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the catalogue : #206 
1985.   Express Four fin Kneeboard     5ft   7".
 #206
MANUFACTURE
MANUFACTURER: Express Shapes,  unit? / 14 Burns Rd Heathcote. Sydney
SHAPER: Paul Armstrong
DESIGN: Four fin Kneeboard Slab
DESIGNER:
SPECIFICATIONS
CONSTRUCTION 
Foam blank, 1/8'' redwood stringer, fibreglassed, finboxes, spray decor, left hand legropeplug.
DIMENSIONS
Length :
5
feet  7 inches    
Width :
22 3/4
inches  
Wide Point :
0
inches
Nose : 
17
inches  
Tail : 
18 1/2
inches
Thickness :
 3 1/4
inches  
Pod :
12
inches
Nose/L: 
  inches  
Tail/L :
  inches
Weight :
  kilograms  
Volume:
  litres
Diamond:
 + 3
inches  
 Flyers:
14
inches
FEATURES:
Nose: semi pin
Tail: diamond, with very slight flyers.
Deck: flat
Bottom: round - flat to half way, then vee with four clinker channels between the fins ending at 1/4 inch step bottom, full pintail.
Rails: pinched, round low
Rocker: medium
FINS
Two Dion Chemicals 6 1/2 inch Fin boxes, set @ 15 inches.
Two of inch x  inch base 
Two Dion Chemicals 4 1/2 inch Fin boxes, set @ 8 1/2 inches
Two MultiFins   inch x  inch base 
.Not the original fins
Image right
DECOR
DECAL
Deck: Large black Express script on rails.
Small black Shaped by Paul Armstrong logo on tail
Bottom: Large Black/yellow Express script, Shaped By Paul Armstrong text in circle with cheeta graphic on nose.Image right.
Small Dion Chemicals logo on tail
MARKINGS
Deck: CO684 / 5'7'' CRAIG pencil above/below stringer at tail
Bottom:
COLOUR
Deck: Five colour abstract geometric design with fracture on nose, left. Blue spray pinlines
Bottom: Clear. 
NOTES
BOARD HISTORY
 Purchased Cash Convertors, Miranda NSW October 2000?
Fitted with large fins only, the trailing fins had been removed.

Craig Joubert reported 5 May 2003
"I was amazed to see one of my old boards in your catalogue.
The above board was the first board that I ever did a 360 on!"

Further details were requested and supplied, used in various sections and below...
Date (my guess was 1985) ? 
Not to far wrong. From my recollections maybe '84, '83 absolute earliest.
Custom or stock ? 
Custom
Decor design and/or spray by ? 
Paul Armstrong (shaper & owner of Express). I used to let Paul have free range on spray jobs. 
They were always colourful.
The board did not have the trailing fins when I purchased it - any idea of their dimensions? 
All of the fins look unoriginal. Paul always used white fins and I'm certain that's what was on this board. As for size they look from the photo to be bigger than the original. I can't remember the sizes but the ones in it now look wider at the base and the trailing fins look about 30% ?? bigger.
Do the numbers CO684 mean anything to you? 
No. I think this would have been some sort of order/job number for Paul. 
NB. Last I heard Paul Armstrong was living in Sans Souci and making boards out of his garage for friends
while working at Qantas but last board I got from Paul was around 1990 when he was living in Engadine and
making boards in his garage.
Thanks to Craig Joubert for his contribution.
DESIGN HISTORY
Following the success of Simon Anderson's Thruster in 1981, several variations in fin placement and size were tried, one being the Four fin by Glen Winton from the Central coast, NSW in 1981.

- Young: Fundamentals (1985) page 102. 
The four fin, Cheyne Horan's Winged keel and the return of Bonzer side fins (in a five fin configuration) all had some limited application, but with the introduction and popularity of plug fin systems in 1990, the basic thruster set up has maintained its superiority.
COMMENTS: 
REFERENCES:
Other Kneeboards 
Jackson/Greenough Spoon # 76
Barry Taylor Flextail # 83
Spoon deck Kneeboard # 68
Crozier Slab # 58
Also see Paipo Catalogue
Magazines
CONDITION: 6

 



John Ware : The Fluted Diamond-Tail Kneeboard
Surfing World  magazine Vol 25 # 3 July 1977 pages ?
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