Honeycomb pool skateboard designed by George Powell and used by Stacy Peralta
date: label: date made
content: 1978
name: label: user
content: Peralta, Stacy
label: maker
content: Powell, George
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: 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."
place: label: place made
content: United States: California, Santa Barbara
topic: label: web subject
content: Sports
label: name of sport
content: skateboarding
label: level of sport
content: Professional
label: web subject
content: Invention
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
label: See more items in
content: Skateboarding
label: See more items in
content: Sports & Leisure
label: Exhibition
content: Artifact Walls
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Powell Corporation
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1987.0737.001
label: accession number
content: 1987.0737
label: catalog number
content: 1987.0737.001
objectType: label: Object Name
content: skateboard
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: urethane (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: aluminum (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 31 1/2 in x 9 in x 4 in; 80.01 cm x 22.86 cm x 10.16 cm