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Honeycomb pool skateboard designed by George Powell and used by Stacy Peralta

American History Museum

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    Object Details

    user

    Peralta, Stacy

    maker

    Powell, George

    Description (Brief)

    This honeycomb pool board was a revolutionary design by George Powell and was used by Stacy Peralta, one of the founding members of the Bones Brigade. It has a formed aluminum core with an aluminum honeycomb epoxy bonded with a filled, polyester close out. The polyurethane wheels, or Bones wheels, were also made by George Powell and the Tracker trucks were designed by Larry Balma. According to Powell, "the decks were changing monthly during this era and we had to accommodate the rapidly evolving style of skating, which quickly went from streets to ditches, to pools and skate parks. The aluminum skins were problematic because the skaters would drag the tails to slow down and that would grind them off to a razor-sharp high strength aluminum edge that was very dangerous if it hit someone. This led me to develop the Tail Bones and Nose Bones I made to protect the tips, and to experiment with lighter, better performing prototypes, of which the "Powell" you have is a prime example. It utilizes aluminum skins, aluminum honeycomb core, and epoxy to close out the edges. The wheel wells are post lamination formed by crushing the honeycomb in those areas, as this was a first, and we wanted to learn if we could get away with this shortcut to making them instead of much more expensive and time-consuming alternatives."

    Location

    Currently not on view

    Credit Line

    Powell Corporation

    date made

    1978

    ID Number

    1987.0737.001

    accession number

    1987.0737

    catalog number

    1987.0737.001

    Object Name

    skateboard

    Physical Description

    urethane (overall material)
    wood (overall material)
    aluminum (overall material)

    Measurements

    overall: 31 1/2 in x 9 in x 4 in; 80.01 cm x 22.86 cm x 10.16 cm

    place made

    United States: California, Santa Barbara

    See more items in

    Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
    Skateboarding
    Sports & Leisure

    Data Source

    National Museum of American History

    web subject

    Sports

    name of sport

    skateboarding

    level of sport

    Professional

    web subject

    Invention

    Metadata Usage

    CC0

    Link to Original Record

    https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b0-f5e0-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

    Record ID

    nmah_682791

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