Original GH Astro Egg

From the attic of Moonlight Glassing, an original Gary Hanel Astro Egg circa 1987.
It’s got some bruises but it’s watertight. Not bad for a 20 year old Clark Foam blank.
Gary Hanel shaped a lot of the Rip Curl stock boards in the 1980s.
Big logos were a must back then. It’s nice to see the original Moonlight logo again. Maybe we should bring that one back?
The GH Astro Bottom organizes the water flow into the fin cluster and adds speed and control.
By the end of the 80s the Freestyle box had gone extinct. It’s a score to find a board with a Freestyle box with the original fin still in it.
This is a nice angle of the Astro Bottom.
Glassed with K-Glass (meaning the brand of fiberglass cloth used).
The dims are basically the same but the two decades refinements to the rocker and foil since this board was shaped are noticeable.
20 years later eggy outlines, astro bottoms and fin systems are still in use in Gary Hanel and Moonlight surfboards.
See also: Surfy Surfy: Astro Eggs: Then & Now

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15 Comments
  • Anonymous
    January 25, 2010

    Love the side by side comparison, old and new. Too cool! I can do without bringing back the old Moonlogo in XXXL size, but I dig the frog! – Waldo

  • Corey Senese
    January 25, 2010

    This board came from Mark’s mega selection. My dad also rode it and I loved the thing when I rode it. Awesome board! ~ Corey

  • Anonymous
    January 25, 2010

    Can we see some more images of the new one?

  • Anonymous
    January 25, 2010

    Nice! I think I want one. Dimensions?

  • Anonymous
    January 25, 2010

    I have a really old Hanel Bonzer in my attic. I broke the glassed singlefin off of it and never fixed it. I think it ia a 6’2″. Really fun board… some day I would like to get it cloned by Gary.

  • SaltyDog
    January 26, 2010

    This just shows how little surfboard design has progressed in 20 years. Disgusting.

    Hopefully Slater’s trials and errors will lead to some innovation throughout the industry.

  • Anonymous
    January 26, 2010

    Don’t be so over dramatic Salty.

  • Dan
    January 26, 2010

    Hey, I rode a similar style 7’4″ to this at Swamis all last week and it went great! I bought it for $40 in the Beacons parking lot. This board paid for itself 10 times over already. EGGS!

  • Anonymous
    January 26, 2010

    the GH logo hasn’t changed much either

  • Anonymous
    January 26, 2010

    why does it always take 2 clicks to post an anonymous comment?

  • Anonymous
    January 26, 2010

    it is asking are you sure you want to post that?

  • The astro channel thingy is the bomb. Probably super fun on that egg too.

  • Anonymous
    January 27, 2010

    Did G.H. shape any of those RipCurl “Kong” & “Bugs” “Tuned For Tubes” boards we used to buy @ Vitamin Sea surf shop in NC? They had a lot of Moonlight stuff back in the 80’s.

  • Surfy Surfy!
    January 27, 2010

    Yes! GH did the Tuned for Tubes and other stock boards for Vitamin Sea. We still have some of those old logos in a box at the factory.
    “Tuned for Tubes” lol. Love it.

  • Anonymous
    April 4, 2012

    I have one of the old Tuned for Tubes boards! Love to know more about it!