Epic Hull Ad From 1969 ...

 

(Great outlines!)

This 'two page spread' ad ran in Surfer Magazine in 1969. The brain trust at G&S sawed one of their first-gen shortboards into segments, then photographed the individual slices to show the transition of the rail line.

The hull scheme - high to low rails, nose to tail -- turned out to be a winning combination that's still in use by hull shapers nearly 50 years later.

G&S came to that design conclusion thanks to the work of Skip Frye. He built three identical 7'6'' boards, each with a different rail line...

• High rails all the way around.
• High in the nose to low in the tail.
• Low rails all the way around.

After riding them, he concluded that the high-to-low combination worked best...for his trimming-oriented riding style.

What's more, pioneering East Coast surf filmmaker Bill Yerkes had the foresight to film one of Skip's testing sessions at good ole' PB Point. (If you've ever surfed PB Point, you can appreciate how well he's riding...it's one tired wave!)



Post Script:

A few years later, I went to work at the G&S factory as a fin grinder. One day while eating lunch, I looked up, and saw the board from that ad stashed up on a high shelf, collecting dust. To this day, I regret I didn't liberate it for historical purposes. They probably would've given it to me if I had asked!