Two Modern John Peck Penetrator Models

Greetings, Shredderz! Over the past few weeks there were not one but two interpretations of the Morey-Pope Penetrator model listed on Craigslist. It looks like both boards have been sold — or least the listings were taken down — but I thought it’d be cool to compare these two takes on John Peck’s signature model.

First up we have a 10’0″ x 23″ x 3 3/8″ Cooperfish version of the Penetrator. The signature dual offset stringers are there, and a small white tail block. There’s also some information about the board from when it was listed on Jamboards, which you can find here.

Cooper is a very well regarded shaper, but sadly there isn’t a whole bunch of info about his boards available online. It looks like he had some old sites that have since been abandoned. I’ve seen Cooper make boards both under his own name and the Cooperfish label. The only reliable info I can find on Cooperfish is this Liquid Salt interview that says the Cooperfish label was based on Cooper’s admiration for classic designs.

The second board is a John Peck Penetrator shaped in 1995. The only measurement provided was the 10′ length.

I don’t think the Cooperfish version was necessarily meant to be an exact replica of the Penetrator — and even if it were, it was likely based off the original Morey-Pope version, and not John Peck’s later iterations — but nonetheless it’s cool to compare the two. Cooper’s version has much thicker stringers, which are apparently redwood, and they are much closer together than Peck’s 1995 shape. The Peck version also has a finbox and not a glassed on fin. Both boards are 10′, but it’s hard to really compare their outlines given the angles on the photos. And even if it’s a purely aesthetic choice, I really love the red tail and nose blocks on Peck’s board. Last but not least — Peck has continued to make the Penetrator under his own name, and the Morey-Pope logo on the 1995 board was simply stuck on after the fact.

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3 comments

  1. David says:

    Also, reproductions of the Penetrator are still available from Dennis Ryder, who shaped a lot of these boards for Morey-Pope in the 1960s. https://www.dennisryder.com/gallery

  2. Merrideth Compton says:

    My husband and I added a Penetrator to our small collection back in 2000 or so. We bought it new from Longboard House (Melbourne, FL) and it is #30 from that series. I love the heart John put into the board as it has messages written on various parts of the stringers. Definitely one of our favorites.

  3. Anthony says:

    SOMEBODY GAVE ME A 10’6″ WAIMEA GUN IN AMAZING SHAPE..I WAS STOKED WHEN I LOOKED AT THE STRINGER AND SAW THAT ITS SHAPED BYJOHN PECK. I CANT FIND ANYTHING ONLINE ABOUT ANY JOHN PECK WAIMEA GUNS..IT WAS SHAPED IN 97 AND HAS THE SIGNATURE SINGLE FIN. SAME AS HE USES ON THE PENETRATOR..NO LOGOS JUST HIS SIGNATURE AND A MESSAGE FOR THE BUYER..I GUESS ITS THE COSMIC GUN. IM AMPED