One of the greatest surfers of all time, Greg Noll has built a considerable reputation as master of surfboard making, or "shaping." Today, collectors and surfers alike prize his unique brand of board. Recently featured in the award-winning documentary feature, Riding Giants, "Da Bull," in his iconic black-and-white striped trunks, was emblematic of big surf and fearless commitment. In addition to being a pioneer of big-wave surfing, surf movies, and surf magazines, by the mid-1960s, Noll was one of the largest surfboard manufacturers in the world.
Now living in Crescent City, California, Noll still shapes twelve boards a year out of old-growth salvage woods-replicas of Duke Kahanamoku's olo and other exotica for collectors. The Art of the Surfboard combines the art of building extraordinary surfboards with fascinating surfing history and photography. It's a must-have for surfers and surfing history buffs of any age.
The Art of the Surfboard includes:
A biographical introduction to Greg Noll
A concise history of the evolution of surfboards and construction techniques from ancient Hawaii to the modern era
Descriptive step-by-step photo sequences with explanatory text on building balsa, foam, and classic wooden surfboards
A chronological gallery of Greg Noll surfboards, vintage 1950 to 2005, featuring photographs, action shots, commentary from surfers and shapers, and from Greg himself on the boards and their eras
Portraits of several important Greg Noll surfboard collectors and their collections, with accompanying bios and information on the boards
A guide to the various Greg Noll surfboard labels and the years each was used
Illustrated throughout with action surf shots taken by some of surfing's master photographers