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glossary : l

Lamaroo
a solid timber board for prone surfing,
the term appears to be particular to Victoria.
In use in some form from the earliest records of Australian surfing
Later a fibreglassed balsa wood belly-board, commonly with two D fins, circa 1950’s.
Image Left :
Grace Smith Wooton and Win Harrison
Point Lonsdale Victoria, circa 1915.
from Wells page 157
The board was made by a local carpenter, cost 12 shillings ($1.20), with her initials carved in one end.

Response to an enquiry from Murray Walding, December 2006.
"can you tell me the origins of the term 'Lamaroo?''
From memory...
The first Australian example I saw (not just a photograph) was at Mick Mock's first surf auction, 2001.
I believe the term was used in the auction catalogue - at present I can't find my copy to verify this.
The item was from Victoria and I assumed Mick took the term from the seller's description.
I vaguely recall talking with the ''owner'', but can't recall if it was the seller or the buyer.
The board is in the Catalogue - circa 1950, number #166.
Suggest you compare models in the Paipo Catalogue Image Menu.
For some indefinable reasons, probably the paint work, the board appeared to me to be a commercial item.
I inferred that the term Lamaroo was possibly a manufacturing brand name.
The term is probably of Aboriginial derivation - I think Holden had a ute model called this in the late 1990s.
Similar boards were marketed in New Zealand (Prout) and England (Solabro).
The Solabro is shown in History - Source Documents - scroll down to the entry at 1953.
Given the vast variation in surfcraft designs, the designation of distinguishing labels or design names is of some assistance to the archivist.
This design has significant features, mainly the narrow width, that distinguish it from other prone boards.
The narrow width would appear to preclude any possibility of the rider taking a kneeling position, which may be possible with other prone boards, for example the Boogie board.
The dimensions also strongly indicate that the board would be unlikely to be paddled successfully in deep water and take-off was probably from a standing start.
In many cases this would not produce a ride on the wave face but rather a ride in the broken wave or white water.
This seems confirmed by contemporary photographs of the boards in use.

Extreme technical note :
Riding the white-water does not always require the rider to take a line straight to the beach.
It is often possible to cut at an angle to the wave 'face' - with a resultant increase in board speed.

Lam Art
laminated art, i.e. decals.

Also see:

Shane Egan.
http://www.bluebananastudios.com/shane-egan-art

laminated (process)
bonding fibreglass cloth to the shaped blank with laminating resin.
The cloth is conformed to the board’s shape by use of a rubber squeegee.
Early models where laminated with fibreglass mat, the resin applied by a roller.

laminated fin :
a fin constructed of multi-layered fibreglass cloth, often using different layers of pigment colour to assist foiling and/or for décor effect.
Laminate could also include decals, art work, fabric or fully enclose a wooden fin.

laminate resin
a non- wax resin with high bonding properties that only fully cures after the application of a filler/gel coat.

lap cut / lap line
knife incision in the blank , deeper ones caused by cutting after 100% curing.
See Rail lap.

lay up :
spreading and trimming a layer or layers of fiberglass before laminating, usually onto a blank or in fin construction.

Lazor Zap :
no-nose, wide tailed single fin board designed by Geoff McCoy for Cheyne Horan, 1979-1984.
Later models featured Ben Lexan/Cheyne Horan’s Winged Keel/Star fin.
Reprised 1998 as Thruster finned Nugget model by McCoy Surfboards.

leash/cord
see leg-rope below

leash loop
rovings ‘bridge’ fixed to the tail (on deck) of a board to attach the leg rope.
See Leg rope bridge

leg-rope - leash - cord - kook cord

As far as I know, the surf leash was introduced at the Santa Cruz 4A Invitational in the Spring (May?) of 1971 by Pat O'Neill and Roger Adams.
Probably the idea was around before that, but the first photo of the leash in action was published that year, and the first retail ads were run by a company called Surf Strap.
The leash got off to a slow start, and ran into some bad press.
First of all it was ugly : a line of shot cord fastened to the nose of a surfboard with a suction cup.
Holding the cord in your hand, you could jerk the nose around to produce a truly ugly manouvre.
The purists were appalled.
The more competitive surfers saw the practical advantages and opted for the leash early.
For kids starting out...the was no question about it.
- Drew Kampion : As Years Roll By (1970's Retrospective)
Surfing February 1980. Volume 16 Number 2, page 43.

French surfer with leg-rope, published March 1966 in Surfing World.

The first commercial design was a cord attached to the nose of the board by a suction cup and to the rider’s wrist, by Control Products (USA) circa 1972.
Advertised illustration indicated the rider could direct the board via the attachment.

Tracks Number 23 August 1972

Page 3
Contents/Letters

Features a goofy-foot on a hollow right hander holding a leg-rope with his trailing hand.

Surfer Volume 13 Number 3 September 1972
Possibly the third edition of Surfer magazine to advertise a leg rope/hand leash etc.
Interview- At Sea with Jack O'Neill
Page 34: Capt "one eyed"JACK O'NEILL Interview...just post his encounter with early leg-rope experiments that caused him the loss of his left eye.
It is the first to note founding leash father Jack O'Neill loss of eye due to his experiments with the first leashes.

Midget Farrelly used a leg-rope, tied to the fin, at the 1973 Bells Beach Contest, noted in a photograph by Keith Platt.
http://www.triggerbrothers.com.au/midget-farrelly/

Surfer Volume 14 Number 3, September 1973.
Page 85: Pipeline.
SURFIN' AROUND
Con (Colburn's Control Products) also reports that Jim Blears and George Downing rode 15' point Makaha with Con's ankle leash unit with no sweat!
Possibly a first for a leash in really big surf.

Second commercial product, Surf Ankle Leash, attached to rear of the fin, USA December 1973.

Surf Aids Surf Cords
Recommended by Nat Young
Fully adjustable Velcro strap - Full length latex rubber - No spring back.
Note circular deck plug.
Tracks Number 50 November 1974, page 36.

Rubber and rope core leg-rope and fibreglass
loop, Cyclone Surfboards, 1974

In 1974 ?, the Pro-Leash by the Leach company of San Diego used a nylon cord between an rubber shock-absorber (a spear-gun rubber?) and a foot leash running through a quick-release metal ring.
This was possibly designed by Larry Block, also an Amurkan, running ads in Surfing magazine for a leash that used bungee cord instead of surgical tubing, reducing the stretch.
All yours for five bucks.

As late as 1976, this design was still being advertised in Sydney's Tracks magazine.
-Tracks, Volume 20 Number 70, July 1976, page 30.

A home-made version, circa 1973, consisted of a nylon cord fixed to a hole in the fin and to the rider’s rear ankle with a sock, handkerchief or even a dog collar- hence leash.

Later, a rovings bridge (leash loop) was laminated onto the rear deck as an alternative to the hole in the fin, a method in current use on thin tailed boards or on pre 1975 boards to maintain historical authenticity (they can easily be removed)

A further alternative was cutting a hole in the deck of the board forward of the fin and inserting a plastic moulded chair leg stopper and a metal bar.

Circa 1974, first commercial models by Bob Newlands at Surf Aids, Byron Bay NSW, greatly improved safety by using Velcro ankle attachment, brass swivel and a flexible cord (surgical tubing with rope insert) attached to a moluded plug fitted to the deck (packaged as a full kit with the plug for fitting post-manufacture).
Fixing the attachment forward of the fin/s improved safety by redirecting recoil.

Surfing (USA) Volume ? Number ? October-November 1974 cover included Leash Test.

During this period many manufacturers only fitted plugs to new boards on request, and some refused to.
Most plugs were fitted post-production, and they didn’t become standard additions until custom orders constantly required them, retail shops (e.g. Peter Turner at Kirra Surf Centre, Queensland) demanded them, and their use was accepted in major contests (first major contest use xxx 197?).

Ocean and Earth Velcro Strap, 1975.

In 1975 a plug was marketed with in-built swivel, but this double swivel version would soon be unnecessary.
Serious board damage was often inflicted when the rope was wrapped around the fin during wipeouts but this was reduced with the addition of the rail-saver and a second swivel circa 1976.

In 1976, The Boat Shop, Oxford Street Bondi Junction, offered a stainless steel swivel with a shackle attachment to be added to existing leg-ropes.

-Tracks, Volume 20 Number 70, July 1976, page 30.
By the 1980s, a swivel was incorporated into most leg-ropes.

In California, Clarke Foam introduced the Surf Leash Bolt in 1977.
A standard fin bolt with an eyelet at the top to attach a leash or leg-rope.
With the rope attached under the board, this was semi-practical in the US where removable fins had the tab at the rear of the fin.
In Australia, the tab was invariably at the front of the fin.

International Surfing Volume 12 Number 3, June-July 1976, page 14.

In 1977 Ian Cairns insisted on a leg-rope free final at the Alan Oke Memorial Contest, Phillip Island Victoria.
The officials' decision not to allow leg-ropes in the final was not appreciated by some competitors, and following this contest, leg-ropes became standard contest equipment.
This was the last Australian professional contest to ban leg-ropes.

In the early 1980’s the rope/tubing design was replaced with a solid moulded urethane cord.

Boogie boards commonly use a curled moulded urethane cord with wrist attachment.

A long-board or Malibu leg-rope features a large Velco attachment to be worn bellow the rear knee, to facilitate walking.

Despite being a safety feature, leg rope use has been possibly been responsible for some casualties.

Graeme Attey noted by email, June 2009:
"I ... designed the over-moulded legrope system for Creatures of Leisure in 1994 (now used on every legrope in the world today) and then the ‘Revolution’ leg-rope swivel system introduced in 2003."

The universal adoption of the leg rope has had a significant impact on surfboard construction and design, surfing performance and crowds.

Also see:
Jock Serong’s Short History of The Legrope
https://www.coastalwatch.com/surfing/13810/jock-serong-s-short-history-of-the-legrope

Sydney Morning Herald: All surfers will lose control of their board': lawyers target longboarders without leg ropes, March 2019.
www.smh.com.au/national/all-surfers-will-lose-control-of-their-board-lawyers-target-longboarders-without-leg-ropes-20190301-p51133.html

Advertisement for (Sex) Surf Aids Leg-ropes, Byron Bay? Daniell All Wave Legropes.
Tracks, October 1979, page 26. Surfboard Materials P/L, 168 Waterloo Street, Narrrabeen.

A$ 9, A$ 8 without the plug . Tracks, August 1976, page 36.

Adhesive leg-rope plug, 1975.
Blue Cheer Surfboards, California.

Surf Aids Leg-rope and Plug.
Tracks Number 72, page 12.
September 1976

Surf [Aust] November 1977
Volume 1 Number 6.

leg rope bridge
rovings ‘bridge’ fixed to the tail (on deck) of a board to attach the leg rope.

Inserted rope strap
to attach leg-rope.
Kennett Surfboards, 1973.

Crude cloth and resin leg rope bridge,1974

Amateur rovings and resin leg rope bridge, 1974.
Jackson Surfboard

leg rope plug / plug
plastic molded leash attachment with stainless steel pin fitted into the deck of a board at the tail, circa 1974.
See legrope .

Length :
1. The distance measured with a tape measure (flexible) from the nose to tail along the bottom curve. (Preferred)
2. The distance measured with a ruler (rigid) from the nose to tail in a straight line.
Note that Length #1 is always greater than Length #2.
A 6-ft (L#2) board with an extreme bottom curve will be ‘shorter’ than a 6-ft (L#2) board with a conservative bottom curve.
In modern Malibu Board contests, minimum board length is measured by method #2.
Method #1 appears to be the most commonly accepted in Australia.

See:
https://www.swaylocks.com/forums/straight-line-or-over-curve

Levine
brand name for New Zealand hollow timber board marketed as a do-it-yourself pre-cut kit, circa 1958.
Based on the Malibu board (see Okinuee, Australia) it featured a wide square tail, narrow rounded nose and a standard D fin set right at the pod.
Most interesting is the full vee bottom from nose to tail.
Common factory length appears to be 9 ft 1 inch.

lift
1. Generally any design characteristic that appears above the bottom profile; e.g. nose lift, tail lift; or less common rail lift (in the bottom cross section).
2. characteristic of a design said to reduce wetted area and hence drag e.g. concave nose

Little Red
8ft 4" x 23" stringered rounded pintail.
Shaped by Ted Spencer and Bob McTavish at Keyo Surfboards, mid 1967.
Despite the publcity given to Nat Young and Bob McTavish's testing of the Short Board/Vee-Bottom theory in Hawaii, November-December 1967, variations of Ted Spencer's board were to be the dominant design in Australia for the next twelve months.
The board is featured in Eric Blum The Fantastic Plastic Machine - Windansea contest October 1967,. and Paul Witzig : Hot Generation - Maui.

Bob McTavish & Little Red, Honolua Bay '67.
John Witzig. Click for photo details.

Bob McTavish & Little Red,
Honolua Bay, Maui, December 1967.
Photo : John Witzig

Log

a longer and or heavier board than the currently accepted design.
Derogatory, see plank etc.

longboard
1. a board longer than the current popular standard length.
In 1999 this usually refers to a Malibu board.
2. a board with three riding positions, the rider moving to these by walking or stepping.
See short-board, mircro-board.

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Geoff Cater (2000-2020) : Appendix : Glossary L.

http://www.surfresearch.com.au/agl.html