Butler 1974
7ft x 22" x 3"
donated by Neil Watson on July 05, 2008
This is a mid 1970s Maurice Butler single fin stinger, shaped in East Anglia.
Maurice was a pioneer surfer in Lowestoft, Suffolk and his first sight of surfing came in 1964 on holiday at Woolacombe in North Devon where he watched a couple of 10 foot boards being ridden (possibly shaped by Bob Powers).
Back home on the East coast he made plywood bodyboards for his family, and found enough waves to suggest ‘stand-up’ surfing might be possible in the North Sea.
The following year he watched an Australian lifeguard riding a 14 foot hollow wooden surfboard at Bude – the Aussie offered Maurice a board for £40 which he couldn’t afford, but it inspired him to build one.
Starting from scratch, with scant knowledge of materials or technique, Maurice glued some foam blocks together, added two stringers of 3/4 inch mahogany and started shaping from memory of what a board should look like!
After applying two layers of 10oz cloth top and bottom, it took him two weeks to sand down his liberal coats of resin. The resulting board (possibly the first fibreglass board shaped in East Anglia) measured 9′ 9″ x 22″ and weighed 38lbs.
In the years that followed Maurice found fellow local enthusiasts in Suffolk and just across the border in Norfolk and built dozens of surfboards which continually improved. Butler boards became much sought after in the growing Lowestoft surf community.
The board now in the museum’s collection was shaped in the mid 1970s for Maurice’s younger son Neil, who at the time of writing is still an accomplished longboarder.
Added to the website collection on Jul 15, 2010
Bob Powers, east anglia, gem of the week, lowestoft, maurice butler, recent donations, suffolk, surfboard
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