For the most part surfboards have always evolved in degrees, or small steps. And for the most part the design changes were a synthesis of an older surfboard iteration and something new.

One of the biggest changes of course was the material change from wood to foam. But the new foam boards were not a whole lot different in design from their wood counterpart.

As an example the early foam boards and the older wood boards had similar deck curves. Cutting deck curves in a wood board takes some effort. Gluing the stringer in a foam blank so the blank has some deck curve was easier to do.

Along with getting deck curve in a board, cutting some of the volume out was a step for more performance surfing as well. Reason being, deck curve made for a rail line with curve so your surfboard could make moving along the wave face less difficult and less foam volume helped make the board less difficult to maneuver.

Couple those changes with the fin design changes in the mid sixties (which I've talked about here) and we were well on  the road to performance surfing.

As boards got more and more maneuverable what began to happen was the realization that the typical rail line of a 9 foot plus surfboard was too long.  We could get even more maneuverable and have more control of ours boards on the wave face if the rail line was shorter. Which is what fueled the short board revolution.

D.R.       

A 7'10" Gadget. The length of this board is considered a mid-length. Though through the first 6 months of 1968 it would have been called a short board.