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

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glossary : a

422
1963 original credited stinger type design by Hal Jacobs (USA).
Named after factory address, 442 Pacific Coast Highway Hermosa Beach California.
It is unlikely there were current Australian examples.

50/50 Rail/ Chine rail
a pointed elliptical rail profile, used as a compromise between a dropped/hard/low rail and a round rail. Extensively used 1965 to 1971.

757
a straight edged raked fin based on jet plane wing in current Thruster configuration, initially by Rainbow Fins (USA) June 1983. Australian examples.
Also called Angular or Staight-edged fin, US - Cralle.

activator /promoter
see accelerator,

accelerator
cobalt napthalate (‘cobalt’), added to resin with catalyst to increase the exothermic reaction and to reduce cure time. Most common use is with pigment gel coats. - (ORB) in Cralle..

acetone
highly flammable and toxic cleaning solvent commonly used to clean resin from boards and brushes and in preparation for gloss coats - (ORB) in Cralle

advanced fin placement
During the Short/transition board period, 1967 to 1969, an important component of design experimentation was the increase in fin rake and its movement forward.
Not only was board length substantially reduced, but advancing the fin further enhanced maneuverability.
Early Malibu boards often had the fin base fixed at the tail with the rake trailing behind.
During the early 1960’s fin designs were varied and placement 3 to 6 inches from the tail, but by 1967 the Greenough (Stage II and III) was considered standard and placement moved up the board to 10 inches.

This fin/placement was carried over in the Pin-vee and Double-ender models, and placement reached an extreme of 12 inches from the tail on the Tracker, all 1968.
Continued length reduction during 1969 saw fin placement return to the more conventional 5 to 6 inches.
These comments refer specifically to single fin boards up to 1969.
In the early 1970's fin placement experimentation was available to the rider with the introduction of standardized fin boxes.
Fin placement was varied with the Stinger design,1974, and has been critical in the refinement of the twin fin and three fin.
See fin placement, Twin fin, Tri-fin, Thruster

air brush
1. A fine nozzle spray gun using compressed air to apply paint (normally acrylic) to a blank or board.
2. Colour; either solid, fade, panels, graphic and /or mural; applied to a blank or board with tool #1 above. -(ORB) in Cralle.

air inhibited resin
a non-wax polyester resin that does not completely cure while exposed to air (oxygen?).
Commonly laminate resin. -(ORB) in Cralle.

Ashtray tail
an unusual dished and kicked square-tail, featured on Greek Surfboards' Eliminator model, circa 1967-1968. US.

Asian boards/Chinese boards
surfboards manufactured in mainland China, usually from Australian produced blanks, that retail at a substantial retail discount due to low Asian labour costs.
Less stringent environmental and health regulations may also reduce costs. Circa 1998. See www.

Alaia/Alia
1. Pre 1900
solid native timber Hawaiian traditional board, 5 ft– 12 ft and 13.5 inches to 20 inches wide.
Common use. Ridden prone, kneeling or standing.
2. 1900 to 1930
solid timber board similar to 1 above, but made from imported timber (usually Californian redwood), due to the exploitation of the native forests, and thicker, to improve the strength of the coarser grained substitutes.
The imported timber was lighter and the added thickness increased the floatation of these boards.

3.1930 to 1950
Classic dimensions and template retained but use of waterproof glues developed in WWI facilitates construction from laminated blanks.
The original application of the stringer, this reduced timber cost and weight with a mix of strong and light timbers, e.g. balsa and redwood.
More sophisticated construction involved chambering or hollowing out timber sections before laminating together to reduce weight further, possibly influenced by Tom Blake’s Hollow plywood design.
Australian name ‘Church windows’ and mainland USA name ‘Gothic’ circa 1940-50, descriptive of the template.

asymmetric (template/rails/tail)
intentional non-symmetrical design usually to enhance performance in a preferred direction (right or left).
Note that most handshaped boards are probably unintentionally asymmetric.
Examples include...
1963 Midget Farrelly Hook tail.
1976 Nat Young Backhand (rails).
1979 Bob McTavish Asymmetric (template).
1983 Ed Angulo Asymmetric (sailboard template)
See Bob McTavish : Asymmetrcal, Seanotes Magazine 1978

Australian Racing 16
1937 to 1960, hollow plywood covered board originally designed by Tom Blake in 1934
Adopted by the Surf Life Saving Clubs primarily as a rescue or racing craft, hence the extreme length and in many cases very narrow.
See Hollow board