THE ORIGIN OF THE '422' BOARDTHE ORIGIN OF THE '422' BOARD
In 1963, my most important development project was the Banjo Board. By the end of '63, nose riding was becoming increasingly popular, although only the best surfers were able to do it very well. Thus my new goal was to design a board that would make nose riding easier for the more advanced surfer, and possible for the average surfer. The Banjo Board developed earlier in the year wasn't a bad nose rider by any means. But I had stopped production on that board for purely business reasons.
What would be the "ultimate nose rider?" Well, first of all, I figured I needed a full nose with a little rocker, a flat spot in the middle, and an extreme kick-tail. My first attempt was a board with these general characteristics, looking sort of like a standard board with an unusually wide nose. Results with this board were disappointing. I'd go to the nose on it, start picking up speed, and the tail would spin out. Obvisously, something was wrong: too wide and too parallel, I figured.
As I began drawing the plan shape for the new board, I realized that I didn't want an extreme kick tail with hips -- this was the main reason the first board had spun out. So I wound up drawing a sort of reverse Banjo: cutting away the bumps to an extreme. This left an extremely narrow tail relative to the width of the center, giving it the overall look of a bat ray. As I continued to work on the board, I became more and more excited. This one was going to work!
I took the new board to the Newport River Jetty, where I had tested the first board. The first wave, I nearly stepped off the rear of the board, the tail was so narrow. But I recovered my stance, made my turn, and to the nose I went. I looked back at the tail, and saw something quite remarkable - water was flowing over it, holding it down. Since holding the tail down was the main design objective for a nose rider, I knew I had the answer.
I continued surfing for the rest of the day (probably about four hours), with a constant grin on my face. For the next few days, I loaned it out to anyone curious enough to want to try it. Everyone was amazed.
Over the next couple of weeks, I got two more radical ideas: a nose concave running 3/4 of the way back, and a deck concave on the tail. The bottom concave was to give more lift, and the deck concave was to hold water and provide a good turning point. I finished the board, and took it to Lowers. As I had hoped, the lift was better, and the nose rides were faster. I rode it for a number of waves myself, and then began loaning it out. "What the heck is this thing? What do you call it?" I was asked. "What to call it, I don't know", I said. "All I know is that I like it".
The next day I began taking orders for them. In three weeks, I sold about 25. Then my old business partner Hap Jacobs, still in Hermosa, heard about the board and came down to Newport to talk to me about it. He asked if I'd shape the boards, and let him sell them in his shop in Hermosa under his own name. I agreed. "What will we call it, though?" Hap asked. "I don't know...what's your address?" "422 Pacific Coast Highway".
"Alright, call it the '422'".