wetsuit
neoprene suit invented by Hugh Bradner at the Scripps Oceananic Institute in 1951.
Subsequently developed for surfriders in the 1960s by Jack O'Neill (O'Neill Wetsuits) and xxx (Dive and Surf Wetsuits, later Body Glove).

White Kite
Ted Spencer's model for Shane Surfboards, Brookvale circa 1969 - 1972.
"The boomer that season was the 'White Kite' designed by Ted Spencer.
It featured a pointed nose, flat bottom and wide vee pod. It was also a wide board between the rails.
... it was only six feet long, a foot to 18" shorter than the previous season's boards - or two feet plus under the length of boards two seasons back."
Uncredited : Surfboard Designs in Modern World magazine July 1971 pages 30 - 37. Editor: Dick Levine

wide point
the widest extremity of the template.
Described as positive (+ve inches) or negative (–ve inches) relative to the Mid point

width
the widest extremity of the template, measured in inches. Maximum width, probably 24 inches, has always been restricted by the paddling requirements of the rider.

Windsurfer/Sailboard
brand name for Hoyle Scheweitzer and Jim Drake’s original sailboard design, Southern California, USA 1969.
See sailboard.

wing
protective redwood edge on rails and nose of 1940’s laminated solid wood boards.
See Alaia.

wing /flyer
extremities, usually at the tail, in the template that greatly reduces width over a short distance.
First adapted circa 1973 by Terry Fitzgerald from side fins on the rails of a bellyboard by Brunker Spreckles circa 1972.
Wings normally are shaped with reduced rail thickness so to resemble a fin – compare with flyers.

Winged keel
Ben Lexan/Cheyne Horan design single fin with a straight leading edge and topped by twin offset blades, 1980.
See Star fin, Keel

http://www.cheynehoran.com.au/starfin.html

Winterstick
Early snowboard
Tracks, October 1979, page 46.

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