Frank DeSilva bottom turning at Soupbowl in Barbados - 1994
The surfboard has been in a state of perpetual evolution--in both design and materials--since about A.D. 1000, when it is believed that boards for stand-up surfing were invented.
At the turn of the 20th century, surfboards were almost always made of redwood and finished with varnish. Duke Kahanamoku rode a board in 1910 that was 10' with a 23" wide point, 3" center thickness and weighed 70 pounds. It had a wide tail and no rocker. In an effort to make surfboards lighter, Tom Blake developed the "cigar-box" hollow board in 1929. They were longer and square-railed, but had a more streamlined shape and weighed about 40 pounds.
Right after WWII, Malibu surfers Joe Quigg, Bob Simmons and Matt Kivlin developed the Malibu "Chip" (short for potato chip), which was lighter still, much more maneuverable and was first to standardize the use of a fin. Made mostly of balsa, a typical Chip was 10' long, 22" wide, square-tailed and weighed 25-30 pounds. In 1955, Dale Velzy introduced "the Pig, which is often credited as being the precursor to the modern longboard. It had a wider tail and the rail lines were less parallel, making it easier to turn than earlier designs.
But the innovation that changed surfing forever was the transition from balsa wood to polyurethane foam. Bob Simmons experimented with the combination of a plywood skin over a Styrofoam (polystyrene) core in the late '40s, but it proved too labor intensive to build. Then in the mid-'50s, Dave Sweet of Santa Monica, California built a concrete mold and worked to perfect the polyurethane foam blank. In 1956, he produced the first commercially built polyurethane surfboards for an eager market. Two years later, Hobie Surfboards converted its entire line from balsa to foam, and the surf industry exploded.
The shortboard revolution started around 1967 when Australian Bob McTavish began producing shorter, v-bottomed boards. About 15 years later, Simon Anderson introduced the Thruster, and the shortboard became an industry staple.
Today, it's a case of almost anything goes. Out in the water and depending on conditions, you can see classic longboards, modern longboards, twin-finned "fish," single finned shortboards and Thruster shortboards. Composite materials are making boards lighter yet stronger, and part of the innovation in shapes seems to be "what was old is new again."
The purpose of our "Boards" section is simple. We wanted to provide a no frills, on-line gallery where you can have a look at some very nice old surfboards. It will be obvious that the images have not been retouched and someday we'll get around to writing profiles on each one. In the meantime, enjoy these photos; there are some great boards with some interesting templates and wild cosmetics. Thanks to Frank DeSilva of Carlsbad, California for allowing us to photograph a portion of his really nice collection.
Our latest gallery has lots of photos from the December 2006 Longboard Collector's Club meet at Doheny. Several shapers were inducted into the "Shapers' Hall of Fame" and their photos are intermixed with the boards. If you have questions about any of these pictures please feel free to email wayne@lastwave.com and he'll be glad to let you know about people or boards.
If you're interested in sharing photos of boards you own, send an email to ted@lastwave.com and we'll see what we can do to get them posted.