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history : nat

nat young
1965 to 1966

1965 Stringerless by Midget Farrelly
-Peru World Championships
Nose lift, thin rails, light weight, George Greenough (US) fin-stage 1

1965 July 4 Tom Morey Innvitational Noseriding Contest Ventura California.
'Won' by Mickey Munoz riding a Hobie Surfboard, shaped by Phil Edwards, featuring flat nose rocker, kicked tail and a concave nose.
US designers went into overdrive in the develpoment of Noserider models:
The Eliminator by Greek Surfboards,
The Ugly by Con Surfboards,
The Penetrator by John Peck/Morey-Pope Surfboards,
The Performer by Weber Surfboards,
The Stretch by Gordon and Smith Surfboards.
Variously featuring flat nose rocker, narrow high kicked tails, concave and stepped noses, fin variation (Hatchet fins byDewey Weber, Tunnel fin, The Fin Wing? ) and the first low rails (by Tom Morey, further development at Gordon and Smith Surfboards by Mike Hynson, Mike Haley and Skipp Frye).
A Nose patch became a common decor feature -contest scoring was based on the time a rider could stand on a marked section of the front 25% of the board.
Manufacturers often added these, particually to noseriding models, but many riders added the decor post-production.
This feature was a excellent marketing tool for Morey-Pope's coloured aerosol wax alternative -Slipcheck and competitor Grip-something.?
This was the first professional contest - 25 invitees, purse of $1500.oo.
This was the first objective contest - the rider scoring against the clock. A ride of 20 seconds was/is outstanding.See Notes About Surfing.
Phil Edwards' design and the host of variations were exported to Australia by late1965.
References
Kampion page 103 -104
Nat/History. page 100 -101
Phil Edwards/Hobie Surboards Noserider Plans

1965 George Greenough’s Spoon (US) flexible kneeboard - Velo SS. Clear flex bottom, molded from Velo 1 (a spooned deck balsa kneeboard, 1962?), added foam rails and Stage II fin. Red pigment rails and fin reinforcement. The board was warped during construction (asymmetric). 5 ft x 22 inches, 14 inch pod ?.
References
Hot Generation
Evolution
Innermost Limits of Pure Fun
Crystal Voyager.
Australian Surfers Journal Vol2 #2 pages 72 and 86

1965 Gordon and Smith-Stretch Model 9’ 10”

The Stretch Model was designed by Mike Hynson (of The Endless Summer fame) and Skip Frye following the very successful Hynson Red Fin Model. One of the best noseriders of the time, very few have survived in any condition. This seldom seen Stretch model is in a condition not often seen, bright volan green hue and glassed on fin. A few repaired spots on the tail and nose tips.

Brian Powell, North Bondi SLSC member,
takes a large wave on a surfoplane
at Ben Buckler, Bondi Beach, August 1966.

Elder: North Bondi SLSC (2006) page 145.

1965 December Nautilas or Cuttlefish by Nat Young at Gordon Woods Surfboards.
Greenough spoon nose, foam centre and flex tail. 8 ft x 23".
Dubbed "Nat’s Folly" by Midget Farrelly
References
The original board is part of the Scott Dillon Surfing Museum collection.
Carter pages 26-27,
Nat's Nat .pages

1966 Sam
1966 World Championship (San Diego, California) winning board of Nat Young.
Manufactured at Gordon Woods Surfboards (diamond decal), December-January 1966.
Shaped by Nat Young, clear with ½” redwood stringer, Volan glassed with wide rail lap by Darryl Holmes.
Length 9ft 4”, Width 22”, Wide point –ve 6”, Thickness 2 ½”
Thin egg rails, flat nose with rounded bottom deepest in front of the fin.
Thirty six layer Greenough Stage III fin.
First ridden at The Kick, Collaroy.
The board disappeared during the post contest celebrations.

Initially derived from a Joey Cabell design, it developed at the Noosa sessions late 1965 with George Greenough, Bob McTavish, Russell Hughes and Bob Cooper, based at Hayden Kenny Surfboards, and subsequently Cord Surfboards, Alexandria Headlands.

Many Australian designers were producing similar designs – all of those mentioned above and Midget Farrelly (see Stringerless model), Keith Paull, Bobby Brown, Peter Drouyn, and others; but Nat Young’s win saw the design exposed internationally as well as becoming the accepted common design in Australia.

Since the design directly preceded the sub 9ft Vee-bottom design, it is now considered the last of the original Malibus/Longboards.

Design known in New Zealand as a Thin Rail.
This has been subsequently adopted by Australian board collectors as a decriptive term of this design.

Not to be confused with a Mid 1980's Modern Malibu design by Nat Young featured a Sam - an old friend decal, manufactured by Mike Davis Surfboards, Kiama.
References
Nat Young ‘Nat’s Nat and that’s that’ 1998 pp 110 to 145.
McGillvary and Freeman : Free and Easy,1967.
Keyo example #36

REFERENCES FOR THIS SECTION books
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).

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.

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