I picked up this Skip Frye this weekend withthe intentions of rehabbing. Can someone give me some help on how to go about dating this board. I do remember with this kind of shape was first on the scene. Wasn’t it the transition period right after Nat Young blew the world, as we know it, away in Ocean Beach (SD), '66-'67. It’s not something I want to ride since the damage is pretty extensive but the deck is in better shape than the hull so It’s destined to be a wall hanger. I think with a little work I can make it presentable.
Maybe a little later than that - the deep vees stuck around for a couple-three years anyhow, and that G&S logo on the bottom makes me think around 1968-70 or so.
It’s funny, but you don’t see…or at least I don’t see… a lot of vee-bottom Fryes. Seems like the last G&S Skip Frye model I saw was one a buddy of mine ordered ( at around 9’6" ) sometime in the late '70s, no vee at all.
I got my first 7’7" x 23 V bottom in spring '67, and by then, I was already eyeing the Hawaiin inspired mini guns George Downing influenced shapes.
By mid fall, was making my own flatbottomed with slight V out the tail boards, so I’m not sure the Aussie inspired V’s lasted all that long.
I can’t really see the Aussie V’s lasting all too long, as they didn’t really like real bottom turns, needed walled up climb and drop from forwards/middle of the board, and didn’t really like going vert.
Of course, in those days, PB Point was considered a classic point break.
I thought, by '69, that SanDiego was dominated by the turned down railed “bunker boards”, with varying fin configs.
But of course, memories fade and shift, with age and deteriorating brain cells.
Thanks for the input… I’ve seen the G&S paisley on boards as early as 1967 but as I understand it the Waveset system did not come into the market until 1968. So I’m guessing 68, The real puzzler is the hull contour / rail combination. very deep vee (2" in the center) to a fairly thin 50/50 high egg rail. The rails in the nose are 60/40 but raise up to a 50/50 where the vee starts and continue to rise through the tail where they are 40/60 . The Frye wing has the usual Skip Frye sig over the wings but say “skip frye model” under the wings. There is no signature other than the logo
You know, I’m an idiot. No doubt about it. Class A freaking dimbulb.
Gordon and Smith is still in business with the original ownership, call 'em up ( I’m sure there’s a number at http://www.gordonandsmith.com/ ) with the serial number and they’ll tell ya all about it.
What’s really pathetic is I used to be G&S dealer, shoulda remembered that right off the bat.
The V bottom I had, also had thick, rounded rails that did not turn down at the back, and sorta was 50/50 at the nose. Couldn’t figure why it’d be shaped like that, but who was I to question an Aussie shaper?
That sorta pushed me into shaping, as I knew, or thought I knew, that a lower, harder tail rail would add more speed, glide, and acceleration.
Mine was glassed fin, but I think the prototype Wavesets came out in mid '67 or around there, as it was rumoured to be the next incarnation of the movable fin box system.
In the windsurfing world, there is one company, Starboard, that makes one line of boards, Carve, with the deep panel V.
Kinda unresponsive, good for intermediates going straight and doing mellow direction changes, sorta easy to ride, and loose from rail to rail, just like the Aussie inspired surfboards.
Since this is much more interesting than stripping rust off and repainting metal furniture, I asked around and was directed to check in “the archives” and was able to find mention of a Frye V (bottom) model in a G&S ad in a November 1968 Surfer. W.A.V.E set fins systems were in use then as well. The board in the ad had the same G&S logo but the deck had more activity with some pinlined color panels.
It was shaped on Tuesday morning August 18, 1968 in Shaping Bay #3.I can tell from the rail shape.On thursday August 20 Skip changed to an egg shaped rail and flattened the Vee a bit.Most of the design changes were the result of cutting the tail off his Skil Planer Allowing for smoother rail band in the nose rocker area.As for the lack of pinlines it was mainly because they were out of pigment for the whole month of August…except for yellow and nobody wanted yellow pinlines.The fin…huh?..sorry er…I thought I was doing an Ebay Description.
