RealSurf Surfers' Forum

I cannot find much information about an old, beaten up Geoff McCoy board that I came across.

So I decided to start a "Geoff McCoy Surfboards Collectors Corner" to collect information about old McCoy boards while anyone can still remember.

The board in question is a "Country Style Surfboards Angourie" thruster, year unknown. It has a triple-oval "Designed and shaped by Geoff McCoy" logo on the tail, which looks like the contemporary logo. Does anyone know when Geoff started to use the triple-oval logo: "Designed and shaped by Geoff McCoy"? Any idea when this board was shaped?

Does anyone know more about the "Country Style Surfboards Angourie" company and what became of them?

When were they in business, who were their shapers, roughly how many boards did they produce?

Any idea how many boards Geoff McCoy might have shaped under the "Country Style Surfboards Angourie" label?

Thank you very much for any hints and help with this!

Quick internet search ...

Surfresearch ...

Country Style Surfboards
Angourie NSW
1978
Barry Jones, owner and glasser.

Shapers Albert Fox and Rodney Dahlberg.
1984

Phone number ... may still be valid ... maybe not.

Country Style Surfboards
Yamba St, Yamba
Ph: (02) 6646 1330

If all else fails give Geoff McCoy or Rodney Dahlberg a call.

Thanks, Womble!

Great site http://www.surfresearch.com.au/index.html but surprisingly little about McCoy boards on it.

I like the "fundamental dynamics of surfriding" section :
http://www.surfresearch.com.au/a_surfbo ... amics.html
Lot's to think about in there...

I'll try to call the Yamba number and if that fails, write to Geoff.

Thanks again, Mik

I found out a few things and details about the board.

Country Style Angourie Surfboards are still trading and selling surfboards in Yamba. The phone number above is correct.

I like their new logo:

Geoff wrote that he did indeed shape a few boards for Country Style out of Yamba in '78-'79 [CORRECTION: Geoff did not write that, I messed it up, he wrote 1987-88, see below posts]
Mik

There is no no way it was '78-'79 as thrusters were,nt invented till 1981.Geoff was in Avoca at this time and was staunchly single fins.He left Avoca and moved north in approx 1985/86,so my guess would be about that time.

carpet wrote:There is no no way it was '78-'79 as thrusters were,nt invented till 1981.Geoff was in Avoca at this time and was staunchly single fins.He left Avoca and moved north in approx 1985/86,so my guess would be about that time.

Ooops, my fault....Geoff wrote that he shaped a few boards for CS Angourie Surfboards in 1987-88 (not 78-79).

Thanks for picking it up!

Mik

MrMik wrote:I like the "fundamental dynamics of surfriding" section :
http://www.surfresearch.com.au/a_surfbo ... amics.html
Lot's to think about in there...

Think about this one!

"Weirdo...
Tube riding surfers report that inside the tube "time slows down".
Possibly related to ...
1. Extreme board speed, see above.
2. Visual "tunneling" as predicted by Al Einstein when approaching the speed of light."

Approaching the speed of light huh? I really don't think you go THAT fast in the tube. Stoner logic there

"Tunneling" of vision also experienced when being in a tunnel

Thought I would throw up a quick pic of my newest (old) McCoy purchase.
Its a 'mini-gun'. Dimensions are 6'8" x 19 1/2 x 2 5/8, so something a little closer to a normal board but undoubtedly a McCoy with the round rails, thick foil from nose to tail & big bum (all half the size of a standard nugget).

I'm loving it so far, its fast, responsive and has heaps of volume & paddle power, but I can actually duck dive this one safely on bigger days, which was always an issue with my old 6'6" nugget.

As an 18 year old board it is a testament to the quality of materials used by Geoff - the glass is still super solid, and but for a bit of yellowing you would not guess it was more than a few years old.

Nice find!

Does it have the "Formula 1 Loaded Dome" logo on the bottom?

Mik

Yep, sure does. Must be what makes it so faaaast!

damo666 wrote:Yep, sure does. Must be what makes it so faaaast!

I got my hands on a really old McCoy board from about 1967, a Bennett board shaped by Geoff McCoy.

It has many dings and is far from waterproof.
The question is, how to restore it?

On a newer board, I would not hesitate to fix most or all the dings myself and expect good results, as long as I don't need to worry about color matching of the repairs.

The worst problem I think are fractures in the bottom nose area, I'm not sure how to fix them: I could surf it (it needs to be tried out one day!) with a lot of duct tape to seal it up, but waxing it would make any later repairs much more of a hassle. And I'd have to drill a hole in the fin or risk loosing the board without a leggie....

Well, how does one fix this up so it is surfable, without diminishing the value as a collectible board?

Will modern resins even bind to whatever this was glassed with?

paint fill resin on any part u think will take water...rub it back then gloss coat the top and bottom...then cut n polish

surfywurfy wrote:paint fill resin on any part u think will take water...rub it back then gloss coat the top and bottom...then cut n polish

Thanks, I think I understand.

I have a McCoy Frozen Daffodil that looks like it was treated that way:
All waterproof and shiny surface, but looks like the surface of the moon underneath the gloss. I suppose this will be the fastest and therefore cheapest repair option if I hand it to a repair shop. It would also preserve "originality" because none of the original material would be removed from the board.

But, it does not properly repair the damage the way that I normally would on a board that is intended to be surfed again as soon as it's repaired, as in: remove all damaged or loose foam and glass, fill with Q-cell or foam block if large defect, apply several layers of glass over the repair. But then, I don't think I'll surf that board more than a couple of times (if that), because the modern McCoys are so much better. And the fin on this board is outright dangerous, it would go through you like a spear if you fell on it.

I think the parallel diagonal fractures on the nose might open up again if no fibreglass is applied. Maybe a thin layer added to that area after the filler resin would fix that.

How about the previously repaired dings? The resin does not seem to have lasted as well as the original resin and is flakin off a bit, and has yellowed much more than the original resin. These repairs are probably 40 years old themselves. I guess it's best to just remove any parts of previous repairs if they are not bonded well to the board, then continue as per Surfywurfy's suggestion.

Or should one even keep as much of the "original repairs" on the board for collection purposes, because they were probably made when the board was shiny and new, the latest and hottest surf technology around, and someone could could not stand waiting for the repair to be finished so s/he could go surfing again? Aah, the history and stories that might be involved...

It looks like some other board ran over the tail area and the fin sliced deep into the rail:

Mr Mik,

It might be a bit late but my suggestion, and I've done it now on about 6 old boards particularly on ones with heaps of hair line fractures, is to sand it right back, fill all depressions, fix dings etc but DO NOT TRY and HIDE it all, let the board show its 'battle scars' the re-glass it with 4 oz glass, filler coat it, sand that and the polish it.

What you'll end up with is a board that's only slightly heavier than original, look great like the warrior it is, that will last forever and you can surf if you want to.

I've done an old Hot Buttered that MP shaped, an old Dave Chiggey, a 69 San Juan a few other oldies, they look awesome.

Cheers .........George

Thanks George, it's not too late, because I have not started the restoration work yet.

I have been in contact with Geoff and he said that he did not sign many boards back then, he thinks it may have been one of his own boards or a board for someone he knew. Geoff thinks it would be a good idea to give it to a reputable restorator for fixing.

When I contacted a guy that was recommended as slow, expensive and very good, I found out that he does not take on any more work right now, booked out for 2014 already in early February!

Thanks, Matticus, looks like a good option.

However, I think that it will be just too expensive for me at the moment to use a professional who restores boards to their former glory.

And, it will do irreparable "damage" to really restore the board well.

I think I'll treat it like brain surgery and dentistry: Remove as little as possible of the original material to achieve what needs to be done....then fill the defect with a material that will be tough enough to make the board functional, and blend it in so it is not too easy to spot it from a mile away. But from 1metre away it will be visible, including demarcations between the new and the original resin.

No glassing and glossing over the lot, just adding bits where needed and leaving the rest as original as possible, while making the board waterproof and surf-able (for a couple of session per decade).

That way I figure it will still be possible to give the board to an expert restorator later on, if so required, and achieve the same result or better than what could be done now.

I bought an extension flexible shaft for the Dremel and some hooks to pull up the glassing where it has been pushed into the board, and mixed up some solar curing resin and got a small UV-A lamp from the pet shop. All seems to work OK on little test lots so far.

A paint tint from Bunnings called "Ready to Go" produces quite close enough colour matches for yellowed boards when mixed with q-cell filler resin mix. A thin layer will still set when using the UV lamp.
Painting the surface of a sanded Q-cell resin fill with water-colour pens also works a treat, and can be re-done until it looks right before glassing over it with a minimalist patch around the defect.

Plans, plans, plans,.... wonder if I'll ever get around to actually do it! Too much else going on