Pepperdine University Libraries Malibu, Calif John Mazza Historic Surfboard Collection, Pepperdine University Special Collections and University Archives
Copyright to the photograph is retained by Pepperdine University. Physical rights to the item are retained by John Mazza, the John G. Mazza Loving Trust Dtd 5/17/90, and the Malibu Surfing Museum. Images are intended for educational and research use, and may be used for non-commercial purposes with appropriate attribution. Organizations and individuals seeking to use images for publication must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright, patents, trademarks, and other service marks.
Description
The hot curl is a finless surfboard designed for big-wave surfing used almost exclusively in Hawaii from the late 1930s to the late 1940s. The design is credited to Honolulu surfer John Kelly, who literally took an ax to his redwood plank board in 1937 after a frustrating day in the surf. The result was a narrow-tailed plank with a rounded bottom, which earned the name “hot curl” for its exceptional speed, grip, and maneuverability in the curl of the wave. The hot curl board was the prototype for the big-wave gun, a big-wave board popularized in the 1950s. This hot curl board has been chambered, a hollowing process that involves bisecting the board, carving out the interior, and gluing the two sides back together. 10 ft., 8 in.
Surfboard collection exhibited at Payson Library, Pepperdine University. The collection is owned by John Mazza, the John G. Mazza Loving Trust Dtd 5/17/90, and the Malibu Surfing Museum. Mazza (John) Collection of Historic Surfboards 0172: https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8j67q1b/
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