the bottle ???

[pridmore]

I am chasing info orpics on a design that as called 'the bottle' , it was used in longboards and had an obvious bump in planshape but cant quite remember how it looked. I did a copy of one about 16 years ago for a guy who rips on a longboard and still surfs from what I hear, Mike Pimms was his name, a kiwi fella that can surf ...be very keen if anyone knows of this design and if I can chase up any info...cheers

[RichQ]

Rings a bell, Prids.....thinking Frank Latta maybe did something like that awhile ago......hhmmmm????

[pridmore]

Rings a bell, Prids.....thinking Frank Latta maybe did something like that awhile ago......hhmmmm????

did he shape for Skipp at all ? the memory has come back to life just enough to remember it was a Skipp....

[sean--]

Frank Latta did shape bottles for a few people when he was at Skippy's. Pretty odd looking but loose for a 9 footer ( lots of rocker ). Brian Kellway at Mollymook used to do a few as well and they worked OK as well. I've seen them in 8 footers as well.
There was a shaper in the states that did something similar as well and called the design the "peanut".
I sense a new board title for one of Pridmore's new creations.

[tiger]

You know Taco(PP), Mark? He used to have one, and yes it was a Skipp shaped by Frank Latta. Outline looked like a tenpin bowling pin. He loved it, but he used to ride it just like a shortboard. Doing turns etc rather than nose riding etc. Marty tried to do a copy of it for him, but he didn't like it as much. Had wicked artwork on it though, Ash did a painting of that classic pic that Peter Simons(?) took of Bawley pt with the dolphins jumping out.

[pridmore]

yeah, i seen him surfin that thing, didnt know it was a bottle...what is Taco up to these days ? it would be ten yrs since I seen him...bloody good surfer I reckon, even in high school he had a smooth style and seemed ahead of us back then,he didnt win the comps but had the style and wave selection...maybe a touch of Machado ish about him ??? the school surfing team was Taco, Pecker, Mendes, John Sawrey, Choco and me...wonder what some of them are up to these days....Sorry, way off track here...does Head ( tacos dad ) still live inthe mexican church ??? Might see if I can find anything about Frank Latta....cheers

[ric_vidal]

Mike Pimms was his name, a kiwi fella that can surf ...be very keen if anyone knows of this design and if I can chase up any info...cheers

Mike is up near the border Mark, can get his number if need be as his brother is in our longboard club (David). Christian Pimm, David’s son, is one of the finest longboarders around, just doesn’t necessarily have the coin or motivation to do the contest thing.

Frank Latta has retired, but there was controversy regarding the ‘bottle’ design with another forumee, who hasn’t been around for a while, who maintains it was his original design.

[tiger]

yeah, i seen him surfin that thing, didnt know it was a bottle...what is Taco up to these days ? it would be ten yrs since I seen him...bloody good surfer I reckon, even in high school he had a smooth style and seemed ahead of us back then,he didnt win the comps but had the style and wave selection...maybe a touch of Machado ish about him ??? the school surfing team was Taco, Pecker, Mendes, John Sawrey, Choco and me...wonder what some of them are up to these days....Sorry, way off track here...does Head ( tacos dad ) still live inthe mexican church ??? Might see if I can find anything about Frank Latta....cheers

Louis died about 5 yrs ago. I think his mum still lives there. Taco married an indo chick, and I think spends a fair bit of time there. You're right, he was Machado before there was a Machado. I've got some great footage on an old VCR tape of Kawana, as good as it gets, that Taco took from the bell tower of the church house.

[pridmore]

like see that..shame about Head, he was a regular in the Carties line-up when we were grommies...Have you got a copy of 'Waterboys' that Grippo did ??? or do you have a contact for him or know who has the vid,??? I gotta get a copy of that.... Taco in Indo hey ?, can only imagine how well he surfs now....

[Zippy da Pinhead]

Hi Ric,Im the guy who brought out the design before Frank Latta, and I had an Australian patent on it too.
Way back then, I think it was the early 90's, I saw Frank riding a board that I thought utilised my design and I offered to work with him on the design but instead he offered his opinion in a loud voice that I knew nothing or words to that effect etc..

So I, through my patent attorney, offered to sue him for the fun of it.
He was then legally required to and did send me his personal board and a letter stating that he wouldnt use my design feature in future.
Case closed.
I still have the board.
I still would like to use the design feature but it has since been used by Morey in the US and others around the world.
I, and Frank, missed the opportunuty to bring something out that we both believed in, at that time.
The whole episode is not about how we fought for ownership and all the ugly details but more about how we successfully avoided turning a golden opportunity into a lifetime of fun, fame and fortune in the surf industry.

Mike Pimms was his name, a kiwi fella that can surf ...be very keen if anyone knows of this design and if I can chase up any info...cheers

Mike is up near the border Mark, can get his number if need be as his brother is in our longboard club (David). Christian Pimm, David’s son, is one of the finest longboarders around, just doesn’t necessarily have the coin or motivation to do the contest thing.

Frank Latta has retired, but there was controversy regarding the ‘bottle’ design with another forumee, who hasn’t been around for a while, who maintains it was his original design.

[K10]

Frank Latta did shape bottles for a few people when he was at Skippy's. Pretty odd looking but loose for a 9 footer ( lots of rocker ). .

I used to ride a Skipp one...needs a rebuild now...gone yellow and has delamed deck and compressed underside (any chance it can be fixed?)

Yep very loose board for its size, felt like a short board at the tail and a longy at the nose
People used to ask about the board and say "you were riding it like a short board"
which you could acutally if you wanted to by standing on the tail and going for it
Had a Greenough fin and smaller side fins and could turn real good
handled 1ft-6ft no probs
Prefer my 9' single now

[pridmore]

Frank Latta did shape bottles for a few people when he was at Skippy's. Pretty odd looking but loose for a 9 footer ( lots of rocker ). .

I used to ride a Skipp one...needs a rebuild now...gone yellow and has delamed deck and compressed underside (any chance it can be fixed?)

Yep very loose board for its size, felt like a short board at the tail and a longy at the nose
People used to ask about the board and say "you were riding it like a short board"
which you could acutally if you wanted to by standing on the tail and going for it
Had a Greenough fin and smaller side fins and could turn real good
handled 1ft-6ft no probs
Prefer my 9' single now

love to see template pics please....it probably can be fixed, just have to find someone silly enough or who enjoys a challenge...no names mentioned RV....

[ric_vidal]

Hi Ric, Im the guy who brought out the design before Frank Latta, and I had an Australian patent on it too...

What happened to the old username?

[Trev]

Are we talking about something like they featured on the news last night?
At Manly yesterday, the latest (?) revolutionary (?) design from GSI.

[Zippy da Pinhead]

Yes, great boards out of Skipp.
Id like to take mine back for a refurb, but maybe not.

Ric_Vidal, The original name I used was M2 but that became a tollway in Sydney, "The Bottle" just dissappeared as a logo.

TrevG, yes I saw that revolutionary Meyerhoffer board on tv last night too, its the same concept as The Bottle by Latta 16 years ago,
and The Swizzle, a revolutionary design by Tom Morey about 5 years ago,
and The Cutaway, also a revolutionary shortboard by Greg Webber 2 years ago...

Out of the lot of them, Franks boards were the best incarnation of the concept because he shaped them to work for the average surfer and in a wide range of conditions , whereas these other versions have an element of gratuitious visual impact and the concavity is too great or poorly positioned to be completely integrated into a truly acceptable functional design.
As we all know, if you go too wild with say.. an extreme rocker, then you have to wildly alter other design variables to compensate and that takes the board further away from what works for the main body of surfers.
It then loses relevance as a design evolution and becomes just an example of 'wow look what I made'.

Frank understood boards and overall The Bottle design was brilliant, I rode his/my board almost every day.
If anyone wants dims or pics I can supply them too.

[mpcutback]

hi
I would love to see your pics and dimensions of The Bottle . Seems to me it has validity and as you said having ridden it does perform well . Cant understand the conservatism in surfing now when in the late 60's early 70' s surfing was bursting with ideas .
cheers
Mpcutback

[Zippy da Pinhead]

MPcutback, I'll dig out the board and get the dims for you.
That strong conservative streak in surfing is perplexing in the extreme, we all choose to do a sport which is a solitary pursuit and yet we all huddle under a blanket of uniformity in clothing, behaviour, beliefs and products including design.
We have only one life to enjoy , to grab what small chances are available to make it fun and thrilling and somehow we ignore every opportunity to be individual and stamp the world with our own mark. And that doesnt mean the "Im a tough guy,nice tits bitch !, **** you !, wheel spinning,beer beer beer" idiot mentality thats prepackaged and bought in great quantities.

Maybe weve all just decided to tow the corporate "good citizen" line, ( its not good to think for yourself you know ) Quickripbong marketing and product development choose how I live from now on ! Oh Yeah !

EDIT: here they are, 9 ft X 22 in WP 43in from tail, square tail 4.25in, it has a concave in the planshape so it looks like a pin from a bowling alley, the concave is 24in from the nose. Ive sent you an email if youd like more detailed info and pics.

[K10]

Hi Guys

I thought i'd dig out the board from the rafters and take a few shots for ya's

Dims are similar to zippies, mines 9'1" and 22" hips are 45" from tail, tail is diamond and 7"

In embarassingly bad cond and has a real bad compression in the bottom as mentioned

I am having issues with posting images so i made a web page to host the photos

Bottle Pics