Originally published Jai Lee’s The Noardroom in November 2018.
The Davenport Surfboards Stepdeck is made to surf in the style of the mid to late-60s era California hotdoggers, with an emphasis on board control from both the nose and tail, without sacrificing speed or maneuverability. It’s best ridden between 9’8” - 10’, with its base dimensions being an 18” nose, 22 ⅞” wide, and a 16 ½” tail. You want to go a tad thicker than your normal noserider, so if you normally ride a board that’s 3” thick, try 3 3/16” – 3 ⅜” (for the 10’). I use a combination of templates from my design library to create this model with the main objectives being to turn very, very well, setup with ease, and noseride consistently. It features a step in the nose on the deck, lessening the swing-weight for turns, and adds flex while on the nose, allowing for a flatter rocker for more speed. The flat deck leading to the big upward tail flip gives the board a “parachute effect” that keeps it right in the pocket, where every good noserider should be.
As far as the bottom goes, it’s a typical late 60’s California longboard: deep dish nose concave up front with some shoulders towards the middle, dead-flat in the center, and an intentional small amount of roll in the tail for maximum acceleration and pop out of turns.
This brings us to the three-piece rocker setup featuring subtle nose rocker to accent lift, the flat middle section for trimming, and lots and lots of tail rocker for turns. When you take a step back from the nose, the flat spot helps to regain speed and reposition for the next noseride section.
The rails are 50/50 traditional longboard rails for clean noserides on diverse wave faces. My riders usually go between two fin setups: the first being a Cub fin in the very back of the box if they want a smoother, carvier ride for more gutless waves. The second is a Toothpick fin in the middle-front of the box for more hotdog-style surfing that allows the board to pivot quicker with less drag.
What really made me want to make a board like this are the Harbor Cheaters at The Beach House in Santa Barbara, the deck profile of the Russell Step Deck, and the surfing of team rider and great friend, Shawn O’Brien.
Team Rider Shawn O’Brien. @shawn0brien
This board is my own take on a combination of all the boards mentioned above, and it’s been working great so far for riders of all heights and weights. We hope you get to try one of these out sooner than later, Jai, and we all thank you for your support and your vast influence on contemporary noseriding!
Adam Davenport
