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1974 Gordon and Smith Surfboards Bonza 6 ft 8 1/2" |
#352
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Length :
|
6
|
ft |
8 1/2
|
inches | L2d | 6ft 7'' |
Width :
|
19
1/2
|
inches |
Wide Point :
|
+5
|
inches | |
Nose :
|
14
|
inches |
Tail :
|
12
1/2
|
inches | |
Thickness :
|
3 1/2
|
inches |
Pod :
|
6 1/2
|
inches | |
Nose Lift :
|
inches |
Tail Lift :
|
inches | |||
Weight :
|
kilos |
Volume :
|
litres | |||
Swallow :
|
-1
1/2
|
inches |
FINS:
Centre fin : 6 inch x 6'' base x 8'' (span) @ 6''. Bonzer / Keel fins
: 2" x 10'' base x 11'' (span) @ 10''
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DECOR
DECALS: Deck: Large Gordon and Smith enhanced script, multi coloured in shield with bird borders at centre. Bonza x 2 - towards nose and tail, image below. Bottom: Large Gordon and Smith enhanced script, multi coloured in shield with bird borders at centre. Hand shaped Tubeshooters by Peter Townend and Dolphin, towards the nose, image below. MARKINGS: Deck: None Bottom: |
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COLOUR:
Deck Yellow spray on left rail, Orange spray on right rail, Volan 3/4 deck patch. Bottom Yellow spray on left rail, Orange spray on right rail. |
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NOTES
BOARD HISTORY Dimensions and images thanks to Mick Mock, Surf Auction, November 2011, #52. COMMENTS |
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MANUFACTURER HISTORY
See Gordon
and Smith Surfboards
REFERENCES.
Rabbit
Batholomew, pages
Other Gordon and Smith Boards:
#
109 1965 Gordon and Smith, Noserider 9 ft 7"
#
26 1967 Gordon and Smith, Vee Bottom
7 ft 7"
#
72 1976 Gordon and Smith, Peter Townend
Design 7 ft
#
73 1981 Gordon and Smith, Lazor Zap 6 ft
DESIGN HISTORY
Original design
first shaped in December 1970 by Duncan and Malcom Campbell (USA)
characterized by forward concave leading to double concave each side of
the centre fin with two keel- type fins set on the rails
(radically toed-in
and cambered).
See http://www.bonzer5.com
The bottom design
has similarities with the shape of Rogallo hang gliders, first designed
in the late 1940's as a method of recovering returning space capsules by
NASA.
F. M. Rogallo predicted
in 1949 that "Portable delta wings will give bith to a popular sport"
- quoted in
Desfayes
(1974) page 41.
By the early 1970's,
hang-gliding was a sport in rapid transition with a large amount of media
exposure.
As a sign of the
powerful influence of Australia in world surfing at this time, the name
Bonzer
(also Bonzar,
Bonza) is
an Australian expression for “excellent”.
In late 1973, the
Campbell Brothers lisenced the design to Bing Surfboards for commercial
development.
The design then
became associated with Bing's head shaper, Mike Eaton, who had played a
significant role
in the development
of the Twin fin 1 in 1970. See image and notes, below.
The Bing models
were noted for the wedged Bonzer decal that was laminated on the side fins.
Australian exponents
of the design included ...
Peter Townend (Gordon
and Smith Surfboards). See image below.
Ian Cairns (Gordon
and Smith Surfboards), rode a Bonzer to first place, 1973 Smirnoff
Contest, Laniäkea ,
Hawaii and Terry
Richardson (Skipp Surfboards). See image below.
It was a (admittedly complex) combination of previous design experiments - multiple fins were first used by Tom Blake circa 1940, tail concave by Bob Simmons in 1950, tri-fins by Brewer in 1970, keel fins go back to Blake and were re-introduced on short boards in 1972.
While some commentators have seen the Bonzer as a direct precedent for Simon's Thruster, its influence was probably substantially less significant than Brewer's Tri-fin experiments (that critically noted that placing the rail fins behind the centre fin made it "track", when positioned in front the board was "looser"), MR's Twin fin, McCoy's wide tailed No-Nose design, and of course the direct influence of Frank William's Twin-fin with a small centre trailing fin.
See: Cambell Bros.
Surfboards: History (July 2011)
http://bonzer5.com/history/timeline/1970-birth-of-the-bonzer/
A personal
perspective:
I briefly rode a
borrowed Bonzer in the mid-1970s, and like my contemporaries, found
the board very stiff and with a tendency to hang high in the wave face.
A number of local
riders actually sanded the keel fins off and thought the board went significantly
better.
A local manufacturer
picked up on this and produced a number of boards with the deep double
concaves, but without the side fins, that were well received.
In my search for
vintage boards, I have come across one example of a Bonzer with
the side fins removed, so I assume this was not just a local phenonomon.
Further adaptation
in 1988, the Phazer - a Stinger/Thruster adaptation ( 3 similar fins with
2 small Bonzer
D-Fins) initially
credited to Rusty Priessendorfer for Rusty Surfboards (USA).
Later identified
as another original design by the Campbell Brothers.
See John Wythe White
:Surf Wars :The Bonzar, June 16, 1999
http://www.honoluluweekly.com/archives/coverstory%201999/6-16-99%20Boards/6-16-99%20Boards.html
Seen here with his 70's brain child 'the bonzer'." Photograph : Drew
Kampion
Following legal representation
by the Campbell Brothers,
"Mike Eaton
of California; responsiblefor reviving the twin fin.
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MAGAZINES
Articles
1. Jim Neece
: The Bonzer
Surfer magazine
Vol 14 # 3 September 1973 page 64
See image below.
2. Steve
Core: The Bonza
Surfing World Volume18
Number 2. November 1973
3. Mick Mock
: Richo's Choice
Deep magazine
, No 18 Spring 2000, pages 22 to33
4. John Wythe
White :Surf Wars :The Bonzar, June 16, 1999
http://www.honoluluweekly.com/archives/coverstory%201999/6-16-99%20Boards/6-16-99%20Boards.html
5. Steve
Barilotti : Belief System : The Bonzer Saga
The Surfers Journal
2004? Volume 13 No. 2 pages?
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![]() ![]() Right: Conscripted
surfresearch assistant and G&S Bonza.
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![]() Above: Peter Townend and G&S Bonzer, circa 1974. Nat : Fundamentals (1985) Page 102. Image left :
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Jim Neece :"The Bonzer" Surfer Magazine Vol 14 # 3 September 1973 page 64 |
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circa 1969. April 21, 1970 Patent Number 3,507,464 Filed March 18, 1969. From
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