Dug-out decks work

[FloridaWindSUP]

A buddy of mine custom ordered a 14x23 Hovie "GTF" optimized for pure flat water speed. He's pretty heavy at 200 lbs so he asked for lots of volume, which he got. The board was very thick, such that the standing area was quite high off the water. In combination with the narrow, piercing nose, that made the board tippy, with a tendency to "catch" and want to throw you over. The board was wicked fast, though, with unreal glide and a very clean entry and release.

My buddy hemmed and hawed for a while, then decided to modify the board by digging out the deck, recessing about 3" in the front, then gradually sloping it up to meet the original deck height near the tail of the board. He put in two little pipes to drain the water out, and they worked.

Today I got to try the modified board (I'd already tried the unmodified version several times) and I was AMAZED at how much more stable it was. It wobbled much less, and the wobbles would correct themselves instead of getting out of control. Buddy raced it and shaved a few seconds off his previous race time by not falling. He stayed in my draft for the entire first half of the race, which he has never done before, then ultimately dropped back because he's chubby and the Florida heat always kills him in the second half.

I'm now definitely a believer in the dugout concept, at least for flatwater.

[Luc Benac]

In addition to the stability, I find that the mechanics of the stroke are better when you are closer to the water.

[Eagle]

Yeah as noted before both the Sprint and Ace benefit huge from a dropped deck.  Would never had expected the sleek pointy S21.5 to be only slightly less stable than the high deck AS23.  Difference was the Sprint was quite a bit faster.  So perfect for flat water speed.

[Off-Shore]

I wish I had done this on my THINK XO 14' which is definitely the fastest board I have owned but was way too tippy to paddle hard in rough conditions. Having now got an SB ACE 14' x 27" I realise I could easily go down to 25", but I do like passing people in off-shore races on their 23 and 24" wide boards when I am on my 27" 

[Eagle]

"The XOR builds on the design of the XO, but adds a square tail and higher volume in the nose and the tail to help stability in rough water, hence the ‘R’."

The changes Daryl made were quite noticeable in rough water.  Still has a bit of roll but was about the same speed as an AS25.  Felt he could drop down to a 26 and still be stable enough and even more efficient and faster.  Wicked fast shape and super efficient.  Near silent at the entry and had little drag off the tail.  Liked it much better than the AS design for distance.  Just cut thru small chop like a hot knife thru buttah.  Tippier on buoy turns and DW tho.

https://www.deepcoveoutdoors.com/product/think-xor/

The 24.75 Nelo design with a big drop standing area should go well also.  Maybe even the 23 is ok but would need a quick test drive to confirm.  The board looks like it has a high quality finish like a surfski.

http://www.light-sup.com/light-signature-race1.html

[TallDude]

Dug out decks or deep foot wells make a big difference on narrow boards. Corran once told me it was something like " every 1/2" you drop the foot area, adds about the same amount of stability you would get by going an inch wider." I don't know where he got that from, but it's not far off from my experiences.

BTW, FloridaWindSup! rocking the lift in your home garage..... That is cool. 

[Area 10]

Stand-up canoes work well for many racing conditions (and not so well for others). If the ICF are successful with their bid to govern SUP in the Olympics, we will probably all soon be standing up in boats that look like portly Olympic sprint canoes.

Having a deck that keeps the paddler close to the water is also great for steep, short period downwinding, but you don't need a sunken deck for that, just a lower thickness board than is currently on offer from the main brands.

[GlideMarko]

yup,
seen on lost mills - strike dug-out

[PonoBill]

If you do a little vector analysis you find some small improvement in blade angle and force for dropping the deck. It's not huge, but coupled with stability increase it makes dugouts desirable, and going all the way to the skin is best of all. You just need an effective way to get the water out.

[Eagle]

The underside wide side chines of the Strike at Lost Mills looks somewhat similar to the 2016 AS23.  But the depth at standing must be a lot more because he is carrying it from the side rail like a Sprint.

[Eagle]

This is standing all the way out to the skin in a 16' canoe.  My feet are well below waterline and stability was perfectly fine.  Some initial roll but incredible secondary stability.  Can weight the rail a crazy amount and still not go in.  If the freeboard was dropped windage would be much better.  And if a fin was added direction could be easily controlled.  Could only paddle stroke maybe 5x before needing to switch without a fin.  Could even add a adjustable on the fly dagger like a dingy for DW and more stability.  Would kinda be like a ventral.  Has air flotation in the ends so will not sink.  Would have to right and bail as is.  But could add drainage like a surfski.  Paddled before with a canoe paddle -> but was much easier with a SUP paddle.  And can even easily take passagers.  Different but can do. 

[deepmud]

I have a fat 'ol 1980's Pacific Water Sports Sea Otter kayak I am going to dig out from behind the shed now

[Ichabod Spoonbill]

I wish my NSP race board had a sunken deck. It would be faster and more stable.

[headmount]

This Kiwi gal, Annabel ( I think) has one that she has been using this past week.  It's got a very deep cut out for much of the deck, deeper and longer than any pictured here.  Scuppers looked functional.  I paddled out of the gulch with her checking her out from my ski.  It appeared stable  tho not a noticeable speed difference from most of the boards used around here. 

[Area 10]

If it's Annabel Anderson in a dugout like she's always favoured, I'm sure she'll be going faster than 99% of other SUPs out there...