swallowtail
Split-tailed surfboard design, refined by Hawaiian surfer-boardmaker Ben Aipa in 1972. "With a swallowtail," TransWorld Surf magazine noted in 2003, "you have the width and volume for speed, while the split at the end means the wide planing surface will loosen up, making the board easier to turn." Prototypes for the double-pinned swallowtail were developed in the early and mid-'50s by California ...
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Swallowtail proponent Ben Aipa. Photo: Steve OlsonSubscribe to view
Larry Bertlemann, Off the Wall, 1975. Photo: Lance TroutSubscribe to view
Dan Malloy, 1997. Photo: Steve BissellSubscribe to view
Swallowtail surfboard, Waikiki, 1954Subscribe to view
Mike Eaton shaping a swallowtail, around 1975Subscribe to view
Surfer on a swallowtail fish board, 1973. Photo: Larry PopeSubscribe to view
Swallowtail proponent Ben Aipa. Photo: Steve Olson
Larry Bertlemann, Off the Wall, 1975. Photo: Lance Trout
Dan Malloy, 1997. Photo: Steve Bissell
Swallowtail surfboard, Waikiki, 1954
Mike Eaton shaping a swallowtail, around 1975
Surfer on a swallowtail fish board, 1973. Photo: Larry Pope