Vintage Shapes and Hulls
Photo: Esteban Bojorquez / ca. 1974
Edge Board 1974!
Greetings Friends!
So since I have been chasing surf and didn't post a featured board for June I thought this would make up for two months. No secret that Greenough's influence felt its way into my work. This photo taken at the Quarantina Street shop in 1974 is worth a thousand words. The cast of characters know who they are. The man behind the camera Steve Krajewski AKA Esteban Bojorquez, my friend since high school days sent me this photo a couple of years ago. The "Grey and White" board is as Greenough as it gets. A stand up version of the "Black and White" George was riding at that time (minus the spooned out deck), this board was 6'6" in length (I don't remember other dimensions) however I'm thinking 19" in width. The bottom contour in the center plane ( the white section of the bottom) had a single concave forward into two in the tail. The rails were separated from the center plane by a hard edge and neutral through the middle of the board and transitioning to hard down rails in the tail. This was the only flex-tail of the many I have made that didn't have a full glass tail. The parts that were flexible solid glass were only in the last twelve inches of rail with the center part of the tail being made of hypalon (Zodiac rubber). The white and grey sections were separated by a hard edge, truly a tri-plane hull. The fin was pulled off of a tuna picture that I scaled out of a book in my library about fisheries of the north pacific. The fin had a full foil (no flat spots), made of pure roving strands that followed the contours of the rake. I didn't know about removing the atmosphere at that time (vacuum bagging) so I laminated the fin panel between two wax paper lined pieces of plywood under a bottle jack and a Volkswagen. I know I rode this board for a while but after nearly 40 years I only recall one session...... at Rincon, a solid 8' swell. Until recently I thought that there was only one other board made like this, one that George made for Chris Brock in 1972 (orange and blue) but in a recent article in SJ about Michael Cundith there was a tail shot picture of another. I wish the other board in this picture wasn't blocked out but it was a board dubbed the "Twisto Flex". The tail twisted terribly while being glassed but turned out to be one of the best riding boards I ever had.
Just a reminder my current shapes and custom orders are available at Shapes and Hulls LLC / 11 South Kellogg Ave. / Goleta, CA / Shop A
PS If anyone knows the whereabouts of the "Gray and White" board please let me know! TB