Surfing With no fins!

Questions and answers for those needing help or advice when learning to surf, improving technique or just comparing notes.

Surfing With no fins!

Postby Johno » Wed Oct 01, 2008 12:25 pm

Just a quick one, My girlfirend has never surfed so at the weekend am going to try teach her a bit!

Av got a 7 9 bic and was thinking of taking the fins off because am petrifiyed of them wacking here and causing a nasty injery.

I expect i will only be pushing her onto foameys etc (no turns) so was woundering if the board would surf ok with no fins

I fink it will but just wanted to check

cheers all

Johno
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Postby oldgrom » Wed Oct 01, 2008 1:11 pm

Come on man!!??... NO fins ???? Where is the stability the fins create and if it's in white wash whats the worry?? A board sliding all around can cause just as bad of an ouch on the noggin/face. If my 3 yr old can do it with fins I think your girl can do it, have more confidence in her. I started my wife and she said F the white water and paddled strait to the green, HA HA shocked me !!! But she's a trooper and going for it , with all the risks it has with it. If you want a no fin board get a body board.
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Postby tree4 » Wed Oct 01, 2008 1:34 pm

Have to agree with oldgrom. Big up the GF and tell her you have lots of confidence in her and she deserves a proper board.

BTW. Nice van. Is that a Funky Leisure sun canopy on it? Seems identical to mine.
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Postby Johno » Wed Oct 01, 2008 2:13 pm

Na its a cheep and nasty tarporlin from B an Q!

The fin thing have you ever been cut by a fin! av had a gash in my groin and me mate got 3 cuts on his chest from landing on the fins.

If she did hert her self at this stage sheed proberly never give it a go again
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Postby tree4 » Wed Oct 01, 2008 2:26 pm

Johno wrote:av had a gash in my groin

:shock:
Now I understand your concern.

I guess if you don't mind you could start without and then fit the fins later.
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Postby twerked » Wed Oct 01, 2008 4:03 pm

umm, you NEED fins. the back end is gonna be squirrely and all over the place, just making it harder for her. ever try doing a reverse take off on a longboard? the board just spins around. i've been cut by fins, and yes it sucks, but you gotta just take it and be more careful. if we did our surf lessons with boards minus fins, there would be no customers shredding. just tell her to be smart, come up out of the water with hands over your head/in front of your face. jump away from the board if you're falling off. common sense stuff. or you can buy those pro-tec fins with the softer edges.
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Postby oldgrom » Wed Oct 01, 2008 4:47 pm

How about getting some rubber fins or taking a file to the sharp edges?? She is after all gonna need fins at some point right?? You can allso start her out with no leash therfore the board leaves away clean. Yes It sucks chasing a board but look at your options. No fins is a bad idea. If it has removable fins at least keep the center keel fin.
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Postby greypump » Wed Oct 01, 2008 6:35 pm

Rent a softboard as the fins on them tend to be a bit more flexible and less likely to do any damage. Only cost you a wee bit for hire but would save your worries. Agree with old grom though - the board will be sliding around something daft and it will make life lots harder for her - she might never want to try it again if she can;t get to her feet?

Best of luck.
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Postby parrysurf » Wed Oct 01, 2008 10:18 pm

http://www.grindtv.com/video/surf/Jamie ... REAK_SHOW/

1:10 jamie o surfing no fins

She needs fins....tell her to get over the fear.
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Postby twerked » Thu Oct 02, 2008 12:26 am

^uhhh...that's some insane ish
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Postby kitesurfer » Thu Oct 02, 2008 7:15 am

Johno wrote:The fin thing have you ever been cut by a fin! av had a gash in my groin and me mate got 3 cuts on his chest from landing on the fins.

If she did hert her self at this stage sheed proberly never give it a go again


Yep ive been cut by my fins. Problem is with no fins is your girlfriend just isn't going to get to grips with it at all as the board will have no directional stability and she'll more than likely get so frustrated with lack of progress that she'll give up anyway.
Go and buy yourself some protec fins. They are rubber edged and won't be able to cut your girlfriend.

KS
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Postby Johno » Thu Oct 02, 2008 12:23 pm

Cheers all for your advise i will keep the fins,

Can you get rubber fins for a BIC????
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Postby kitesurfer » Thu Oct 02, 2008 1:28 pm

Johno wrote:Cheers all for your advise i will keep the fins,

Can you get rubber fins for a BIC????


I thought they already were! :wink:

This one is for bic boards.

Image

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Postby oldgrom » Thu Oct 02, 2008 3:39 pm

Good call Johno on keeping the fins !!! It loks to be pritty unanimous on the keep the fins choice from all here. The odds of her getting nailed with the fins is way way low so don't stress over it and for sure don't spell any fears you might hold to her or she'll go into it with predetermined fear of fins and not focus on the true task at hand. You'll/she'll will be fine so just go have some fun. It's ok to be fearfull or cautious (good trait) but don't go overboard if ya know what I mean after all she could cut herself with a knife cooking or trip on a curb and fall or??? So your concern is warrented yes but over cautious as well, besides women are way tougher than ya might think !!!! ever try popen out a kid???? If they can handle that a knock in the head with fins is small potatoes.HA. Good Luck,Have Fun and let us know how your trip went.
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