those that have been here a while may remember my mention of one Blair Mickeljohn , of Perth , a radical kneeboarder with even more radical homemade kneeboards and …fins …
I always regretted that I never got to template those fins that I first saw him surfing in a 5 fin kneeboard he made [ in 1994 ] , while there .
WELL, surprise of surprises !!
… out of the blue , a mate from perth , Craig [ a kneelo AND a good standup surfer , too] rings me to inform me that a perth mate of his , living here in vicco for the last twenty years , was keen to meet me and show me some fins.
Bugger me if he didn’t have TWO of blair’s large twinnies on his Stumpy kneelo !
and , a smaller back fin , that he wants me to make a thruster set of
finally , someone ELSE wants to ride them ?!
[ seeing these ones , also showed me how different they are to the ones curren rode in the Lost … " 5’5 x 19 1/4" " video , and brad gerlach’s ones , in the Surfers Journal fin article , and to my past attempts … ]
[ yesterday , I made two 6x8", and one 5x7"panels , in this nice bluey green colour . I still have enough resin left [ 500mls] for , hopefully, two more 5x7 or 6x8"panels [depending on what size / how much cloth I still have left , to cut up …]
"Here’s one of the 6 “x8” panels, being made … [ I’ve gotta do something to stay sane , in this crazy , wet , cold , howling onshore , crappy weather … :( ]
and the bobby owens ones , from pre-blair’s kneeboard ones [bobby’s were late '70s / early 80s finboxed single / back fins …windsurfers used them too, here in oz].
erle pedersen , among others , was doing smaller finboxed versions in the 70s too, my brother has one in his fin collection [which I had posted shots of in my chipfish/fins61 days]
[ I guess mccoys boomerang / nowadays ‘gullwing’ fins , also rate a mention here ]
nothing new under the sun , eh ?
… but , fun to experiment with , nontheless , methinks !
