more on bonzer

willli · Post by **willli** » Sat May 31, 2003 2:53 am

the attached photo is from the bonzer website www.bonzer5.com to clear a misconception that these boards are gimmicks one has to realize that licence has to be obtained from the campbell brothers to make them. ego's are large in the surfboard industry and a stable of gifted riders can make a brand go huge... al merrick and slater for example. imagine if GG decided to capitalize on his name and had a bunch of ghost shapers start cranking out boards with his name on them. how would parkes and blast respond? get in on the ghosting? here from the campbells is what distinguished their boards 10 years before simon's thruster

"There are two main characteristics that establish the Bonzer as an archetype.

1.
The originating of the triangular positioning of the 3 fins, with the side fins ahead of the center fin. The position of the side fins was 10 1/2 to 12 inches from the tail and 1 1/2 to 1 3/8 inches from the rail.
2.
We designed a single to double concave (double through the fin area) bottom to work in conjunction with the fins to organize the water flow through the tail area."

this picture of one of their earliest boards. at the time tails had flat vee's.

Beeline2.0 · Post by **Beeline2.0** » Sat May 31, 2003 9:20 am

willli · Post by **willli** » Sat May 31, 2003 3:58 pm

the bonzer is all about organizing the water flow under the board and EJECTING it out he tail. the feeling..and it has to be felt to be believed..is one of constantly increasing acceleration. they are the fastest large center fin boards period. they already have influenced most bottom shapes, concave to double concave. shaping boards is no different than art. everybody builds on (steals) each others ideas. why havn't they caught on? the proper question is why don't sponsored pros ride them for comp and magazine shoots? that answer lies in the politics of sponsorship (ride what i'm tryin to sell) and in the twin fins that dominated competition for a while... good boards for snappy turns and lots of points. the genius of the thruster is not 3 fins. its that the center trailing fin is so small creating a stabilized twin fin that would drive instead of spin out. boards are trending back toward large center fins cause they feel soooo good to ride... more of a song than a rift. the bonzer adds afterburners to that set up. i suspect they will always be more for the surfer with soul than the surfer who wants to compete. hence they will never "catch on".
as for kneeboards..i saw a thread about kneeboard bonzers but it was more a bloke lookin to shape his own. i suspect it could be done but the campbells would have to be contacted, kneeboard performance parameters explained, and a working design evolved. its the water flow out the tail that gives them the juice that gets them going so i suspect the flow could be spit out a deep enough double concave, or even released out of a fish type split tail. since bonzer side fins are more like channels than pivot points maybe a bonzer will evolve for kneeing with a concave tail to organize flow and thrust past the shoved up GG fin! gimmick? how fast do you want to go? that bing i had always seemed to have more than i needed, hence the "5th gear".

Steeno · Post by **Steeno** » Sat May 31, 2003 5:25 pm

Not that I know much on the subject, but Kneeboard Bonzers where all over my local when I was growing, I know for a fact Ian Lewis has 2 Original Kneeboard Bonzers in his garage in great conditions, They are Australian made and fron mid to late 70's.

?
steen

willli · Post by **willli** » Sat May 31, 2003 6:40 pm

i'm more interested in bud's designs than bonzers. but some boards leave lasting impressions and are beautiful to look at too.

Beeline2.0 · Post by **Beeline2.0** » Sat May 31, 2003 7:10 pm

Beeline2.0 · Post by **Beeline2.0** » Fri Jul 04, 2003 12:56 pm