G&S 70's UNCONFIRMED Design......What do you think?

General Discussion
1

Hey ALL!

 

New to the site. After talking with numerous surfing buddies of mine I still coming up without a postive confirmation as to what exactly my Gordon & Smith is. 

 

I have search the internet high and low and have not recieved a postive ID on this retro board. 

Here is the story…

 

It is a vintage G&S ....... and this is were I get lost?

I have been around surfing for years and this one has me confused. My gut instinct tells me its a kneeboard but that does not feel quite right either.

It measures approx. 4 foot 5 inches. and is approx 22 inches wide. There is no visible stringer or stringer markings for that matter. No leash plug and the fin is glassed on. Was it a prototype for G&S more a flop model???

The only thing that I can find on the net that is remotely similar which was produced by G&S was the "spoon" model although I do not believe this to be that either.

I have found similar type kneeboards and belly boards from the 60's and 70's made by other shapes but NOTHING from such a iconic company like G&S. Being as well know as Gordon & Smith is, you would think there would be something out there that I could compare to. 

Simple solution is to contact G&S but they closed there doors recently so I do not have a contact for them to ask these question.

My first board that I learned how to surf on was an old 7'2" G&S single fin so needless to say I have a special place for G&S and when I saw this I had to pick it up!

 

2

Looks like a spoon to me, no doubt.

3

The G&S site is back up and running and they have a FaceBook page too (G&S Surfboards and Skateboards | San Diego CA). Someone there might have something to say.

4

I used to have a G&S kneeboard about the same size as you said but the outline was more of an egg, it was a single fin and had no stringer

edit: mine wasnt scouped out , it had a domed deck and flat bottom,, fin box with a black plastic fin

great board!

5

What about it makes you think it might not be a kneeboard? The length is right in the ballpark.

We need Bill T to weigh in on this one.

“Mr Thrailkill to the resin splotched courtesy phone, please…”

6

Scooped out deck short round tubby outline most likly a long skinny racked fin.  It was somebodies Kneeboard

7

How do I post more than one picture. It keeps telling me that file exceeds max size I have resized to make the files smaller without success. 

 

8

Post photos someplace else. Copy the image url and link within your post.

tinypic.com or freeimagehosting.net are two good, free sites that will host pictures without having to register, create an account, or any other BS.

9

Thanks for all the direct and help! 

 

Here is a link to some photos. 

http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj123/Joey40202/Gordon%20and%20Smith%20Board/

10

Well, the photos tell me it’s a mid 70s kneeboard. Possibly custom built for someone.

11

Thanks for your insight. Its a little over 2" thick. Does anyone know if G&S ever made a production line of kneeboards? 

12

Approximate date: 1971-73.  We had a mold for those. We were blowing our own foam, Pacific Foam.

Yes. It’s a knee board.

I had a sample that had our Wavecraft label on it. It was my son’s first surfboard when he was a kid (mid eighties). I still had it laying around. 

I have a picture of him with it somewhere.

13

OK. I got my “Bills” mixed up. Bill Y is the guy who knows G and S, not Bill T.

 

Bill, was that deck style a Morey influence? I know G and S did a version of the Waterskate in the mid 70s, and that was a Morey thing. Waterskate had a dished deck like that.

14

The Waterskate was about '72? I think. The first one, the prototype in the ad, was shaped from a lifeguard blank and was very short. It did have a large dish in the deck. But the productions ones were just flat with thick square rails and maybe a little dish. But there’s no way Larry was going to go for the original on a production basis. I think I’ve told the Waterskate story on here before, how it came about.

I think the dish in the kneeboard was probably Greenough influence. We were considering building a spoon like his. But with the foam blowing operation it was too easy to just pop them out in a foam version. As I’m thinking about it, I believe there were two different models. The one in the photos in this thread and one with a pointier nose and a rounded square tail. That’s the one my son used for his first board when he was about 6 or so. I had Matt Kechele put a couple of extra fins on it and son Jay used to tell everyone who would listen that Matt Keckele put the fins on his board.