Does anyone have a clue about who may have invented the t band stringer?
My own wild guess would be Velzy. Second guess, Dave Sweet.
Anyone know for sure, or have a first hand account of seeing them when they were a “new thing”?
Other guesses on my part might be Gordie, Hobie, or Harbour.
Doubtful.
They were done before foam.
Pacific System Homes was among the first to make boards that were not all one wood.
Just did a little research, and found this wood board from the 30’s with a t-band stringer, so I doubt you’ll ever find an answer as to who was first.
Reverse
Regardless of who “invented” them, they’re called T-bands because of Dick Thomas. According to Gordon Clark.
That is the story I heard too. The first T-band I ever saw, was in 1960, when I shaped for Velzy. It was in a Walker blank.
Gordon told me hisownself, it was the shorthand they adopted at Clark Foam to reference them in their glue up shop.
Would that be the same Dick Thomas who appears in Bruce Brown’s early movies?
so, basically, it’s alternating stringer wood color/type?
Yeah Sammy, that’s the right Dick Thomas. Gordon Clark also had a wave or two in one of the other early Bruce Brown movies.
Chris, I think T-band originally referenced two narrower harder-wood stringers around a wider, less dense core. Redwoods around balsa were one of the classic combos (i.e., two 1/8" redwoods around a 1" balsa center. Colored foam was a popular “core” also.
Gotcha Mike, thanks