Date: 05-30-2007
Article and Photos By: Scott Alexander

So by now word is definitely getting out about the 2007 Liquid Force SST wakeskate. This deck is something that Silas Thurman has been working on for around three years, and now that the deck has reached its final configuration details are beginning to surface...

Silas first conceptualized the deck some time back in 2004, and tested his first prototype out at Lake Powell in 2005. Along the way he gathered a few ideas from shaper Jimmy Redmon and Aaron Reed on how to design the deck so that it would maximize snap without, well, snapping. It would end up taking Silas two years and 10 different combinations of wood and compression molded decks, hardware, bondo and metal before he would find the perfect combination for his Snappy Tail deck.

SST top

The final SST is made up of a compression molded top deck mounted to an Impulse flat deck.

Many of the deck configurations failed miserably, especially in the early stages of the project. Among the early ideas tested was a multiple piece top deck, unfortunately these early decks all broke due to the strain that was put on each of the separate pieces. So to eliminate the problem, Silas tried combining the multiple pieces making up the top deck into one single piece. This single pieced top deck helped alleviate that problem, and once that was incorporated into the design, Jimmy Redmon hopped in and helped Silas and Aaron shape the top deck's concave so that it was the perfect combination of their favorite skateboard and wakeskate shapes. This top deck was also switched from wood to a compression molded deck. The wood top just wasn't holding its shape as well as Silas wanted, and the snap wasn't quite there either. The switch to a compression molded top deck meant that the deck would keep its
shape and pop, and it also allowed for Silas to control exactly how much flex the top deck itself had.

split tail view

The bottom deck makes use of the Impulse shape which has been redesigned by Aaron Reed. This deck gives the best pop for ollies and wake to wake tricks and is also a very stable shape, so it only makes sense that Silas would want to make use of it. A flat version of the Impulse is taken and attached to the compression molded top deck using through bolts which mount flush to the bottom of the board. These flush-mounted bolts, along with the PBT bottom, will help keep your slider sessions free from hang-ups. So that's basically the gist of things- a dual level deck that's been under development for the past couple of years. But the wait is almost over. The deck should be hitting shelves some time in the not too distant future, so be sure to keep your eye out for it. And I'll be sure to post a review of the deck as soon as one becomes available, though, so stay tuned.

base view