pods for primates : a catalogue of surfboards in australia since 1900
home catalogue history references appendix

surfresearch.com.au 
  history : foam 
foam, 1960
Gordon 'Grubby' Clarke in a letter detailing the closure of his Californian plant, December 2006...
Hobie Alter and Dave Sweet independently showed that a polyurethane foam surfboard was possible. Rodger Jennings, Chuck Foss, and Harold Walker pioneered the first successful commercial blank business selling blanks directly to surfboard builders. A lot of other people were involved including myself. All of the resins, supplies, processes, and equipment were very original innovations.

Upon founding Clark Foam I begin using different foam formulations, processing methods, and equipment than the other blank manufacturers. Today my plant is almost all original designs, built in-house by our staff and myself. The small amount of equipment purchased outside of Clark Foam was built to my specifications or modified by me for our unique process. To sum this up no one in the United States or for that matter the rest of the world uses equipment and a process like mine. It is very unique and there was nothing on earth ever built this way before.



Early foam experiments, 1957
The first Australian manufactured balsa/fibreglass boards, three only, were by Rodger 'Duck' Keiran soon after the Olymic Carnivals, but a lack of balsa wood supply meant that the design was not available for general use.
- Bob McTavish : Pods for Primates Part 1  in Tracks Magazine,1972.

The impact of the US Malibu boards was severe to encourage builders to experiment with a variety of alternative manufacturing techniques.
Possibly based on a Popular Mechanics article published in 1953 detailing the constuction of a Styrofoam Surfboard, several used a combination of polystyrene foam and expoxy resin.
McDonagh at Freshwater (Greg McDonaugh in Pollard, page 56) and Scott Dillon with Noel Ward at Bondi used polystyrene foam that was commerically available for insulation.

In a shed in Wellington Lane, Bondi, Dillon and Ward glued foam blocks together, timber without stringers, and shaped the board with a course rasp ("Surform").
The  boards were glassed initially with epoxy resin and 16 oz woven rovings, then coated with a 5 oz cloth film.
The variation in colour and texture of the glassed board required a coat of paint to finish the board.
South Bondi Board Club member, 'Bluey Mayes', ordered a board with a large gold M painted on the nose.
- Scott DillonInterview 29th June 2005. Coffs Harbour NSW.



Malibus and Pigs, Bondi 1958
One noted alternative, possibly dating from this period was a board constructed of two fireglass molds, joined at the rail with an adhesive black plastic bead.
The board was filled with a course matted substance for floatation and featured a fin box.
The noted example was green on the bottom with a white deck.
"Embracing modern technology, the lighter, shorter, and more manouvrable American malibu surf board gained popularity after lifeguards from Hawaii and California demonstrated its capabilities at Torquay in 1956 (136).
According to Cronulla's Bill Eady and Gus Staunton, the hedonistic 'free spirit' of board riders was at odds with the core humanitarian role of disciplined surf lifesavers, which was to protect surf bathers from the perils of the sea.
Consequently there was animosity between board riders and surf lifesavers on Cronulla Beach.
Apart from philosophical differences, the danger of of surfboard riders crashing into surf bathers was immense.
Therefore, as the protectors of Cronulla Beach it fell to lifesavers to enforce Sutherland Council regulations (137), such as in 1957 containing board riders to a section of  North Cronulla Beach known as 'the alley'  (138)."
Young, page 71


1960
By 1960 most builders were producing a stable, if not perfect, polyester blanks.
Some manufacturers resorted to using a 'swelling box' to allow the blanks to stabilize before shaping.

The standard Malibu was a foam/fibreglass laminate with a redwood stringer, 9 ft –10 ft 6”.
Extra features could include multiple stringers, tail blocks, and pigment colours.

Fins were either  fibreglassed timber or solid fibgreglass.
Common fin shapes were the Standard D, Square or  Reverse D (or Phil or Pixie.)

Some builders continued to use balsa, for example Wally Caryle, though mostly this was reserved for Gun boards.

Noted examples were built by Les Patterson at Scott Dillon Surfboards & later at Dale Surfboards.
-  Bob McTavish : Pods for Primates Part 1  in Tracks Magazine,1972.

Prone craft continued to be made in various designs, most home builders continuing to use plywood.
Professional manufactures quickly produced Belly and Kneeboard  in balsa wood and then foam.
See Paipo Catalogue, 1960  - 1964.

1961  Offset or Hook Tails by Midget Farrelly via Bob Cooper & Renyolds Yater(US) 10 ft
Pollard page 26

1961
Formation of Dee Why  Surfing Fraternity, DY, NSW. 


Peter Palmer noted in August, 2007
Dear Geoff,
Not sure if it is of note for you but Dee Why Surfing Fraternity is currently updating its archives.
As you may know DYSF is Australia's oldest Board riders club. Established in 1961 we have never stopped charging which we think may well make us the longest continuous running club in the world as many have come and gone and occasionally been resurrected but to our knowledge no  other club has been going that long. Sorry to all who thought otherwise but we were around before Surfing Australia - in fact Midget was our first President a couple of years prior to being inaugural president of Surfing Australia..
 We can count old champions  and current and recent WCT and WQS names as members and you'll note there is a Documentary DVD to be released in a few weeks ( September 1, 2007)
our website is at :
dysf.info

There is a history page detailing the earliest days. More is to come
 And if you check out our "Members" page you'll see a link to details regarding the DVD " Why Dee Why"  ....And No, as far as I know , no proceeds from the DVD are going to the club! damn..
I kinda think we're part of Australian Surfing History.
best regards and keep up what I'm sure is at times the onerous but always worthwhile work.
peter palmer
some old guy who's trying to help with the dysf site.


1961, June 6
Dave Jackman rides Queenscliff Bombora, which makes the front page of a Sydney newspaper.
His board is currently held by Barry Bennett Surfboards, Brookvale.
In a subsequent article  Dave Jackman credited Claude West, and others, with first riding the break and notes
... I paddled my board out while Claude says  he made his approach from a surf boat.
Pollard page 100.
The board is shown on the video cover of Nat Young's The History of Australian Surfing.

1962
Foley boards, very short sub 8 ft,  have a short lived popularity.
Named after a US surfer, who was seen riding a short board in...
- Bob McTavish : Pods for Primates Part 1  in Tracks Magazine,1972.

The development of foam boards in the US, circa 1957-1958, is usually credited to Hobie Alter and/or Dave Sweet.
See http://www.davesweetsurfboards.com/SweetHistory.htm
In Australia, most larger manufacturers were continuing to struggle with blowing their own blanks.
By investing time and effort into blank blowing technology, and securing significant cost reduction by placing large orders, Barry Bennett established an independent foam company (Polytron Foam?) that came to market dominance.



surfresearch.com.au
home catalogue history references appendix

REFERENCES FOR THIS SECTION
books
1959 Bloomfield, John   Know-how in the Surf
Angus and Robertson 89 Castlereagh Street, Sydney

1961 Harris, Reg. S.The History of Manly Life Saving Club 1911-1961
Published by Manly Life Saving Club, NSW Printed by Publicity Press Ltd.

1966 Finney, Ben and Houston, James D. : Surfing – A History of the Ancient Hawaiian Sport
Pomegranate Books P.O. Box 6099 Rohnert Park, CA 94927  Reprint 1996

1968 Kahanamoku, Duke With Brennan, Joe:  Duke Kahanamoku’s World of Surfing
Angus and Robertson Publishers Sydney , Australia 1972 2nd Edition  A&R Paperbacks, Sydney , Australia

1970 Margan, Frank and Finney, Ben R. :  A Pictorial History of Surfing
Paul Hamlyn Pty Ltd, 176 South Creek Road, Dee Why West, NSW 2099.

1964 Pollard, Jack (ed.):  The Australian Surfrider
K.G.Murray Publishing Co.P/L,142 Clarence Street , Sydney Australia

1972 The Best of Tracks   (Vol. I) Editors : Falzon, Albert; Stewart, John; Grissim, John. :
Tracks Publishing Co Pty Ltd. P.O. Box 178 Avalon, NSW.
'Bob McTavish’s Personal History of Surfboard Design – Pods for Primates Parts 1' (pages 120 – 122).

1992 Stell, Marion K. :  Pam Burridge
Collins Angus & Robertson Publishers (Australia) Pty. Limited
A division of Harper Collins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Limited
25 Ryde Road, Pymble NSW 2073, Australia

1997 Warshaw, Matt : Surfriders – In Search of the Perfect Wave
Tehabi Books, Inc. Collins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022

1978 Warwick, Wayne A Guide to Surfriding in New Zealand Second Edition
Viking Sevenseas Ltd Wellington, New Zealand

1979 Young, Nat ; Photographs by McCausland, Bill: Nat Young’s Book of Surfing
A.H. & A.W. Reed Pty. Ltd. 53 Myroora Rd, Terry Hills, Sydney.

1983 Young, Nat with McGregor, Craig : The History 0f Surfing
Palm Beach Press,40 Palm Beach Road, Palm Beach NSW 2108


film
1985  A History of Australian Surfing  Nat Young.

magazines
1971  Modern World July   Shane Steadman/Terry Fiztgerald (possibly) : 'Surfboard Design' pages 30 to 36.

1972  Surfing World. Volume 16 #4.  Bob Evans : 'remember the time when...' pages  30 to 35. 


web sites
Malcom Gault-Williams: LEGENDARY SURFERS Homepage


surfresearch.com.au
home catalogue history references appendix