Surfboard Design | Flat Decks

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	FLAT DECKS

	July 3, 2019

	Flat decks are an intriguing alternative to the classic crowned decks common to contemporary shortboards. Prior to the development of the low vblume - well rockered Glass Slippers of the early 90s, flat decks were very common. Dick Brewer's shapes were the finest execution of this design. Their flat decks were an essential feature in establishing a crisp profile or foil from nose to tail. The classic flat deck designs of the 70s and 80s featured primarily convex bottoms. The classic glass slipper featured concave bottoms. When we combine a flat deck with a concave bottom we're maximizing volume at and near the rails. This produced a relatively stiff board that didn't go rail to rail with ease. Concave bottoms contours and their performance features were here to stay so surfers and shapers gravitated to crowned decks of varying degree to facilitate rail to rail transitions which are essential and at the core of shortboard performance. A few years ago we were checking out a beautiful 9' 6" Dick Brewer XXL Gun with on Kauai with Dave Beck. The board had a flat deck and very crisp foil. It was an reminder of a great design feature. This board was inspiration to explore flat deck designs and introduce them as a design option for our boards.

	9' 6" x 19 1/4" x 3" 2004 Dick Brewer XXL Gun

	What do flat decks bring to our design resources? The most obvious features is the additional volume it brings to a shape when all other variables are held constant. The deck is simply fuller side to side thus adding volume. See illustration - black profile is flat deck - red profile is crown deck. This image illustrates the extra volume in a flat deck compared to a crowned deck when their thickness is equal. The volume of the flat deck board is 32.5 Liters. The volume of the crowned deck board is 31.5 Liters. Flat decks also add an element of stability to a board. A deck with more volume towards the rail will not tip or roll side to side, or rail to rail, as easily as a classic crowned deck which is thicker at the stringer and thinner in the rails. How can we effectively integrate flat decks into contemporary designs ? That will vary by designs, venues, conditions, and surfers. When increased volume and stability are the primary design considerations simply redesigning the deck from crown to flat will yield a strong paddling, wave catching, stable, speed generating, and speed maintaining board. These performance features are an asset for many surfers and conditions - boards for larger surfers, older surfers, or surfers who are transitioning from mid range boards to short boards all of whom could benefit from more volume in their boards, boards for waves with marginal energy where extra volume will help generate and maintain speed and ultimately maneuverability, and boards for XL and XXL waves where extra volume and stability are essntial to paddling mobility, wave catching, and stability and flow in heavy water conditions. When performance is the primary design consideration, flat deck designs offer excellent and unique performance features in moderate and lower volume designs. Such flat deck boards have equal volume as crowned deck boards, but feature a thinner profile combined with equal rail volume. These design features yield a thinner board than an equal volume crowned deck board. These thinner flat deck boards are a very responsive and stable design. A flat deck board with equal volume to a crowned deck board has reduced thickness to achieve that same volume. Reducing flat deck volume to equal crown deck volume by thinning a board can yield a very well tuned high performance board. See illustration - black profile is flat deck - red profile is crown deck. This image illustrates the reduced thickness of a flat deck required to yield equal volume as a crowned deck. The volume of both boards is 31.5 Liters. The stable nature of a flat deck design offers yet another very functional design option. Reducing the volume even further can yield a design that combines the stable feel of a flat deck with the performance we associate with a crowned deck. See illustration - black profile is flat deck - red profile is crown deck. This image illustrates reducing the thickness of a flat deck board to yield the same rail volume as a crowned deck board. The volume of the flat deck board is 29.5 Liters. The volume of the crowned deck board is 31.5 Liters. The thickness of the flat deck board is 2 1/8". The thickness of the crowned deck board is 2 3/8". Flat deck designs offer unique performance features. The design is functional in all waves and conditions. They are particularly well suited for XXL waves and XXL guns. The extra volume of these designs are a great asset for the performance demands of heavy water and XXL waves and conditions.

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