SUP Design

Overview of Basic SUP Deck Shapes Paddlers often ignore deck shapes. But decks are designed with different shapes that greatly affect performance. There are three basic sup deck shapes Domed Flat Concave Domed Decks (Crown) Domed decks are popular and used on all types of paddle boards. But they seem to work best on performance … Read more

What is sup rocker? Rocker is the curve of the paddle board from the nose to the tail when viewed from the side. Rocker is a deliberate design characteristic to improve performance. Paddle boards can run the extremes from almost flat to a banana like shape. Most paddle boards fall in the middle between these … Read more

Rails are the “edges” around a paddle board including the nose and tail. Rails are “shaped” by paddle board builders to affect performance. Water wraps around the surface of the rails when the sup is pushed against the water. The shape of the rail determines the amount of drag or release the board has in … Read more

Each tail shape impacts speed, maneuverability and stability in a different way. The Back End Matters The tail works together with the rails (edges), bottom contours and fin(s) to allow a paddle board to perform in a particular way. Many paddlers don’t pay attention to the tail shape of their board thinking it has little … Read more