Hot Stuff indeed!

Peter has sent me some pics of his Al Byrne shaped extreme channel bottom Hot Stuff thruster that he tells me was one of Rabbit's personal boards with -RB 5'10" written on the stringer. Although considered a sanders and glassers nightmare, the channel bottom laid the foundation for the concaves we ride today.

Co-incidentally there have been a couple of interesting US made Hot Stuff boards come up recently.

This lovely bold yellow US made 6'0" single fin has seen better days but I'm yet to see a better channel bottom. Shaper unknown.

This US Hot Stuff thruster was shaped by Tom Eberly of Lightning Bolt fame, also glassed at West Coast Glassing.

My Al B, WB model

The most popular board on the blog. Al B AC/DC

You cant beat an 80's Gold Coast spray job on an Al B Hot Stuff shape.

Speaking of Al Bryne channel bottom, which we where, here's a few more from the shed to give you sanders nightmares.

Like the Alien's exoskeleton

Along with the 3 finned thruster the development of the channel bottom was one of the other important innovations of the T2 period of surfboard design. Col Smith is credited with its early implementation but New Zealand shaping genius Al Bryne is considered the master of the art of the channel bottom. Surf journalist and accomplished big wave rider Nick Carroll told me that an Al Bryne shaped channel bottom gun is a must have for the quiver at solid G-land. He told me the channels give the board extra hold and drive therefore you can take up to 3 inches of its length allowing for greater speed, control and maneuverability in big hollow waves. These extreme channel have evolved into the single and double concave bottoms we ride today.
I love the sculptural look and feel of the channels and small sharp fins that Al uses. When stacked together they have an almost H.R Geiger feel to them.

Sad old Hot Stuff thruster...

I'm pleased to share with you my 6'1" rounded pin tail Hot Stuff thruster, shaped by NZ legend Al Bryne on the Gold Coast in the early 80's.Its nearly at the end of its life but its one enduring feature is its beautiful deck spray, comon on HS boards of the period. The history of HS shapers is well documented but who skillfully wielded the air brush is unknown to me.
Hot Stuff Surfboards began at Currumbin in the late 70's with Gill Glover in the Shaping Bay and John Allen in the glassing room. My favorite 80's surfers Chappy Jennings and Gary “Kong” Elkerton signed up in ‘81. By ‘82 Kong had joined the rest of the HS crew Rabbit and AB surfing the west peak at Sunset. Derrick Doerner became Hot Stuff's Hawaiian connection, building special rack’s that kept “AB”s classic bottom curves proportionately stable between Hawaiian seasons.
This board is not worth much. Not much to anyone but me.....

R.I.P Bon Scott

AC/DC's 1979 album Highway to Hell reached the top twenty in the United States, and the song "Highway to Hell" that Bon Scott, AC/DC's lead signer, cowrote with Malcolm and Angus Young for the album made Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. However, on 19 February 1980, Bon Scott died after a night of partying in London. Pulmonary aspiration of vomit was the cause of Scott's death, choking on his own vomit, but the official cause of death was listed as "acute alcohol poisoning" and "death by misadventure".
So it must have been passionate and heartbroken fan who ordered this fitting tribute to the great man in 1980.
A Hot Stuff 6'0 double flyer, swallow tail single fin with pulled in nose and thin rails. Its shaped by legendary NZ shaper Al Byrne, pioneer of of the channel bottom. Its is amazingly modern looking shape for its age and is one of personal favorites from the collection. It was made on the Gold Coast, obviously with the long sand botton point breaks in mind.
I can see the original owner now on his new board in 1980, tears streaming from his eyes from the recent news of Bon Scotts passing as he pulls into a 6ft sand dredging Kirra pit, black tee shirt on, as he gets barreled off his head. Then as he emerges from the pit with a blast of spit he raises one arm and gives giving the devil's salute. RIP Bon Scott!