Noa Deane’s Shortboard is Now a 6’3

All Photos by Swilly

We were all riding boards that were far too long for years.

Then, aided by the myth that smaller boards fit in the pocket and make you surf better (if you rip and live at Snapper they do, if not, they generally make you look ugly as sin) we went far too short. Now, years later, encouraged by sensible gents like Creed, Noa and their contemporaries, we’ve re-realised that the best shortboards for average to pumping waves sit an inch or two taller than your head.

Enter Noa’s new signature model: The Hammer by LSD. Luke Short was in the noughties pantheon of shapers pushing what high performance surfboards were capable of, but instead of the aggressive expansion taken by some of his contemporaries, he kept his production more bespoke. His boards have been under the feet of some of the most influential surfers on the planet over the years – Ozzie Wright and Julian Wilson, to name just two. These days some of Australia’s best contemporary surfers – Noa, Benny Howard, Matt Banting, Ellie Brooks, occasionally Creed and Shaun Manners – ride his crafts because of how damn good they feel under foot.

That initial Hammer r&d came about as a result of Noa wanting to put in a good showing on the North Shore when newly inked with Volcom. He rekindled his relationship with Luke (Rusty riders are under contract to ride Rusty boards) and asked him to add a few inches to his everyday boards to deal with the extra push in the Islands. They felt better than good, so on returning to Oz, he kept running them. After much tweaking, The Hammer is available for anyone looking to wet a rail.

The Hammer’s outline was pulled from a 90s hangover board that Luke had lying around his Yamba storeroom. After Noa’s filmer, Mikey Mallalieu, sent Luke a framey of Noa torquing through a turn at mach ten speed, the collective suspected that they might be onto something.

“It was one of the most vicious turns we had ever seen, an absolute hammer,” says Luke Short. “We soon realised this was no novelty board and suited Noa’s power surfing, especially in conditions that have plenty of push.”

If you’re tired of gimmicks and want a good honest craft that goes like stink and dissects walls with scalpel-like precision, then it’s time to re-embrace a bit of length. And, Luke Short’s just the craftsman for the task.

Order Hammer, wax up, drop hammers.