Gerry’s a little tyke, even smaller than me, maybe 135lbs in his heyday…
At 7’6", you’d need at least 19.5 and close to 3" thick to get some paddling.
At 140 or so lbs., I had a few 7’9" x 17.5’s, and they paddled much worse than a 5’6" twin fin 20" wide. Board never comes to surface of the water, catching waves super late.
Thought you weighed close to 185 or so…
You’re looking more at JeffHakman sized boards then.
Remember those old Hanapepe Surfboards…most around 7’7" x 17.75, floated everyone armpit in the water, and that’s with no wetsuit…
I’m around 180 or so right now. I definately think I should add to the thickness, but I want to keep the board streamlined away from the “fun gun”. this board is going to be made to find a line and go through, but I’m thinking 17.5 is WAY too narrow - 18.5 borders “fun gun” though, from my eyes
Also gun rockers were a lot different then…we had a 74 singlefin gun from that era shaped by bill hickey, it barely had 2 inches on an 8 ft board with a 9 inch tail…performance 7’6" you will want closer to 2.75" rear rocker. I wanted to take it out by bill told me it would be no good, taking someone used to 90s rockers on a 70s rockered gun.
Tail width and fin choice matter…9 inches use only a single. The classic lightning bolts were singles. Down rails all the way up. Scoop nose, flat rear rocker.
If you want 3 fins I’d make that tail at least 11 inches wide…I’d prefer 12.5 inches wide on a 7’6", especially if I had your weight.
I think if you make and ride a lightning bolt board you will be amazed how deep lopez got on them. But if you do it, go all the way…wp way forward, flat rocker, down but not hard rails, thick, narrow. Paint a lightning bolt on it, ride it twice, and hang it on the wall…don’t forget to use volan cloth and glass the fin on.
That Bolt board is built. I mean BUILT! By today’s standards wayyyy overbuilt.
All hand made with full strength resin and foam, but the glass was Colorflow and tinted. So it had to be cut clean and then a hand painted pin line over the lap tops off the show.
It is from the heyday of American Craftsmanship and technology. When we built rocketships completely by hand, one piece at a time, including the calculations, that took men safely from earth to the moon and back and never lost a one. Onboard computers were no more powerful than a typical cell phone. What time it was. The surfboards were no less quality.
If you go by the Marlboro standard they would cost $1400.00 in todays USD.
It’s an effort worth trying. But I don’t know if you can get colored glass anymore.
So you mean getting that thing machine shaped is not a good idea?
I kid I kid. I will probably be painting directly onto the foam and glassing over. Or I might go all white with a simply lam, and pinline the first coat. Not sure yet.
I’m WAY more worried about functionality at the moment then making a replica. This is a board I intend to ride, and ride hard. I want something old school, no doubt.
Blake, I fully intend to follow your directions. Where should I put the fin if it’s a glass on? I was thinking box in order to slightly adjust…
dims from a board in the mode from that era, tho not a bolt, per se.
from a channin semi: # 3150. 1973. still a beautiful yellow tint with cutlaps, no pinlines and a fin box…no loop nor cup. from before that time.
7’5"
t: 11.25
n: 12.50
widepoint 19.5 (yeh, i measured 2 or 3 times).
baby diamond tail 3.5’ where the ends pull back to the daimond tip.
thickness. gawd. no calipers. big domed deck maybe 3.5 at the thickest, maybe 4" … down to hard down rails raising softly up the last 16 inches or so to the nose.
last ridden in hurricane surf about 10 years ago.
no idea who the shaper was. any ideas?
anyhow…i don’t know where you’d get a blank today that would allow that big domed deck. still and all…advise a single fin if you want the real feel.
You can go into WiseSurfboard today and see a '75 7’3" x 18.75 rounded square tail single fin with about 13 nose, 12 tail, flat deck and SOFT turned down rails with the slightest double concave I shaped then… Looks like it would still work today and it’s surrounded by all the big guy tris, DesertIslands, and Rusty semi guns… except for the butt ugly color…which I didn’t do…