Friar Tuck - Knormal

gray · Post by **gray** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:06 pm

Hi All,

I've just picked up an old Friar Tuck 5'8" Knormal on e bay in West Oz.
I got a bit more information on the board at the following link.
http://www.surfinfo.com.au/b_pages/knboard.htm

I think it was shaped in about 1985.

I've got to do a bit of repair before I can ride it, but I'm interested in what the riding characteristics of the board will be given the channel bottom and flyers. What are the best kind of waves to be riding the board in? I mainly surf in the south west of WA on reef breaks.

I've only been kneeboarding for a short time, so my understanding of the design aspects are limited. Kneelo's are in short supply in the West, so I dont have much opportunity to share thoughts.

Any comments from previous owners / designers is much appreciated.

cheers

gray

Don · Post by **Don** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 7:45 pm

Wow. Brings back memories....

I went to Aus in '84 with a few $ in my pocket and not much else. Ended up staying for 6 months as the USD was going fairly well.

I picked up a Knormal shaped by Albert Whiteman from the Hot Buttered shop. Albert was there and he was a trip! I tried to ride it for a few weeks but I was coming off quad Sunlines, Timpones & Hurleys and tri-fins ain't my thing. Even thru a keel fin (new concept at the time) in it but no go. I met a guy in Byron at the Pass (John Al-munro) who said Parkesy was the man and all the guys were ripping on his boards from what I saw. D'bah was the big contest coming up and several stopped in at Broken for a warm up. Wow! Now that was surfing.

So, David took my Knormal in for a trade on a custom board. 4 fin (front fins were tiny) flyer diamond/square tail. David sold off the Friar Tuck business to Albert and did a world-wide tour. Albert shaped under the Friar Tuck label and I've seen a few boards with the Knormal label as well.

I rode that board at good size Lennox, Broken, Kirra and other areas up north. Then took it to Bali for a month... riding a 5'8 slab at big Ulu!!!! When I came back to Sydney I stayed with John at his flat in Manly and scored great waves out front and even the Bower. Great guy and I hope he's doing well.

Upon my return to California, people couldn't believe what I was riding. Very unconventional as the slab was a foreign thing. By now it was August and I was destined to catch an unbelievable month of riding Trestles every day when I wasn't hoping down to Baja Malibu.

Seeing my compass clearly spinning like a top, my friends convinced me to get a job... and one had an opening in a computer company.

The rest is history and here I sit. (but you're sitting too

)

I still have the board. I had one shaped like it by Shoelkopf. Nothing quite matched the original. The board is in my garage hanging above the door to the house like a good luck sign.

You've motivated me to get the board repaired. I'd love to ride it again but it's going to need some work. I dropped it redlining down the Trestles trail on my skate board at the turn... (this will mean something for quite a few other people

)

Get that thing in the water and tell me what you think!

Cheers,

Don

gray · Post by **gray** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 11:59 pm

Hi Don,

I've had a bit of luck today. I was on the way to my local surf supply to get some side fins for the fin boxes and some resin, when I fould an old sailboard on the road verge with two side fins in tact which fit the fin boxes on the Knormal!

Question - The side fins I salvaged from the sailboard are double foiled, will this adversely affect the performance of the board if all 3 fins are double foiled? The problem is the side fins available at the surf supply shop to fit the fin boxes are rather large.

I suppose I could attack the double foil with the sander....but there is no guarantee of good job!

There is swell forecast for the weekend, I will be heading south with the newly repaired board and cant wait.

It sounds as if yo've had some great kneelo experiences in the past, hope you can re live them after some ding repairs.

cheers

gray

Willy Kelly · Post by **Willy Kelly** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 8:42 am

Don,

I too have lost a board on that same coner at Trestles so I can feel your pain

Peace and good waves to all

Willy

Don · Post by **Don** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 8:49 am

Gray,

As for orignial fins, contact David Parkes directly. I think he's got the fins but they need to be foiled.

d-par@bigpond.com

Cheers,

D

Beeline2.0 · Post by **Beeline2.0** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 10:17 am

gray · Post by **gray** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:46 pm

Thanks Don, Beeline,

I'll give the board a run this weekend. Glassed the dings last night, so a bit of gloss tonight and I'll be good to go.

I'm no expert on fins and I've tried in the past to learn a bit on Swaylock, but have disappeared up my own ar*e with the amount of information and opinions.

I do agree with you Beeline, I think there will be a bit too much meat on the side fins with the double foil and less lift generated from the fins due to the absence of the flat inside face and negative pressure. I understand the concept of the fin acting to provide lift like an aeroplane wing, however my knowledge stops there.

But, with all that said I doubt it will make to much difference to my style at this moment in time. I'm trying not to blame the equipment when its lack of ability at the root of the problem!

I've made a few single fin boards in the past and made my own ply / glass fins, attacking them with gusto with a grinder and sander. I've always foiled by eye, never knowing if its right or wrong.
I would like to understand more as I do think the fins are 50% of the overall performance of the board, normally forgotten because there out of sight. Its a long journey of discovery!

I might be worth getting a set of the original fins from Parkes.

Thanks for the feedback.

Cheers

gray

wolruss · Post by **wolruss** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:02 pm

Hey Gray, how ya doin'. Got a mate whose just moved over there from Wollongong, WAKA ( alias Adam ), he's been in the thick of things, kneeboardwise, for a while now he might be well worth contacting. Look up the KSA site (kneeboardsurfaustralia.com) and follow the links to the Western Australian section up top and it should give you his contact details.

Cheers Wolruss

zorro · Post by **zorro** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:53 pm

album_showpage.php?pic_id=1321

Gray

One of these fins in this picture is of a Normal tri from 87.

The best likeness is the bottom left hand section of the picture, fin closest to you.

You can also see it from the top in the part where the hand is demonstrating the keel flex.

I've taken a tiny bit out of the curved back of the fin to loosen it slightly but still keep the drive from the base and the rake

The original middle fin I had was the same template only about a centimtere and a half taller.

The other fin is more upright from a steve artis template circa 1979.
Its placed further back and has less rake. It gives more pivot, slightly less drive (less rake and base) but is still 'tight' enough because of its position. I like them assymetrical to suit my assymetrical body.

BTW channels have reputation for drive but aren't supposed to go in chop.
Ross knows.

David Parkes is the man if you want beautifully crafted glass fins for a box. I was up the coast recently and had a guy from brookvale who used to make fins for a living come over and actually admire my Parkes fins! I don't know if this fellow was bullshitting but he said he did the original foils for one of the F series FCS fins.

David Parkes on: Phone 02 66856627

Think carefully where you want the tab though, depending if you surf off the tail or more towards the front. Sometimes AW may have had a tendency to put the fin boxes a little too far up - so you might need the tab at the back.

cheers

griz · Post by **griz** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:04 pm

gray , mate I would be interested to see a photo or if not a discription of your friar tuck albert shape as I had numerous Knormal boards around this period of that length. The last I had made was half finished and completed by Parksy due to Albert`s untimely passing.I still own an original set of box fins from one of those boards and would be happy to forward on a template if interested,only problem then finding someone to lay them up.I can understand the frustration of finding anything to do with a kneeboard in West Oz including a good kneeboard which compelled me to have all my boards sent from the east coast for the last 30+ years.If you ever get serious get Parks,Hart and co. to sort you out and take the guess work out ,which is obvious what the one or two local shapers are still doing.

hart · Post by **hart** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:03 am

sweet

zorro · Post by **zorro** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:13 pm

yep Hart, right again

just can't trust us old blokes who pretend we know everything

shame really

gray · Post by **gray** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 11:52 pm

Zorro, griz, thanks for the information.

Griz, I'd really appreciate a copy of the fin template for the original board to see how it compares to what I'm using currently.

I've had the board out today on some small perth wave, seems to be super loose and a real blast to ride. Hopefully it will go equally as well in a bit of substantial juice, which may be happening later in the week if the long term forecast is correct.

Griz, your right about the boards in WA. I've phoned a couple of shapers and they thought I was referring to a kneeboard for behind a boat.

thanks again

gray

zorro · Post by **zorro** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 12:31 am

Hya Gray

just a small note:

As Bruce Hart so rightly pointed out,
I was wrong when I said get the tab at the back

And I realised I was wrong when I said

Sometimes AW may have had a tendency to put the fin boxes a little too far up -

very bad for me to generalise and shoot my mouth off

nearly learnt that lesson tho

waka · Post by **waka** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 12:59 am

Gray
I have my Bert model with me here in WA, with the original fins as well.
If you like send a email if you are interested in having a look, plus i have a few boards that i would like to sell while i am here.

Many thanks to Alex Noye for taking me up to Lancilin on Saturday morning, it was a pleasure sharing some waves with youse guys.

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