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On what was one otherwise regular day at the beach, Sweet was shown
a block of foam by a friend. Sweet was hit hard with this first
impression of the material. Some say he became obsessed with foam
and began to focus on the successful application of the new material
to surfboards. Sweet became a pioneer of sorts, the research and
development point man in the transition from wood to foam.
Initially, Sweet began to experiment with Styrofoam although he
wasn't the first to do so. Several before him had done the same
including Joe Quigg, Pete Peterson, Bob Simmons and certainly others.
What separated Sweet's work from his contemporaries and those before
him was his fortitude and commitment. Innately, he foresaw the unlimited
potential of this new material called foam, and dedicated himself
to the concept.
It was sometime around 1953 that Sweet first ordered an extruded
piece of Styrofoam. He found it in far away Midland, Michigan at
Dow Chemical. Says Sweet, 'The material was just incredibly dense
and seemingly absent of beads. It was more like a piece of lumber
than a piece of foam." Laying down a template, then cutting
the outline with a saber saw caused the foam to gum up and melt.
Undeterred, Sweet hand-shaped the brick-like slab into a period
design shape, then sealed it with a red epoxy coating. In clandestine
surf sessions he rode the board that winter at Rincon, and later
Malibu, the whole time covertly testing the foam contrivance under
its disguise of color. Preliminary water tests confirmed conclusively
that the finished foam board had very real possibilities.
In 1954, Sweet discovered the existence of a new and superior foam
called polyurethane. Sweet refers to urethane as 'the new miracle
material." Unlike Styrofoam, urethane was compatible with polyester
resin. This new foam successfully allowed a fiberglass lamination
and seal. The problem was, formulating the stuff was no easy deal.
Not even his supplier at Nopco Chemical knew how to use or mix it.
Consequently, embarking on this new frontier devoid of any tutelage
only added to the mystery and confusion. Sweet embraced the challenge.
Alone and intrepid, he built his own mold and stepped into the great
unknown.
A tedious trial and error process followed in an intense and expensive
learning curve. Gaining the knowledge of how to mix and pour the
foam, clamp the mold securely shut within seconds and strive to
avoid air pockets was no easy feat. Liquid urethane foam components
were mixed together for about 8-10 seconds and then poured into
the mold. Moments later the mix expanded to approximately 20, maybe
30, times its volume. Almost instantly the concoction yielded extreme
heat and dangerous pressures.
Sweet quickly learned that foam blown at lower pressures lacked
stability in real world conditions such as those encountered at
the beach. Heat and ultraviolet exposure caused poorly formulated
foam within a fiberglass lamination to continue its expansion, causing
distortion, delamination and eventual structural failure. The odyssey
to properly formulate the liquid urethane continued with no easily
found solutions. Resolute in his determination to succeed, his quest
continued.
It was about this time that Sweet moved out of his parents home.
Six months earlier he had been honorably discharged from the Navy.
His time in the Navy was brief at best. With a degree from USC in
Business and Real Estate to his credit, aptitude tests slated Sweet
to be assigned for training as an aviator. Says Sweet, "I made
it exceedingly clear to those in charge that there was no way they
were going to get me to fly an airplane. I didn't even want to be
a passenger in one. I had joined the navy to avoid being drafted
into the Army. Now I was in real trouble. Thankfully, someone there
must have understood as I was quickly commissioned to be a seaman
apprentice, which in Naval terms made me a 'nothing' until they
could find something else for me to do. During this whole crazy
affair I contracted double pneumonia and got pretty sick. Pneumonia
was mighty serious stuff back then and the Navy elected to discharge
me. My bout with pneumonia left me with 4F status."
Sweet goes on to add, "After my discharge from the service
I returned home. After several months passed my parents kicked me
out. No, let me rephrase this, they politely told me to leave. They
figured it was time for me to go. I'm not sure why they chose that
particular moment to do so, but in their infinite wisdom it was
in my very best interest that they did. Maybe I was just too comfortable
there. After my stint with the Navy it was indeed time. They gave
me a warm and caring nudge out the door and I was off on my own.
Whatever the case, under any circumstances, I did not want to live
in an apartment."
"I was lucky enough to stumble into a boarding house on the
corner of Franklin and La Brea in Hollywood. What a deal that place
was. For $65 a month I got room and board in this beautiful, one-hundred-year-old
Victorian house. With my living expenses covered I used whatever
money I had left to continue my work toward building a surfboard
with a core made of foam."
Sweet continues, "My room at the boarding house was set up
in the basement. For my purposes this was the best room in the house.
The only shortfall was the waterfall. Every time somebody flushed
the toilet it would sound like I was going to be washed away. My
landlady, Ms. Smith, was a saint. She was a great cook and prepared
all the meals. I can still remember her prime rib and mashed potatoes.
She actually allowed me to move my mold in and do foam pours with
the confines of my subterranean living quarters. Imagine that! Often
I would come upstairs for dinner only long enough to eat then quickly
return downstairs to continue with my work foaming. Three other
guys were boarding in as well, all engineers at Hughes Aircraft.
"At this point I had gained considerable knowledge about the
foam process and posed little danger to others in the house, not
to mention myself. I was determined to make things work and money
was the most essential ingredient to continue moving forward. Initially
I had been purchasing materials in small amounts, so a few pours
might set me back as much as 20 bucks-quite- a bit of money in those
days. Money was hard fought, which forced me to confront a series
of challenging decisions. I went to the extreme and sold my new
car. In actuality this turned out to be a very positive move. I
purchased an old Dodge station wagon that was clearly better suited
for my new situation. The added bonus: I was once again capitalized
to continue; I was ready to build surfboards."
Continued...
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