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glossary : c

camber /tip out
angle of side fins from the perpendicular to the bottom of the board

Camel
1. Deck – a rounded, convex or domed deck profile, with a ‘S’ deck line. See S-deck.
2. A model name for a design, featuring the S-deck above, by Morey-Pope (USA) circa 1969.

Cat / Catamaran
ttwin hulled raft, canoe or sailboat first used by the ancient Polynesians.
First credited modern adaptation by Woody Brown and Alfred Kumalea, Waikiki in 1948 - Cralle.
Later wave riding design featuring asymmetrical hulls by Hobie Alter and Phil Edwards, 1968.
See Hobie Cat.

Carter Pyle and Dick Pittet , Pacific Catamaran, Capo, California, 1963
Photograph by John Severson or Bev Morgan
Surfer Magazine, Volume 4 Number 1 February - March 1964 Page 27

cavitation
lack of forward thrust of the fin , possibly caused by air pockets not releasing from the fin.
Rarely experienced by surfboard riders, but a common problem for sailboards.
Note use of Canard and Slotted fins as a solution for sailboards.

catalyst / hardener
Methyl ethly ketone peroxide used to initiate a thermal reaction and harden polyester resin.

centre line
the line running from nose to tail
In a standard board this line is commonly the stringer.

chamber
to remove wood from timber beams before they are laminated to form a blank, resulting in a lighter board. Original use in 1930’s Alia designs,
also some use since 1956 with fibreglassed balsa blanks.

chamfered diamond tail
rapid thinning of the tail thickness incorporating a diamond tail.
A common feature on the Stubby design, 1967.
Called a Gretel/Pattie tail in New Zealand;circa 1967-8. -Tony Reid

chamfered pod/chamfered square tail -
rapid thinning of the tail thickness incorporating a concave dish in the deck on a square tail; Midget Farrelly, 1967.
A common feature on the Stubby design, 1967.
Scooped tail (New Zealand) circa 1967 - Tony Reid.

Chamfered Square tail Pod

chamfered square tail
see chamfered pod, above.

chamfered tail
rapid thinning of the tail thickness incorporating either
1.a diamond tail,
2. a concave dish in the deck on a square tail.
Either version a common feature on the Stubby design, 1967.
In boat building terms a ‘transom stern’.

channels
hard edged shallow and narrow concave lines in the bottom of a board.
Originally the lines (4 or 6) followed the rail outline and ran almost the full length of the board in combination with a multi flyer tail(Bee tail) by Jim Pollard / Col Smith (Newcastle) 1977.
Now more commonly comprise one phase of the bottom and are parallel to stringer.
See flutes.

chine
a definite edge where two surfaces meet

chine rail
1. Or 50/50, pointed elliptical rail profile, used as a compromise between a dropped/hard/low rail and a round rail. Extensively used 1965 to 1971.
2. George Greenough (USA) and Chris Brock’s Hull at Wilderness Surfboards in 1969.
Also by Robert Conneely at Hayden Surfboards 1970.
It was largely replaced in 1972 by another compromise – the soft down rail by Mike Hynson (USA).
Resurfaced as Vacuum track rails on Tom Morey’s Boogie, 1974.

Chinese boards/ Asian 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.

Chip / Potato Chip
a smaller lighter board than the current accepted design.
Circa late 1940’s (USA) the term referred to the new balsa/fibreglass boards that would replace the much larger hollow or solid wood boards.
Still with current application it is usually derogatory and is an antonym of plank and log.

chopper gun
spray gun specifically designed to apply chopped fibreglass and resin in the production of molded boards. - ORB in Cralle.

Chop Sick Fin
A fibre glass D fin with a narrow wood stringer from the base to the tip, credited to Greg Noll surfboards, circa 1964.

Church Window
1940-50’s Australian term for Alaia, based on the template.
Mainland USA term a similar Gothic.

Cigar/Cigar Box
hollow paddle board, circa 1940’s.
The term describes both...
the template (‘cigar’-long and narrow), and
the construction (hollow timber box).

circa
‘about (used especially in approximate dates) Abbreviation: c., c, ca. [L]’
- the Macquarie Dictionary 2nd Edition.
Used frequently.

Clinker Bottom
a combination of vee and channels, usually four, placed between centre and the fin/s.
Initially introduced on a Twin fin design, circa 1979 by Phil and/or Laurie Byrne at Byrne Brothers Surfboards, Wollongong, NSW.
Later a more subtle variation was common on some early Thruster designs, circa 1982. See #33.

cloth
1. woven fibreglass,
see Fibreglass, Warp, Weft.
2. Printed fabric, usually fine cotton, used as decoration laminated on a board (commonly nose patch) or inside a fin.
First use probably early 1960’s.
See fabric laminate.

Colour
decoration of the board excluding decals and markings on the blank.
Colour could be hand painted, gel coated, tint or pigment laminated, or spray painted onto the blank or filler coat.
Although the colour can be applied in any design, there is a large number of commonly used designs, e.g. rail overlaps, stripes, cigar bands, nose patches, etc.
.Includes adhesive grip, adhesive guards and in some instances post production stickers.

Comments
Historical links, precedents or antecedents. Interesting facts or features. Any data that won’t fit anywhere else.

composite
combination of two different materials in construction,e.g. fibreglass and resin.
See also Composite Balsa.

compression ding
indentation in the board that has not caused the fibreglass skin to fracture exposing the foam.
Usually by misadventure as opposed to deck dents caused by standard rider use,
see Kneel wells, Onion fracture.

concave
reduced thickness in the centre of the board, either in...
the bottom (theoretically to provide lift or stability by directing water flow), or
the deck (to provide stability for the rider by lowering the centre of gravity).

concave bottom
reduced thickness in the centre of the board theroetically to provide lift or stability by directing water flow. Assuming a four phase bottom …
1. Nose (Phase 1): for stability for noseriding,
came to prominence after Tom Morey’s noseriding contest 1965.
2. Entry (Phase 2): lift or stability in the entry section of the board,
first reported on Duke Kahanamoku’s Australian board 1915.
Common feature on Nat Young pintails 1971 –1980.
3. Drive (Phase 3) : direction of water flow in front of fin/s.
Double concave between the rail fins was an integral feature of the Cambell Brothers’ Bonzer design 1974.
4. Tail (phase 4) : behind the fin for extra stability,
featured on Dick Brewer’s (USA) Surfboards Hawaii (USA and Hawaii) guns circa 1962.

concave deck
reduced thickness in the centre of the board to provide stability for the rider by lowering the centre of gravity.
1. Deck
first recorded on Lou Morath’s Aliai 1939 with a 4 ft concave section for the rider to paddle and ride ‘in’.
Integral feature of Greenough Spoon (flex and non-flex) and used experimentally by Neil Purchase at Barry Bennett Surfboards in 1971.
2. Stepped Deck concave in the nose of the board to lower the centre of gravity of the rider.
A development following the popularity of noseriding after Tom Morey’s nose riding contest, 1965.

3.Stepped Tail concave in tail.
Dual nose and tail deck concaves featured on UFO by Rick Surfboards (USA) 1967.
4. Knee Wells - twin concaves in the deck to aid kneel-paddling
.Image right.
Common feature on modern paddle boards.

#144 Knee wells, 1/4'' deep, Scott Dillon 1966.

Construction
components and methods used in manufacture.
Specically blanks, fibreglass/resin, tints/pigments/spray, stringers, tail bocks, fin boxes/plugs, legrope plugs, other.

Contests
apart from the competition between contestants, contest events have served as a forum for design analysis and evaluation.
This factor had more significance before international travel and extensive media coverage became common. There are numerous examples, the Joey Cabell influence on Bob McTavish post 1964 World Championships at Manly being an early one.
See Contest Results

contour
any curved line that describes a board’s shape, e.g. bottom contour.

Coolite
generic brand name for a short (5 ft) molded polystyrene foam board used principally by juveniles, 1970’s. Advanced models used a molded rubber fin, e.g. Midget Farrelly model.
1980’s models were inserted in a woven fabric cover to limit foam damage.
Term origin : polystyrene foam was first marketed circa 1958 in Australia as a low-cost portable insulated food or beverage container, brand name ‘Coolite’. First models bore the Coolite brand,
Subsequent brands include Midget Farrelly, Pipeliner,

#34 Coolite rider, Margan and Finney, 1970 page 157.

crazing
"Hair line cracks either within or on the surface of fiberglass laminates, caused by stresses generated by excessive heat during cure, remaval from the mold, impact or flexing" -(ORB) in Cralle.

cord
see leg rope.

cross section
generally a latitudinal cross section; as opposed to a profile ( a longitudinal cross section).

crown
a convex design feature, usually the deck.
See domed, Camel, rounded.

cure
polymerization, the chemical reaction whereby liquid resin and catalyst becomes a solid.

cure time
the time in which resin takes to become solid after the catalyst has been added.
Cure time varies according to the ratio of resin to catalyst, temperature and humidity.
See gel, laminate, air inhibited resin

custom
a board shaped and/or decorated and/or glassed to a rider’s specifications.
Noye that some decals specify Custom, when they are not.

Image right...
Weiss (Pty. Ltd?) was a fishing supply store in central Sydney,
As reported by Bob Niblock..

"Weiss as you may know was a friggin Fishing shop in Broadway and I always had to do a lot of explaining to the guys when I carried it onto the beach!!!!!".

Cut down
a reshaped board.
Sometimes all the glass has been removed and the board completely rebuilt.
More often reshaping of the nose or the tail while retaining most of the board’s original features, possibly necessitated by misadventure.
See Backyard Butchery, leg rope damage, Backyarder,

cut lap
indented rail line where the fibreglass (Volan) has been trimmed by a knife
Common usage 1960 to 1976.
Modern S glass is free-lapped.