the single keel board

Something different for me to try…I never rode one of these the first time round [Vicco boards] …I was 13yo, and living in Sydney at the time.

1974, ‘duck’ [ronnie goddard] at Bob Cooper’s surfboards, Coffs Harbour, Australia…

[I’m making one for my 1975 Cooper " Richie West ‘bullett’ " model, and I will use it in the 7’ pintail single, too…at least , that’s the plan.]

…“Oneula” , where ARE you, buddy ?

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deck view

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Victorian Pat Morgan designed them for BIG Bells Beach originally…Wayne Lynch test piloted them.

Nat Young rides a REEEEAAAALLLLYYY extreme one in the vid / dvd ‘crystal voyager’…you get a good look at it when he’s on George’s boat ! Check it out.

The one I plan to make will be more like ‘duck’s’ one , pictured above…

      "chip"


Hey Chip, a mate of mine had a couple in the seventies. Borrowed one for a month and rode Burleigh and Kirra. Great for full bore down the line stuff. But not really very inspiring at beach breaks, they don’t turn or cutback very well in anything less than great waves. I handed it back to him and didn’t ride another one. Interesting board though.

Chip

That’s almost the same pintail-type of board I rode my keel on in 71-72. Mine was a little more parrish-like with the beak nose and all but same severe pin.

My board was shaped by Harold Iggy at the Surfboard Shaping Company in Pearl City when little Bobby Owens worked the counter. I still have the board although it’s pretty much trashed.

The board rode better than with a single, as I made my keel to fit the standard box so I could switch back and forth. Even tried a variety of flex fins like the feather flex that came out around then too.

With the pin the Keel was alot of fun. Just bury that pintail in hard to cutback. Big arcs coming out of the tube the fin has alot of speed. It definitely needs a needle pin to make it work. The fin and board aren’t for vertical surfing but if you have a decent wall to work, you’ll fly…

Good but old memories… I think I was like a 130lb waterpolo bred fish back then…

Thanks for the feedback guys !

I’d love to have seen it at Kirra, dbah-man…the only footage I’ve seen is bells or cali waves…

Was that a Pat Morgan then , D ?

any photos, by any chance ?

any memory of the approximate dimensions of the keel ?

cheers mate !

chip

Quote:

Just bury that pintail in hard to cutback. It definitely needs a needle pin to make it work.

yew! i’ve been feeling that on my 13" base 8 1/2" keel on the sea dart. chip you’ve got to try one in your pintail! they rock.

interesting this thread resurfaced , as I was talking to a guy at the beach the other day who also rode them at burleigh , and at north point here …

his words …

“tail heavy” and “tracky” …"good tube riding boards , hopeless for cutbacks …need a good powerful preferably point or reef , to work well "

as evidenced by nat’s surfing in crystal voyager .

ben

this shot is taken from a june/july 1974 ‘Surfer’ magazine article by Steve Seebold . [used without permission]…

Quote:

his words …

“tail heavy” and “tracky” …"good tube riding boards , hopeless for cutbacks …need a good powerful preferably point or reef , to work wekll "

as evidenced by nat’s surfing in crystal voyager .

ben

mind you …

bear in mind that Nat’s keel was EXTREME …

‘T.F.A.D’. … are you there ?

I think it was your dad that knew about this board , is that right ?

cheers !

ben



Hey Chip, I surfed a lot with Nat when they were doing the movie CV. Nat could REALLY throw that green keel around, mind blowing. Tim Bowler , Shapes and Hulls surfboards made a few keels. I liked them because im goofyfoot and they drew nice long lines at Rincon . You couldnt even ride one today at Rincon, you would kill a 1\2 doz. kooks on one turn!! Hey Chip , just finished an article for the Surfers Journel on STUBBIES !!! Foil the keel with some tip flex.

"stubbie’’ , eh ??

…tell me more , please !

… “spoon” , eh ?

…“single keel” , eh ??

[I <span style=“font-style:italic”><span style=“font-weight:bold”>love</span></span> this movie , mainly for the contrast between these three completely different board designs !!]…

I would hate to ever land on that keel , though .

ben



By ‘Keel’ fin you mean very shallow and wide in the base ?

:slight_smile:

yep, very WIDE in the base , and DEEP…

Hey Chip, find out where Richie West is , last I knew he was shaping for Copper in Coffs Harbour.

Quote:

hopeless for cutbacks …

incorect!!

proof of that is Wayne Lynch backhand in the bells bowl on a Pat Morgan.

The cutback problem was due to the templates, most were narrow pintails, Nat could do it cause hes Nat. Bowler made some that only had a 4 to 6 in.glassed on and the rest would FLEX! back and forth like a fishtail.

Quote:

Hey Chip, find out where Richie West is , last I knew he was shaping for Copper in Coffs Harbour.

yep !

surfs sawtell all the time .

ben

Quote:

The cutback problem was due to the templates, most were narrow pintails

To me the cutbacks feel really fun when you use power and bury the tail.

" Just bury that pintail in hard to cutback. It definitely needs a needle pin to make it work. "- Bernie

just read this and thought id share…

“That whole keel fin design was about angles against the draw up the face. That was what it was all about, OK. And how you could shift pressures and work with those angles and pressures, and how far back you could get to find all that pressure. It was all about speed and trim. To keep the board moving and adjusting to the face, no matter how deep you end up in the barrel. I was trying to learn how to make the board drive through the deepest parts of the barrel. I hardly even did a turn for 18 months. I had a purpose. I was exploring.” - Wayne Lynch.

“I hardly even did a turn for 18 months”

uh huh