Surfing Waves

yeah... i just started surfing recently... and even though i don't have a board of my own.. i was jsut wondering about fins... what's the difference between a board with 3 fins and a board with just one... what does it help do when you ride a wave...?

Without getting into complex fin set-ups....

Longboards normally have one big fin, while shortboards have a three fin (or 'thruster') set up.

The longboard/one fin set-up will be very stable, but tricky to turn (Im not saying it cant be done! Ive seen some stunning turns on longboards)

The shortboard/thruster set up will be very fast and manouevrable, but for a beginner - 'wobbly'

Mini-mals, which is probably what you should be learning on, have a compromise between thruster and longboard set up, so they're a good choice - quite stable, but can do turns.

The fin set-up also affects things like drive, but dont worry about that for now...

to add on to the above question....

how does a single fin shortboard (6'4") work? less stable but hard to turn? or more stable like the longboard but turns like the shorter?

If its a 'normal' size fin (for a shortboard) then it'll be super-loose

Or put it another way - wobbly, and slide out of the wave

Not suitable for a beginner...

How you turn them will be different.
Single fin - pivot point turn.
I hear a good single fin shortboard with a pin tail is good for tubes...

a single fin shortboard is usually designed much wider and thicker than a thruster, making it still very stable. depending on how good you are, you can still do everything on a single that you can a thruster. technique is everything

yeah, the single fin on my shorrboard is long, like 8-9"

i am definately a beginner, haven't taken it out much yet, not much surf lately it will be coming on me on a weekend trip this weekend though, so i will let you all know how it works out.

your right on the nose though...it is a wide thick pintail board - very retro-ish.im psyched to try it out though (although i think it will be a while before i start going for those tube rides).

sweet....got any pics? im about to shape one, i think it should be a great shape. have fun!

tommy

ps.- good to have you back

here are the pics https://surfing-waves.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3544

the nose is since fixed.

i have a question........

would a 6ft7 board be classed as a shortboard?

short answer yes