The Father's Day Surfboard

The much anticipated Last Wave surfboard giveaway will take place on July 15th!  In conjunction with the re-introduction of Greg Noll apparel to the Last Wave collection, we asked Greg’s son Jed to make a surfboard especially for us.  Jed came through in a big way, building a hand-shaped, custom surfboard he has labelled the “GN ’68” model.  At 9’ 7” X 23” X 3 1/8”, Jed based this one-of-a-kind board on a blend of Noll models his father had built in the late ‘60s.  As many of us remember, it was a period characterized by innovation and experimentation in surfboard design, and this board has a number of features unique to that time.  Concaves were big in the mid- to late ‘60s, and this board has a soft concave in the nose and a distinctive “slot bottom” tail concave.  While other board builders utilized various forms of tail concaves, the slot bottom was Greg Noll’s more angular version, designed to channel water past the fin, create lift and generate speed.

Jed hand made the glass-on fin from balsa and black walnut, complementing the pair of 3/16” offset stringers.  The fin’s template is based on designs coming out of the Noll factory in the ’68-’69 time period, as transition boards began to emerge.  Jed even glassed this unique surfboard with a light brown “old board" tint to match the fin.  Laminating and finishing the board himself, Jed put down a single layer of 6 oz. Volan cloth on the bottom and one layer each of 6 oz. E-cloth and Volan on the deck.  He finished with a 4 oz. E-cloth deck patch and glass leash loop.  This beautiful surfboard looks awesome, but is also built to ride!       

Last Wave thanks everyone who participated in our Father’s Day celebration, and we look forward to announcing the winner of the custom Noll surfboard next month.  A special thanks to Jed Noll for creating such a beautiful work of art…it reflects the fine craftsmanship that he learned from his father, the legendary Greg Noll...

Aloha,

Ted