Simmons Sandwich Model with Twin Fins
Shaper
Bob Simmons
Datec. 1940
MediumBalsa, Plywood, & Fiberglass
DimensionsBoard: 10 3/16 ft., 23 1/2 x 3 3/8 in., 50 lb. (310.5 x 59.7 x 8.6 cm, 22.7 kg)
Nose: 19 3/4 in. (50.2 cm)
Tail: 20 1/2 in. (52.1 cm)
Nose: 19 3/4 in. (50.2 cm)
Tail: 20 1/2 in. (52.1 cm)
ClassificationsSurfboards
Object numberS.49
DescriptionBob Simmons - who was a student at the California Institute of Technology and considered the most radical designer of his time - was the first to utilize 2 fins (to help hold his wide-tailed designs to the wave), scooped noses to resist pearling, and foiled high to low rail lines. This board is the Simmons sandwich model. It has balsa rails, and it also has a plywood deck & bottom. The board has a styrofoam center, scoop nose, and is fiberglassed. There are twin wooden glassed-on short fins. This board is a prime example of Bob Simmons' radically innovative, multi-material, laminate boards. It is built of pre-cut, tapered, polystyrene foam cores with plywood decks and shaped solid balsa rails - all clamped, glued, and supposedly bonded together in a unique jig to hold the rocker. He learned to make his own extra-lightweight plywood while working at Gard Chapin's garage door factory with Matt Kivlin and Joe Quigg. There are few left of the approximately 100 boards he made using this fragile strategy.On View
On viewCollections
Bob Simmons
c. 1950