Surf
Board Design
by Brian Freidrichs
1900's
Surfing
saw resurgence in the early 1900's. Unfortunately 1800's technology
was still all that was available at that time. Boards were still fashioned
after the old alaia boards of the last century. There was however
a drop in length to six to seven feet and two to three inches in thickness
with a slightly reduced convex on the bottom.
1920's
Surfing
continued to grow into the twenties. Koa was still the wood of choice
but that was about to change. Boards grew a few feet from the past
few years. Around that time George Freeth brought surfing to California.
With that minds started turning and the evolution of the modern surfboard
began in earnest. The first advancement came in the form of redwood.
Two to three inch redwood planks were lag bolted together trough the
rails which at this time were rounded as the old alaia boards. The
use of redwood was the first step taken to reduce the weight of surfboards.
1930's
The 1930's
saw the emergence of a man who drastically changed the face of surfboard
design. His name was Tom Blake. His first contribution was the hollow
box paddleboard. Weight dropped drastically and now boards weighed
in at seventy five to one hundred pounds. Still finless these boards
were turned by dragging the back foot off the inside rail. Then in
nineteen thirty-five after watching power boat races he added the
first crude to his new boxboards. With that new horizons in maneuverability
were discovered. In this same era some builders were still experimenting
with alternating strips of laminated pine or redwood. This combined
the strength of pine and the lightweight of redwood. They were also
more attractive then any of their predecessors.
1940's
Through the first part of the forties both box type solid plank and
balsa redwood laminates; the new kid on the block, were all in use.
Then in nineteen forty-six the next major breakthrough hit the line-up.
Bob Simmons introduced the fiber glassed all balsa surfboard. Weight
once again dropped dramatically. It also served to really fuel the
fire of designing minds.
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