pods
for primates : a catalogue of surfboards in australia since 1900
 |
surfresearch.com.au
history : greenough |
|
george
greenough
1966 - 1969
1966 The Stretch - US noserider
model manufactured in Australia by Gordon and Smith
Square tail,square nose with concave.+9ft(?)
Easter 1967 Midget Farrelly’s
lightweight Stringerless concave kicked nose (chamfered pod?) 9ft with
Greenough Stage III fin
Paul Witzig : Hot
Generation 1968
"The Clicka"
As no phenonemal success had been achieved
in competition with the previous boat it was felt that a new craft may
bring the required results and add another new piece of life saving equipment
to the club's gear.
About this time (1966) aluminium surf
boats had made their appearance in surf life saving circles and a small
committee was set up to look into the desirability of this type of craft.
When the club meeting was held to formalise
the ordering of a boat, Dick Cavanagh said "We don't want a tin can - let
us buy a regulation plywood craft from Clymer's Boat Builders".
This oratory carried the day and the
plywood tuck stern boat was procured and launched in the 1967-68 season.
The official launching ceremony was
performed by Mrs. Pat Asmussen.
Again, like its namesake this craft
gave invaluable service until it was finally given to Coalcliff Surf Life
Saving Club.".
Easter 1967 Nat Young’s Greenough
designed 9ft 7" with 6" or 6 feet ? of V bottom with Greenough Stage
III fin. - Bob McTavish in
Tracks ,1972.
Paul Witzig : Hot
Generation 1968
Mid 1967 Ted Spencer's 'Little Red',
Ted Spencer's 'Little
Red',
Shaped by Ted Spencer
and Bob McTavish at Keyo Surfboards, mid 1967
8ft 4" x 23" stringered
rounded pintail, red Greenough fin.
.Clear deck, red
gel coat on bottom.*
Details supplied, with thanks by Ted
Spencer, November 2003.
Film :
Eric Blum 'The Fantastic Plastic Machine'
1969 Footage of Windansea Contest October 1967, Palm Beach.
Paul Witzig : Hot
Generation 1968 Footage at Lahina Harbour, Maui.
Books :
Brian St. Piere : The Fantastic Voyage,
1969, page 146
Nat's Nat, pages162 to166
1967 V
Bottom- Stubby - Fantastic Plastic Machine -Short Board by Bob
McTavish & Kevin Platt (Keyo), Midget Farrelly (self),Ted Spencer (Shane
Stringerless), Keith Paull (Peter Clarke) ,Bobby Brown (Gordon & Smith)
and others.
Lengths started at 9 ft, then 8 ft 6",8
ft ,7 ft 10" and finally 7 ft 6". Wide point was 2/3 rds back about 23"
-24".
Standard board :stringerless,50/50 rail,
flat -rolled -vee bottom, +10 pod with+12Greenough Stage 3 fin set +8"
from the pod
Extras: concave nose,chamfered pod,deck/kneel
patches,Greenough Stage 4 fin, F fin (Richard Harvey) and early finboxes
(Farrelly)
Film : Children of
the Sun
End 1967
Extended Plastic Machines (9 ft with pointed
noses) tested in Hawaii by Nat and McTavish
The design is overall a failure but Dick
Brewer (US) endorses principle of length reduction.
Film :
Paul Witzig : Hot
Generation 1968
Eric Blum : The Fantastic Plastic
Machine 1969 Footage of Windansea Contest October 1967, Palm Beach.
Books :
Nat's Nat, pages162 to166
Peter
Drouyn, Haleiwa, Hawaii December 1967.
Photograph : Steve
Wilkings
Surfing Magazine
March 1984
Volume 20 Number
3 page 82
1967 November Surfing World Vol 9
No 6
" a short board yesterday was 9 ft - tody
it is 7 ' 6'' " - uncredited
Kenno (Bob Kennerson) : Retrospective,
includes
"War at Malibu - Fain vs. Dora"
Note continued US interest by Australian
surfers.
Keith Paull : ReEntry (Hot
new manourve)
Peter Clarke Surfboards Advertisement
- adds Northside factory at 20 Carter Road, Brookvale.
1968 Pintail
Vee all the elements of a Plastic Machine but with a full pin tail
Importation (from US) of finboxes : Waveset (Bennett) and Safeset (Keyo)
Film : The Innermost Limits of Pure
Fun
1968 Mini Gun Dick Brewer
design 7 ft 6" to 8 ft 6", 22-23" wide,wide point forward of centre, often
stringerless, finbox and soft vee.(Farrelly)
1968
Duke Kahanamoku
: Aloha, 22nd January 1968.
1968 February/March? Surfing World
Vol 10 No 2
Notes death of Duke Kahanamoku, see above.
Kevin Platt : Is there any other way?
(Article on Shortboards)
Design study on a surfboard, page
37 ( Nat Young's Cuttlefish, see Gordon
Woods Surfboards)
Windansea Contest (October, 1967)
:
Photographs by Dave Hartnell
Reported, uncredited :
Nat took 3 boards to the Islands, all
under 9' - 8'8'' Rolled bottom, 8'7'' Speed board with Racing (Snow)
Ski rail contour, and a 8'8'' radical Vee bottom.
US surfers kept Keyo (Surfboards) busy
and returned with boards as short as 7'6''.
Duke Contest won by Jock Sutherland,
Bob McTavish forced to ride his short board after leaving his gun in Honolulu.
Some of these reports are possibly incorrect/enhanced.
Surfing World Volume 11 Number 2 1968
Six leading Australian surfers select their favorite performers:
David Treloar on John Otton, Butch Cooney, Peter Cornish, Midget Farrelly,
Alan Spargo, Bruce Channon.
Bruce Channon on Wayne Lynch, Keith Paull, Richard Harvey, Midget Farrelly,
Peter Cornish, Ian Goodacre.
Bernard Farrelly on George Downing, Bobby Brown, Keith Paull, John Connors,
Joey Cabell, Wayne Lynch.
Mark Smith on Colin Hammond, Robert Melling, Gordon Merchant, Keith
Paull, Robert Conneely, Judy Trimm.
Bob Evans on Midget Farrelly, Phil Edwards, Nat Young, Goerge Downing,
Peter Drouyn.
The Sheer Delight Of Being Covered By The Curl – Kevin Platt
The two sides of… Leonardo da Kav. Lester Brien Richard Kavanaugh.
Suntex Catalina add Spirit of the Sun the ’69 look surfing trunk add
centre spread
A comparison with George Greenough/Ron Realph! No Thanks. It starts
Too Manny Arguments. John Russel. Talks about his abilities and influence,
the stage 3 fin and spoons 3pages.
Mechanism Article and photo’s John Hogan.
Somethings happening…. Article Tim Murdoch. Talks about the changes
in board shapes and what is happening in New Zealand particularly Wayne
Parks.
48 pages
1968
Keith Paul, Mark
Martinson and travel to Europe with film-makers, McGillray-Freeman. While
the American surfers ride Vee Bottom designs, Paull rides a current Australian
design - the Round tail.
The footage would
be included in Waves Of Change, released in 1969.
Other 1968 vistors
to France included Nat Young, Wayne Lynch and Ted Spencer, whose surfing
would appear in Paul Witzig's Evolution,
released in 1970.
 |
Keith Paull,
Billy Hamilton and Mark Martinson, France, 1968.
Photograph : MacGillivay-Freeman
Surfing Magazine
March 1984
Volume 20 Number
3 page 99 |
1968 Tracker
Bob McTavish design based on Hawaiian gun foil template but shortened with
a 4 - 6" square tail. 7 ft 6" - 7ft X. 22", wide point 2/3 rds from
tail Often stringerless and finbox. (San Juan)
Film : The Innermost Limits of Pure
Fun
1969 Double
Ender Wayne Lynch - semi-pin tail and nose with vee in the
centre 7 ft 6" - 6ft 10" X 22" (John Arnold - SA)
Film: Evolution
1969 #
171 Round Tail :further use of the foil concept but with a 8" soft
round tail.7 ft 6" X 22" by Nat Young (Keyo Surfboards and The Ski
by Weber Surfboards )
Film: Evolution
1969 March/April? Surfing World
Vol 11 No 4
Randy Rarrick : Australian Boards -
"By Easter (1968) V-bottoms were on the way out. By the Australian
Titles (May, 1968) all but a few had converted (to narrow tailed
designs).", page 11
Advertsements :
Gordon Woods
Surfboards - Tracker and Pintail and removable fins (Waveset?)
Farrelly Surfboards, Palm Beach
Post Office NSW 2108 - Pintail, also Tracker models. Page 38
The Way We Like It - new
film release by Bob Evans.
Surf
Beaches of Australia by Jeff
Carter - new book release.Design study on a surfboard, page
37 ( Nat
Chis Brock, George Greenough,
Dog, Garry Keyes and
Bob McTavish.
Wilderness factory,
Angourie - Byron Bay ?, 1969.
Surfing World Magazine,
Volume 12, Number 5, 1969.
|
 |
surfresearch.com.au
REFERENCES FOR THIS
SECTION
Image top
George Greenough/North coast freefall
1965
Photograph by Tanya Binning
First published Surfing World Vol No 196
This cropped version from
Margan
and Finney , page 310
The most outstanding photograph of committed
high performance surfing up to this date, this level of performance was
probably not achieved by stand up surfers for another ten years
BOOKS
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
surfresearch.com.au
