What and Where for single fin
There are now,many different fin planshapes on the market, the main differences are:..... area in the tip(no flex) ie, the Hatchet fin, or,:.... a Greenough style which usually has some flex if not alot. The greenough style can have a lot of variances in planshape , sweep or uprightness and, is the most versatile of all the fins as its placement on the board can be varied to suit the style and weight of the surfer , this fin is my personal favourite ,its the end result of much proven experimentation over many years of both long and short boards. The Hatchet style has been taken in by lovers of noseriding,small wave specialist boards, which are a throwback to a kind of early 60s board. I'd personally would like to see some flex in the hatchet fin and getting away from so much roll in the bottom of the boards, but everything has its place , its just that some work so much better than others. With placement, this is dictated by planshape of the board and the bottom curve and tailift, and its experience that comes in here big time especially with glass on fins, this is where you need fellas like me.... So choose wisely its the difference in fins and foils that really make a bad or good board
SINGLE FIN STYLE
From Roy Meisels glassing room floor at Bare Nature Byron Bay 1972 t0 1982 , from the days when we glassed boards in colour.
The standard glassing room in the early years had no drip trays , the resin just dropped onto the floor underneath and depending on how busy the shop was ,it would be ripped up periodically . When Roy ripped this up it was 1 foot thick, after 10 years , and , Roy being Roy kept huge chunks of it and anyone who worked in Bare Nature through those years would recognise their board if it was done in a colour . Sprays were being done then, but a lot of tints and pigments were also the go the orangy yellow below the blue tint in the middle was a 7 foot 10 gun I made for Lennox 1973.
Back in the water YIPEEEEE!
Last September while in Hawaii I picked up both Ecoli and Coral infection in my left leg . I was wheelchaired off the plane in Sydney into an Ambulance and then to St George hospital and spent 8 days on an antibiotic drip. The infection erupted out of the calf area, in a large ulcerated looking blister, and was not healing that well , so after Compression bandaging of the whole leg and nearly 4 months later, and not being able to go into any water , ITS HEALED! I was a bit limited to what I could do for quite some time and , Daves board was the only work, apart from housework, that I did ..... BUT! next week I'm back in the water and back to being normal and a Big Thankyou to the Community Care nurses at Kincumber for a marvellous job.
Surfboard design, an old Buggas thoughts.
When I started surfing , and like most of us then, knew very little about shape and design . Whatever Nat , Midget or Glynn Ritchie rode, we rode ,but in a few short years with Mctavish and Co. hurling out different bottoms , plan shapes and shorter lengths , an education and experimentation began and the culmination of it all is what you now see down at the beach. When everything went below 6' 5", rails and thickness at first were still related to bigger boards and the bottom shape was still the same , except for a few adventurous and very good surfers who could see that by changing the bottom shape to blend in with the planshape and rails , became wondrously faster with a maneuverability that had not been felt since the Plastic Machine days. Nowdays there is retro regeneration , and many a young surfer is discovering many an old style of board whether its long or short, personally its great to see it happening , and it is this that worries me with what some are riding , that is , boards we called dogs, cause they didn't work then, and still don't. Any wave under 3 foot you can get away with any kind of board ,but once it is over this size does your old school board excite you! na! Have a close look at all the short board shooters nowdays , they have very interesting bottoms , from channels to concave to dead flat bottoms and Flex, and combine this with the fin technology that has evolved .... its why they work . You can still have weight in say a longboard, but change the bottomshape and mix it with, what does work, and put a bit of excitement back into your surfing ,
Two different Dale Velzy shapes the first is a later model which he called THE PIG . It was restored by John Cherry in the States , the other is a 1957 CHIP style , and the guy that has had it since brand new Roy Meisel of Bare Nature is talking to Paul Joske at one of the Wood meets at Currumbin. There nearly 56 years old and they both still have a timeless shape, if ever you get the chance, have a close look, feel the rails, yep! beautiful boards.
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