-When you’re up and planing on the wave, your fins are nearly 50% of your wetted surface area. Why do people care so much about their surfboards and so little about their fins?
-Don’t be lazy! Try different fins and different fin setups in your board. I had a board that I swore would be killer as a quad, and it was actually really average. When I switched it to a thruster, it was one of the best boards of that style I’ve ever tried.
-The “new” mid-length single fin boards are even more dependent on nailing the perfect fin to get the most out of the board. If anything, people tend to over-fin these boards and kill the performance with too much fin. How does this feel? You’ll bog down in your bottom turn and get passed by the section. You’ll also be riding a board that feels edgy, critical, and retro. When you size it down correctly, you’ll likely have that Aha! moment, and then the board will be neutral, free, and fast through the water.
We get this question all the time. Here are three basic reasons why you should consider upgrading your fins from “stock plastics” to the “performance” honeycomb, fiberglass, or carbon versions:
1. Your brand new board comes with plastic fins for a reason…. New boards come with plastic fins not because they match the performance level of your new $700 surfboard, but because they are inexpensive and help keep the price of the complete board lower and within reach of more surfboard shoppers. Don’t be confused into thinking that the designer/shaper wanted you using plastic fins and that’s why they’re equipping the board with them. It’s purely a pricing constraint and they’d rather keep the option open to you to choose the right performance fins based on your size and fin preference than include them in the board and have the price be higher for everyone.
2. Your fins are 50% of the wetted surface when you’re up and planning. When you look at the entire board and look at how “small” the fins are, it’s easy to convince yourself that it couldn’t matter that much, right? But when your board is up and planning, the fins make up 50% of the wetted surface of the surfboard/fin combo. Once you realize that, it all of a sudden seems worth considering a higher performance option.
3. Would you ride a plastic surfboard? When you load and release your turns – hoping for more speed – a good board and fins should load up, flex and then spring you out of the turn. Plastic fins will do this to some extent for very lightweight surfers, but beyond that they tend to flex and then never flex back as fast as the fiberglass or carbon/fiberglass versions. If you spend any time in the snow, imagine riding plastic skis or a plastic snowboard and then loading up a turn, expecting to get sprung out of it. You never would, it would just keep bending. Essentially the same is happening with your plastic fins and the result is less speed generated in the turns. After spending your hard earned $$ on a high tech surfboard, are you going to equip it with plastic fins? Imagine your same surfboard made out of plastic. Would you surf that? Probably not and the fins make up just as much wetted surface as the board once you’re up and riding the wave.
Walking up to the fin wall can be intimidating and confusing. This simple three step process will help you choose the right performance fins for your new rip stick…
Choose the proper fin size. Just like different sized surfboards for different sized surfers, fins have different sizes based on the surfer’s weight. Both FCS and Futures fin companies have surfer weight charts to dial you into their different sized fins: XS, S, M, L, XL. Once you determine which size fin you should be using based on your weight, you’ve already eliminated 80% of the choices, making your final decision that much easier.
Choose the proper template. The next step is to determine the type of waves you will be surfing most often, with the board you will be using them in. Different shaped fins perform better at different things. More vertical fins tend to like sharper, more pivotal turns, like the ones you find in short, hollow beach breaks. More raked fins tend to hold better through long radius turns on open faces at higher speeds. You can also shoot straight up the middle for a good “all around fin”. Changing your fins as you encounter different surf conditions can dramatically extend the performance range of your board and an extra set of fins is way easier (and less expensive) to carry than a second board.
Choose the preferred construction. Plastic fins are great for groms or for stashing in your glovebox or travel bag for an emergency replacement. If you really want your fins to match the performance of your new surfboard, you should choose either honeycomb/fiberglass or honeycomb/fiberglass/carbon constructions. The carbon allows specific flex control in certain areas of the fin and can also be used to stiffen the fin. Carbon is sometimes viewed as “always better” but for light-footed surfers that don’t push as hard in their turns, it can sometimes be too stiff. For these surfers, honeycomb/fiberglass fins can give you the right template and foil, AND the right flex/response that matches your surfing style.
Wow, this is a wide range of surfers reading this article! Beginner and never-evers, all the way geographic transplants, diehard longboarders and aging shortboarders. Over the past several seasons, the surfing world has been focused on shortboards and hybrids, now it’s time to dig into the tech and questions asked and answered every day at REAL with regards to longboards.
Question #1 : How do you want to surf and where will you be surfing this board? Do you see yourself as a cross stepper / noserider? Or do you want to surf more off the tail and use the length of the board to generate high speeds for fast turns and carves? Is you local wave soft and slow breaking or a pitchy beach break with a more hollow face?
Noseriders tend to have more volume (more foam), a flatter rocker, wider noses and rounded rails all the way to the tail. Most noseriders also have a single fin, although some are equipped to switch this to a 2+1 set up which consists of small “side bite” fins on the rails and a larger fin in the center box. This style of board is great for several things – trimming, gliding, noseriding and also longboarding at a break that suits this style of board. The larger size, flatter rocker and glide oriented design suits a flatter faced wave that is slower and softer breaking. Think of places like San Onofre, California or Ditch Plains in Montauk, NY. Even when those waves are head high, they are still very forgiving, slow breaking with a very soft lip.
The design focus of a noserider longboard is to keep the board in the pocket of the wave and to allow the surfer to surf small crumbly waves (often dribblers) while still feeling the “glide” of the board across the top of the water. “Glide” is the ability of the board to displace water at speed and not be so dependent on planning above the water like narrower high performance longboards or shortboards. More volume and often a flat or slightly convex (bellied) bottom make this type of board work well both gliding and planning. These boards also encourage “cross stepping” to the nose and are great “dance platforms” for walking to and from the nose during each ride.
Want to be humbled? Go on an all out mission to learn proficient and stylish noseriding this summer. You’re about to receive the 1ft surf beat down of your life in waves you normally wouldn’t have even paddled out in. Once you start pulling noserides – and with the right board it’s not that far away – it’s an addictive feeling that has you “flying” at the top of the wave with nothing underneath you. I actually didn’t learn how to noseride until I was 40 years old and to have the ability to learn something new in junk surf was actually really fun and rewarding. Some of the wipeouts are just incredible! But when you pull off a good one, it’s so much fun and such an adrenaline rush…definitely something to keep your learning curve fresh and exciting!
Good examples of noseriders are all sizes of the Robert August Retros, Robert August Classics, Robert August Martinson Stepdecks, the larger Robert August What I Rides (9’6 and larger) and Takayama Model Ts. Takayama In the Pinks are some of the most popular noseriders in the world, but they fall into a Hybrid Category that we will talk about later.
High Performance Longboards (HPLBs) typically have flat or concave bottoms and a narrower outline with a 2+1, Quad or 4+1 fin set up. High Performance longboards are designed to generate speed and travel faster than the wave. They are perfect for surfing your longboard “like a shortboard”, meaning off the tail, working the wave up and down the face to generate speed. They are easier to surf in pitchy, hollow faced waves due to the fact that they normally have narrower noses and more rocker, allowing them to fit into the curve of the wave better. This also makes them a better “first board” choice for surfers learning to surf in this type of wave.
The design focus of high performance longboards is max speed and maneuverability, so in a lot of ways, very similar to the design focus of shortboards. Skilled surfers can noseride them, but they don’t offer the added stability and lift up there so it has to be a skilled rider with very nimble (and light) footwork. These boards are designed for max performance while planning, so if the waves are super small and gutless, they don’t feel as good in the trimming or glide mode (not turning to generate speed). However, if you are purchasing a single board for max range with regards to wave size, these boards have the widest range of use of any board on the market, as you can surf them effectively from shin high up to several times overhead – if your coconuts are big enough for that.
Spyder Surfboard reviewsJust like with every other surfboard category, dividing lines are disappearing and board designs are now pulling characteristics from different designs to produce “Hybrid Designs”. The Takayama In the Pinks are a perfect example of this. Noserider shape and volume, with a crisp, defined rail release in the tail and a 2+1 fin set up. This allows the board to get up and really go when you need it to. The smaller Robert August What I Rides (9’0 and smaller) also have a clean, defined rail release on the tail to help these boards attain higher speeds in medium to larger surf. These two boards are the most popular noserider and all around longboard in the world. Goes to show what happens when you take the best of both worlds and mash it up into one board!
Question #2 : Why do some of these boards have rounded rails while other have sharp edges? What’s up with all the different tail shapes?
Noseriders typically have rounded rails the entire length of the board, meaning there is no crisp edge to release the water cleanly on the back third of the board like on HPLBs or shortboards. This slows the board down and keeps it close in the pocket while the surfer is on the nose. You will often see larger square tails on noseriders, especially ones being ridden in smaller, less powerful surf. The larger the tail, the more lift it creates for generating speed, but also the larger platform it creates for the lip of the wave landing ON IT – which counter balances you up on the nose.
HPLBs have a crisp edge on the tail of the board, which creates a clean release of the water off the tail – allowing the board and surfer to generate speeds much higher than the speed of the wave. On the HPLBs you will see a variety of tail shapes and areas in order to max out the performance in a specific wave range/type or to provide the max range for all uses. Regardless of the tail shape (squash, round, round pin, swallow) the larger the tail, the better the board will work in small to average surf. If you are using the board for larger, more powerful surf, or even using it as a double duty gun for BIG surf, you want to look at reducing the tail area so that the board doesn’t become too lifty underfoot and start bouncing at speed.
Noseriders have single fins, which are typically a little slower (a good thing for keeping the board in the pocket of the wave) and offer a deeper depth to stay in the water when you are up on the nose and lifting the tail. The single fins also have a sleeker feel when you are trimming and gliding in sub par surf. The tell tale signs of a noserider is rounded rails to the tail with a nice single fin.
HPLBs typically have 2+1, Quad, or 4+1 fin set-ups. None of these are better than the other, what you are looking for is the best match for the design of the board, your surfing style and the waves you are looking to surf the board on. All of these fin configurations are designed to help generate more speed and increase maneuverability when compared to single fins.
This is an easy one! In general, lightweights should look at the 8’6 range. Midweights 9’0 and Heavy weights 9’6. Super heavyweights? Either beef out your 9’6 with a bit more width and thickness, or go longer up to 10’. All of these measurements are not “exact”. If you are a lightweight and find an awesome 8’4 – 8’7”, go for it! Once you go above 10’, most surfers will have a hard time controlling the extra length, although the skilled surfer will revel in the extra glide!
This is an easy one! In general, lightweights should look at the 8’6 range. Midweights 9’0 and Heavy weights 9’6. Super heavyweights? Either beef out your 9’6 with a bit more width and thickness, or go longer up to 10’. All of these measurements are not “exact”. If you are a lightweight and find an awesome 8’4 – 8’7”, go for it! Once you go above 10’, most surfers will have a hard time controlling the extra length, although the skilled surfer will revel in the extra glide!
There are several constructions to choose from when shopping for a longboard. PU/Poly is the tried and true construction that has been around the longest. PU/Poly has a nice feel both in small wave “glide” mode and also at max speed when bouncing and chatter become a concern. PU/Poly is also the most fragile and the heaviest. If you have a problem with “spacial awareness” (meaning you just don’t know what a 9 foot turning radius circle is), you will probably spend more time repairing this type of board than actually surfing it once you get done walking it into every corner of your garage. The added weight can also be a drag for lighter built surfers who have to carry their boards long distances to the beach.