DIMENSIONS:
Length: 9'6.5"
Nose: 13 3/8"
Width: 21 1/4"
Tail: 8 3/8"
Thickness: 3 5/8"
Finish: Gloss, Polished w/ Resin Panels. No Leash attachment.
DESCRIPTION:
Michael Hynson created the “Grace” model in the early 1970’s and it’s credited as being the first downrail surfboard in the public awareness. Mike was at a peak of intuitive (and psychedelic) inspiration during this time, surfing Pipeline with Herbie Fletcher and seeking to optimize his equipment for the critical tube. This design was paired with the “Dol-Fin” fin that Hynson legendarily templated from a real bottlenose dolphin's dorsal fin. The importance of this design simply cannot be overstated.
-Excerpt from "Rainbow's End by Steve Barilotti:
"...what Hynson and Herbie discovered was that the low downrails, while limiting maneuverability, increased the planing surface and, hence, the speed. But, more importantly, a sharp edge gave the rider increased bite and control, allowing surfers to track through the spinning wall of a huge barrel with more confidence and control.
Gerry Lopez, along with Reno Abellira, was one of the first to receive Hynson's latest brainchild. The results were mind-boggling, what shaper and board pundit Dave Parmenter later called "the Continental Divide in surfboard development.’’
“Everybody wanted to ride in the tube, but the boards didn't allow it," recalls Lopez, who built his Pipeline career on boards incorporating Hynson’s rail design. “Before the late ’60s, the whole concept of ‘edge’ didn’t even exist, [Hynson’s] downrails were pretty extreme, but once we moderated them a bit, that was the big break. The boards really started to work after that. It changed tuberiding overnight and riding deep inside the tube at Pipeline became a real possibility. And that was all Hynson.
A priceless collectors piece, but is built to be ridden, if you've got the right wave for it... and the minerals.
DESTINATION:
Overhead to code-red sized critical, hollow waves. Experts only.
FINS RECOMMENDATION:
Hynson "Dol-Fin"
