“As a group, kneelos are terribly tech. The average standup might know how many fins there are on his board, the average kneelo tends to know the chemical composition of the foam in it and in many cases have tables of the shear modulus of said foam tucked away someplace.”
“It is not a surprise (to us) that every advance in surfboard design started as a kneeboard. It’s unrecognised by 99% of standups.”
Purest form.
"It is not a surprise (to us) that every advance in surfboard design started as a kneeboard. It's unrecognised by 99% of standups."
Perhaps it’s unrecognized because it is untrue? Start a list. A lot of surfboard design evolution happened before Greenough. And a lot has happened since.
Was Simon Anderson’s Thruster a stand-up board?
did simon anderson produce the first 3 fin board? I think he just brought it to the public
I’m sure he didn’t come up with the first three fin board.
Quite a number of versions were out there before the “Thruster.” The 3-fin pre-thruster standup boards I’m familiar with were more like a “2+1” or Widowmaker set up with a large central and two smaller side fins. In some cases the side fins were pretty far back.
A couple of high school friends had 'em… one was a 6’2" Jacobs and another was a Brewer from Hawaii. There were also photos in magazines of that era. We graduated in '73 so that would have been early 70s. I don’t know of any three fin kneeboards being done in the early 70s but that doesn’t mean they weren’t around.
The design popularized as the “Thruster” was a little later… 1980(?) Obviously it was a major development that has proven itself many times over. I’m still not sure if it’s first appearance was as a kneeboard or standup.
bonzer by campbells in early 70s ? they had 3 didn’t they? hhmmm, twinnie by bob simmons?
While many neat things have come from Kneeboarders(cripples-to be Politically incorrect)---- i think more advances have come from the nerdy, goofy and otherwise ‘out there’ members of our sport or lifestyle…cambell bros, mctavish, simmons, frye, and on and on cause most of us are at least semi-out there----the problem of spreading the discoverys in the surf media and the 'big ’ board builders with inventory to sell
I think the main problem with Parker’s statement is he said “every” advance. Pretty broad statement and easy to poke holes in. Mr. Thraikill, if your still here could you elaborate on your statement of “purest form.” Mike
That is not my quote. It was recently posted in a popular kneeboard surfing forum.
Rooster,
My comment of “Purest Form”, references the assertion in the original post ,re: 99%… or pure (dare I say it?) bullshit. I think it’s the Purest Form of Bullshit. That which has no basis in fact. I built a three fin board, one back, two forward near the rail, much as you see today, in 1964. Tested it for several days, saw no particular advantage over the singles I was riding at the time, so just moved on to other things. Later in Dec. 1970, designed, developed, and produced the PressLok removeable Tri Fin System, which I used at Surf Systems, and Surfboards Hawaii, and sold to Dewey Weber, G&S, and other manufacturers. For the record, I’m sure other people were playing around with the idea well before me. When I brought out the PressLok system in 1970, I knew that Randy Rarick and others in the Islands were exploring the concept, thanks to my then " hawaiian spy" David Jones. They were doing glass on, and I felt that removeable was the way to go. Hope that provides some perspective.
Hi Bill - Were they kneeboards or standup?
John,
They were standup. I’m surprised you asked.
The kneeboarder who posted that should back it up with facts.
Sticking to the forum rules…
I disagree with your statments.
"As a group, kneelos are terribly tech. "
hahahah !! bloody hilarious ...not here in Perth West Oz they're not ! when I asked a guy I know the dimensions of his kneeboard , he had to flip it over and read the stringer !! [and that's only the dimensions , so I didn't stress him out by asking about his fin placement , or rocker ] and he's not the only one .....
Aloha Bill
Was that the fin system that was moulded in place with resin and fibergalss via teflon plugs?
Mr. Thraikill,
Got it. Do you think 3 finned(thruster) type set-ups are better suited for short board surfing and have no advantages in longer designs, hence, your observations they had no advantages to the boards you were riding at the time? Mike
Bill.
Yes. It was a machined Polypropylene plug that was .005 inch UNDERSIZED to the fin base. It provided a press fit, and had an approx. 10 degree undercut at the front to provide the mechanical lock. Hence the name PressLok. Thank you for remembering.
Rooster,
There were no “advantages” for 9’ 6" 30 pound surfboards of that era. Properly executed a three fin system MAY have advantages for longer boards. Depends on what you are trying to do. There are many ways to skin the same cat. Some ways are better than others.