Whats an 'S' deck?

Hey guys, I was wondering what is meant when someone says, ’ you can see the S in the deck’ ? I’ve read Greenough talking about them and heard Joel talk about it also. Thanks for the help, ryan

Hey guys, I was wondering what is meant when someone says, ’ you can see > the S in the deck’ ? I’ve read Greenough talking about them and heard Joel > talk about it also. Thanks for the help, ryan Bob O’s BOSS Surfboards are ‘S’ decks – so are Greg Liddle’s Hulls, sorry I can’t describe, just examples. What do they do exactly?

Ryan, If you sight the deck rocker and there is a hump in the middle of the board, the deck curve forms an “S”. In modern shapes this is uncommon as most boards have a nice, even deck curve without a hump in the middle. Awhile ago the s deck was common due to the fact that shapers were trying too get flotation out of shorter boards but they soon found that foil wise, it didn’t work too well. Morey -Pope had a Camel model that had a big hump in it(early "70’s). For that time period ,it was a really good board. aloha, tom

Ryan,>>> If you sight the deck rocker and there is a hump in the middle of the > board, the deck curve forms an “S”. In modern shapes this is > uncommon as most boards have a nice, even deck curve without a hump in the > middle. Awhile ago the s deck was common due to the fact that shapers were > trying too get flotation out of shorter boards but they soon found that > foil wise, it didn’t work too well. Morey -Pope had a Camel model that had > a big hump in it(early "70’s). For that time period ,it was a really > good board.>>> aloha, tom Hey tom, Thanks for the info. Would you say that this concept is not useful anymore(even for someone like me who enjoys surfing and shaping older style boards)? It would seem that a modern deck curve achieves what they were trying to achieve, and would be much easier to shape. Tim said Liddle’s hulls were S decks, can that be? I have’nt seen his boards, but if they are anything like the hulls Greenough shaped that I’ve seen, I don’t see any S in the deck. Thanks again, ryan

Hi Ryan- The “S” type deck reduses both tail and nose thickness making them weigh less which results in more responsive and less sluggy feeling then standard contours. My friend BobO Kennedy (BOSS Surfboards) has been shaping “S” decks exclusively for 20+ years on short and longboards-check one out at any cost-highly recommended for the advanced surfer. BOSS “S” deck longboards have got be ridden to be believed! Although I’m sure I’ve made a few believers as other surfers are constantly asking me questions about my strange S’d-out sticks. The thinness of the nose area causes it to flatten out (losing resistance) or drag which makes for all-time mind-blowing shnoz rides. Check em’… DavO

Hi Ryan->>> The “S” type deck reduses both tail and nose thickness making > them weigh less which results in more responsive and less sluggy feeling > then standard contours. My friend BobO Kennedy (BOSS Surfboards) has been > shaping “S” decks exclusively for 20+ years on short and > longboards-check one out at any cost-highly recommended for the advanced > surfer. BOSS “S” deck longboards have got be ridden to be > believed! Although I’m sure I’ve made a few believers as other surfers are > constantly asking me questions about my strange S’d-out sticks. The > thinness of the nose area causes it to flatten out (losing resistance) or > drag which makes for all-time mind-blowing shnoz rides. Check em’…>>> DavO I have seen the BOSS boards…they are really quite unique and from what I can tell really fun to ride (if you know what you are doing)…how does he get the nose and tails so thin? The boards are what 10’? The middle 4’ is totally flat with 50/50 rails? The nose and tail are really thin with equal rocker? No concave in the nose? Slight ‘v’ in the tail? Really hard rails in the tail? Nose rocker is totally turned up? It seems like a pretty difficult board to shape…is this fair to say?

Hey Tim Howzit? Yes Boss surfboards are some of the most unique boards on the planet. BobO Kennedy shapes them all himself from his own Clark Foam “Kennedy” blanks. They take 4-6 hours to shape and depending on the overall weight, size, and expertise of the rider he thins out the nose and tail areas accordingly. His “S” deck theory is all his own. The reason for the thin kicked up nose is because the nose must be thin in order to flex flat underfoot while tip riding. When you hang 10, the entire front end just flexes and molds with the contours of the wave providing minimum resistance. The tail is very thin, sharp, and round because it needs to be in order to flex downward thereby holding the fin in for insane tip time. The roundness and mega V in the tail makes up for the overall flatness of the blank, which means it leans and turns on a dime even though it’s so flat and hydrodynamically efficient. We refer to the thickest area of the BOSS board as the “engine” because it is this spot on the board that facilitates proper float and paddle. All this fancy theory adds up to an advanced board for the advanced rider-kinda nightmareish for an ordinary surfer. The only common ingredient Boss boards have any other longboards ever made is length-he only makes them from 10’ to 10’4" because his theory does’nt work as well under 10’. His “WHAT” boards (in the 6’-7’6" range )are a different story all together. The main thing is that BOSS sufboards provide maximum planing efficiency by several hydrodynamic theories work together simaltaneously. Hope this helps you out Tim-ride one and you’ll know what all this mumbo jumbo really means. BOSS Surfboards is listed in O.C. phone directory located in San Clemente-order one. DavO

Hey Tim Howzit?>>> Yes Boss surfboards are some of the most unique boards on the planet. BobO > Kennedy shapes them all himself from his own Clark Foam > “Kennedy” blanks. They take 4-6 hours to shape and depending on > the overall weight, size, and expertise of the rider he thins out the nose > and tail areas accordingly. His “S” deck theory is all his own. > The reason for the thin kicked up nose is because the nose must be thin in > order to flex flat underfoot while tip riding. When you hang 10, the > entire front end just flexes and molds with the contours of the wave > providing minimum resistance. The tail is very thin, sharp, and round > because it needs to be in order to flex downward thereby holding the fin > in for insane tip time. The roundness and mega V in the tail makes up for > the overall flatness of the blank, which means it leans and turns on a > dime even though it’s so flat and hydrodynamically efficient. We refer to > the thickest area of the BOSS board as the “engine” because it > is this spot on the board that facilitates proper float and paddle. All > this fancy theory adds up to an advanced board for the advanced > rider-kinda nightmareish for an ordinary surfer. The only common > ingredient Boss boards have any other longboards ever made is length-he > only makes them from 10’ to 10’4" because his theory does’nt work as > well under 10’. His “WHAT” boards (in the 6’-7’6" range > )are a different story all together. The main thing is that BOSS sufboards > provide maximum planing efficiency by several hydrodynamic theories work > together simaltaneously. Hope this helps you out Tim-ride one and you’ll > know what all this mumbo jumbo really means. BOSS Surfboards is listed in > O.C. phone directory located in San Clemente-order one.>>> DavO I am “pirating” a boss for one of my customers right now. I took rocker profiles off the top and bottom. It is very close to the Con Ugly, I wouldn’t call them a true “s” rocker, more of a “w” rocker. An “s” rocker doesn’t lift back up in the tail. MY pal rides his leashless all the time and likes the design, his is lacking in the strength department as it is stressed out from the flex factor. I glued his blank up with a half inch Port Orford Cedar center stick and hope that will keep it from stressing out. Jimbob

DavO I am seriously considering ordering myself one – they run about 750 + shipping to NY – I have been looking for a fun Noserider and have only heard really good things about them (if you can surf that is)> Hey Tim Howzit? I hear that, unlike most longboards, you really shouldn’t step back from the nose to make a section, but rather just stay as far up there as possible. It was also describes as “turning more like a 9’4” than a 10’0". Do you deal directly with BobO or go through Mike D. at Hydroglass? Tim>>> Yes Boss surfboards are some of the most unique boards on the planet. BobO > Kennedy shapes them all himself from his own Clark Foam > “Kennedy” blanks. They take 4-6 hours to shape and depending on > the overall weight, size, and expertise of the rider he thins out the nose > and tail areas accordingly. His “S” deck theory is all his own. > The reason for the thin kicked up nose is because the nose must be thin in > order to flex flat underfoot while tip riding. When you hang 10, the > entire front end just flexes and molds with the contours of the wave > providing minimum resistance. The tail is very thin, sharp, and round > because it needs to be in order to flex downward thereby holding the fin > in for insane tip time. The roundness and mega V in the tail makes up for > the overall flatness of the blank, which means it leans and turns on a > dime even though it’s so flat and hydrodynamically efficient. We refer to > the thickest area of the BOSS board as the “engine” because it > is this spot on the board that facilitates proper float and paddle. All > this fancy theory adds up to an advanced board for the advanced > rider-kinda nightmareish for an ordinary surfer. The only common > ingredient Boss boards have any other longboards ever made is length-he > only makes them from 10’ to 10’4" because his theory does’nt work as > well under 10’. His “WHAT” boards (in the 6’-7’6" range > )are a different story all together. The main thing is that BOSS sufboards > provide maximum planing efficiency by several hydrodynamic theories work > together simaltaneously. Hope this helps you out Tim-ride one and you’ll > know what all this mumbo jumbo really means. BOSS Surfboards is listed in > O.C. phone directory located in San Clemente-order one.>>> DavO

Hey Tim- I hang with BobO and sort of get to be the “guinea pig” for his experiments which is OK by me. So, yes I get boards directly from him. And Mike and Pete at Hydroglass are some of the very finest glassers in the entire industry. And yes, BOSS boards don’t work as good when only cheating five; you gotta takes 6-7 tiny straight steps to the shnoz and stay there to see what happens-nutty! Get one. DavO > DavO>>> I am seriously considering ordering myself one – they run about 750 + > shipping to NY – I have been looking for a fun Noserider and have only > heard really good things about them (if you can surf that is)> Hey Tim > Howzit?>>> I hear that, unlike most longboards, you really shouldn’t step back from > the nose to make a section, but rather just stay as far up there as > possible.>>> It was also describes as “turning more like a 9’4” than a > 10’0".>>> Do you deal directly with BobO or go through Mike D. at Hydroglass?>>> Tim

best boards ive ever ridden. wont touch another longboard.

We are working on restoring an old velzy that is an s deck, it looks like a fun board, a little too much volume for me though