Hulls were a product of the short board revolution and many of the boards that came from the beginning years of transition had “S” decks. Having survived through the ever changing years of surfboard design from the late sixties through the 70’s the Hull is really the only board that incorporates “S” deck these days.

The “S” deck is part and parcel to the design function of a hull. Put another way.. a hull is not a hull without an “S” deck. And because of that, the process of shaping one is different than shaping any other design.

Why is that? Foil design consists of a bottom curve and a deck curve. And those to curves bend at differing degrees but the same basic direction. If you place a board on it’s bottom the bottom curve ( rocker ) bends up at both ends, and the deck curve bends up as well. The Hull foil curves don’t do that.

Except for the first 12 to 18 inches of the nose area of a hull where the bottom and deck curves follow each other all the rest of the deck curve moves in a different direction than the bottom. That’s because of the “S” deck. They also have a large crown from rail to rail on the deck as well. All these deck curves make for a very different over all foil design. And, all those curves need to blend together.  It’s tricky business.

I really like shaping Hulls. Putting all the curves together is an effort worth taking. It’s been 50 years since I shaped my first hull… after all that time I’ve never tired of it.

D.R

A 6'3 New Hull