Aloha and Welcome to this LEGENDARY SURFERS chapter on Australian surfcraft innovations of the 1930s.
While Tom Blake's late 1920s invention of the hollow board and his 1935 invention of the surfboard fin can be considered as the dominant technological advances of the 1930s, there were also two others that have shown long-lasting popularity and refinements made to them to present day: the surf ski and the surf mat.
The Surf Ski
The surf ski’s evolution spans several years and innovators. From Harry McLaren’s humble beginnings to G.A. “Saxon” Crackanthrope’s patented design, Jack Toyer’s speed modifications, and Maroubra’s double ski models, the craft rapidly gained stature in Australian lifesaving and competition. By the late 1930s, surf skis had not only become lifesaving essentials but also international ambassadors of Australian innovation.
As early as 1912, Harry McLaren and his brother Jack built a rudimentary version of a sit-on-top “surf ski” near Port Macquarie, propelled while sitting using two small hand paddles. These hollow cedar-board crafts featured flat decks, nose rings (likely for tethering), square rails, and pronounced rocker.
This original design laid the groundwork for later refinements by Dr. G.A. “Saxon” Crackanthrope of the Manly Club, circa 1933-34. Dissatisfaction with his ability to ride a surfboard and the possible influence of surf canoes led to Crakanthorpe’s furthering of the surf ski.
The original design was 8 foot x 28 inches x 6 inches thick with 12 inches of tail lift, solid cedar planks and a double bladed paddle and footstraps.[77]
“It probably evolved out of the use of canoes in the surf at North Bondi,” guessed championship surfer Nat Young. “Because you paddled the ski with an oar, sitting down, it was easier to ride than a board. Originally the skis were 8’ long and 28” wide and made of heavy cedar planking, but this gave way to plywood over a light timber frame. Surf club competition drew the skis out in length and eventually another man was used to gain more speed and make it more of a team sport; this led to the standard two-man double ski, a sort of tandem bike on water. In contrast to the surfboard, the surf ski was quickly adopted by the Surf Life Saving Association as official lifesaving equipment.
“Surfboards, however, were [only] tolerated by officials because so many loyal club members used them, displaying their club badges printed on the decks together with the club’s colours running in pin stripes around the rails. The surf club was a tremendously prestigious institution during this period. Australian girls liked the idea of going out with one of those ‘bronzed gods’ and the surf club ranks swelled to reach 8,454 members in 1935.”
Around 1936, Jack Toyer of Cronulla – co-patent-holder with Dr. Crackanthrope – extended the ski length to approximately 17 feet and narrowed the width (~22 inches) to boost paddling speed, sacrificing some wave-riding ability.
Simultaneously, ‘Mickey’ Morris and ‘Billy’ Langford at Maroubra SLSC created a double ski design (two-person craft), reaching up to 23 feet in length, although early versions were deemed too narrow.
After extensive trials at Maroubra, the surf ski was officially adopted as standard lifesaving equipment in 1937, and was introduced as a competitive rescue event (paddler plus patient) in the Australian Championships.
That same year, one of the earliest manufactured surf skis was produced in Hurstville, NSW. Marketed at affordable prices, with delivery and deposit/payment plans, it signaled the craft’s growing accessibility.
It was on his second trip to Australia, in 1939, that Duke Kahanamoku brought back a surf ski, the first to reach Hawaiian shores. In those days, nobody expected to be impressed by something from Australia, but Hot Curl surfer Wally Froiseth admitted, “Yeah, it impressed us. It was something new, something we’d never seen. It was great. You know, my thinking is... every area has contributed something. I don’t care where they are, these guys have contributed. Nobody can say that they did the whole thing. There’s just no way. Nobody’s got all the brains. Nobody can think of all aces. It’s good.”
Early models were wooden and wide, similar to surfboards. By the 1960s, innovations included foam cores and glass-fiber construction for lighter, hollow designs. Nowadays, high-performance surf skis often use composite materials – carbon fiber, Kevlar, and lightweight resins – for stiffness and lower weight.
From the 1950s onwards, surf ski design split into two types: skis for rescues – with flared bows for wave handling – and ocean racing skis that were longer, with narrow hulls, swept rocker lines, foot-controlled rudders, and high buoyancy.
In addition to lifesaving, sprint racing and long distance ocean racing, surf skis now include non-competitive uses like masters of endurance training, biathlons, and Ironman events; no longer restricted to surf zones, but are also seen in harbours and lakes.
Surf Ski vs. Kayak
Modern recreational kayaks and surf skis share a family resemblance because they’re both sit-on-top, paddle-powered craft, but they grew from different roots that occasionally intertwined.
As we know, surf skis originated in Australia in the early 1900s as lifesaving craft, evolving into fast, narrow, sit-on-top craft optimized for launching through surf and paddling quickly to a rescue target. Through the mid-to-late 20th century, they developed rudders, long narrow hulls, and very light composite construction. Key features included: speed, self-bailing scuppers and a sit-on-top design.
Traditional kayaks trace back thousands of years to Inuit, Yup’ik, and Aleut peoples in the Arctic – enclosed “cockpit” craft covered in animal skins, designed for hunting and travel in cold seas.
The modern plastic recreational kayak grew from the whitewater and touring kayak boom of the 1960s-1980s.
Sit-inside was the dominant style until the late 1980s.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, companies in the US and Australia began experimenting with plastic sit-on-top kayaks. These designs borrowed directly from surf ski features, namely the open cockpit, molded self-draining scuppers, and general “unsinkable” feel in surf and warm waters.
The idea was to make something more stable and beginner-friendly than a surf ski, but with the same no-capsize-exit advantage. Brands like Ocean Kayak (Hawaii/California) and Malibu Kayaks were explicitly inspired by surf skis.
Today, modern recreational sit-on-top kayaks are essentially a slower, wider, more stable cousin of the surf ski.
The sleek, fast surf ski still dominates racing and surf-zone rescue, but its design DNA – self-bailing deck, sit-on-top ergonomics, open water handling – is very much alive in recreational kayaks, ridden more for comfort and for cruising.
The Surf Mat
Another form of surf craft invented in Australia in the 1930s was the inflatable “Surf-o-plane.” It was invented by a Sydney doctor in 1933, Dr. Ernest Smithers of Bronte, N.S.W., who worked for eight years to develop it. A prone craft made of an inflated molded rubber, it was an immediate success. Apart from the ease of paddling and wave catching due to its buoyancy, danger to the rider and other bathers was minimal. For this reason they were accepted in general bodysurfing areas, whereas wooden prone boards were limited to designated boardriding zones. [82]
Its portability surpassed all other wave riding craft, save the bodyboard. These rubber mats often appeared in Movietone News reels between 1935-1939 at Sydney beaches and locally popularized by Stan MacDonald, former Chief Beach Inspector at Bondi, who leased them (and coconut-oil spray for suntans) from the mid-1930s onwards.
The mats became a beachside sensation at many beaches, usually hired by the half-hour. They were soon so widespread that “Surf-o-plane,” although a brand name, became a generic term for inflatable surf mats. Today, “Surf Mat” is the more universal term, used internationally, and “Surf-o-plane” has become a nostalgic/historical Australian term.
Not only did they become iconic at Australian beaches – especially Bondi, Manly and Maroubra – and often seen in newsreels and postcards, but by the late 1940s, U.S. equivalents appeared, sometimes called “air mats” or “surf mats.”
By the 1960s, rented or purchased surf mats had spread to all the major countries, with rubber-coated nylon replacing heavier canvas. Mats became lighter, faster-drying, and slightly easier to carry. Still mostly ridden prone, they were not only popular with the average beach goer, but fun for bodysurfers who wanted greater speed and flotation.
In the 1970s and 1980s, there began a decline in rental mats in favor of mats you could buy. Many surf clubs phased out rental programs due to maintenance costs, while they remained popular with lifeguards and core riders who appreciated their speed.
Meanwhile, materials continued to improve. The introduction of polyester and more advanced rubber coatings made for increased flexibility and performance. Surf mats began to branch into soft-top rafts for casual beachgoers and true mats for wave riding.
In the 1990s, there was somewhat of a “Surf Mat Revival” when, in the U.S., Dale Solomonson, of Neumatic Surfcraft, pioneered custom-made high-performance mats with removable bladders and ultra-flexible deck fabrics. Mats became a niche craft among skilled prone wave riders who valued their unmatched speed and trim in hollow surf.
Footnotes
1 Young, 1983, p. 51.
2 Young, 1983, p. 60. Wally Froiseth quoted.
[77] Maxwell, 1949, p. 245; Bloomfield, p. 69; Harris, p. 56. The footstraps addition, at this early stage, is questionable.
[78] Galton, p. 43.
[80] Thomas, E.J. The Drowning Don’t Die – Fifty Years of Vigilance and Service by the Deewhy Surf Life-Daving Club, 1912-1962, ©1962, p. 31. Published by the Deewhy Surf Life Saving Club. Printed by the Manly Daily Pty Ltd. Hard cover, 54 pages, 33 two-tone photographs, executive officers 1912-1962.
[81] Wells, p. 155.
[82] http://www.surfresearch.com.au/1920_Solid_Wood.html
[83] http://www.surfresearch.com.au/1920_Solid_Wood.html
On a side note, an article entitled “Making Money at the Beach,” published in Popular Mechanics, July 1934, Volume 62 No. 1, pages 115 – 117, gave plans and specifications for making a solid wood “Bellyboard.”[83]
