RealSurf Surfers' Forum

pridmore wrote:

a single fin, Fangtail, EPS-epoxy , 5'9" x 20 1/8" x 2 3/8"

Nice!

What fin will be going in that?

i believe ,sincerely , that a surfboard only needs one fin to work at its best.....anything more than that creates the need to compromise in other areas of the design.....which is exactly whats happened over the years.....one fin , foiled correctly and matched to the design gives the freedom to make changes and improvements to all surfboard designs.........I can't see things moving forward again , until we get back to single finned surfboards as the standard............it's inevitable ,and it's already begun......

Great post kayu.

On one hand, I think you may be onto something... On the other hand, I am not sure!

Just being devil's advocate, but one could argue that a board doesn't need any fins at all...

I think it comes down to what you want to achieve. An analogy would be to consider the different types of car available. Another would be to look at the differences between breeds of horse and what purpose they are bred for, maybe?

True, they (mostly) almost always have 4 wheels or 4 legs, but after that, things change depending on purpose

The principal is in the simplicity...........a single fin is in the nuetral position....it favours neither left or right turns, and transitions through the neutral axis to change direction with minimal effort ,and the least amount of un-needed drag , in one small neat package..............but opinions are still like r-soles ,and hopefully we will always be allowed to have one.....

I love singles and I think you are definitely right in as much as there seems to be a resurgence in them and folk are starting to experiment with them again.

One fo my favourite shortboards in recent years was a 6'2 pinny with a Winged Keel/sidebite set-up. That thing went in almost anything.

Funny thing , Ive seen so many thrusters over the years that I thought would go better with a single fin.......but , you cant take out the 3 small fins ,and try the board as a single , because the centre plugs are always set too far back for a single fin to to work properly........Ive tried it once on a rounded pin with glass-ons , and the board was noticably faster , drew much longer turns ,and with far less effort......

kayu wrote:
the board was noticably faster , drew much longer turns ,and with far less effort......

Most people don't want that they prefer to make it difficult and throw as much spray as possible.

Roy_Stewart wrote:

kayu wrote:
the board was noticably faster , drew much longer turns ,and with far less effort......

Most people don't want that they prefer to make it difficult and throw as much spray as possible.

Please note well Roy agreeing with Kayu

Well I agree with Kayu, on the whole, regarding singlefins. I stayed on them throughout, and always disliked thrusters.

"one fin , foiled correctly and matched to the design gives the freedom to make changes and improvements to all surfboard designs.........I can't see things moving forward again , until we get back to single finned surfboards as the standard....."

Kayu, with all due respect changes and improvements have already been well and truely made and things have already moved forward. A bloke called Simon Anderson invented the Thruster and more people ride them than any other design for good reason. Nothing wrong with riding singles, but thrusters are certainly an advancement, at least for HIGH PERFORMANCE surfing. Possibly it is just that you are not into HP surfing? Which is fine.

kayu wrote:..............but opinions are still like r-soles ,and hopefully we will always be allowed to have one.....

You forgot this part Natho................and Ive gotta disagree....singles were put on the scrap heap.in less than a full pro season , after Simons initial win......Cheyne was the last man standing....and he had more wins over thrusters than losses .....and that's at the elite HP level ........the future will be what it will be...

Natho wrote: A bloke called Simon Anderson invented the Thruster and more people ride them than any other design for good reason.

........a scotch bloke called McDonald invented the Big Mac ,and more people eat them than any other hamburger for good reason.......

When Roy starts agreeing with you then it is time to admit you are wrong

Natho wrote:When Roy starts agreeing with you then it is time to admit you are wrong

...you missed my point Natho , it's my opinion that there is still more to be found in single fins that we don't already know.......it's not about being right or wrong.......

Natho wrote:

A bloke called Simon Anderson invented the Thruster and more people ride them than any other design ...

Long may they continue to do so.

.

Has anyone tried one of the Rusty Bali single fins yet ?
I have to admit I have been tempted by them for a while and they are now being sold off cheap in the UK.
Although, I saw one in the flesh and the build quality was seemed weak and even the board labels and design were not srayed correctly.

Since you're used to McCoys you may need a snorkel cause they don't sport much foam.