comprehend. An integral, often overlooked, part of surfboard design is
the fin. Board choice is often crucial to how much enjoyment you will
derive from certain conditions. The same is true with fin choice. Here
we've gathered information on fin dynamics, fin facts and fin descriptions
to help you make the right choice. This Fin Guide was compiled through
extensive research (both academic and field) as well as understanding
gained from oral histories. Special thanks to Barry Haun and The Surfing Heritage Foundation.
Click on the links at the bottom of the page to learn more. Disclaimer:
This is not a difinitive source. If you have any input or can note any
discrepancies please contact us.
Fin History
Before the Fin came into use, surfers would have to hang their
back foot off the board to stabilize it while turning. Tom Blake (pictured above) is
credited with having put the first fin on a surfboard. Thanks to Tom
and also to all of the boat and watercraft designers that preceded him.
As the story goes, Blake took the keel off of a small speed boat that
had washed up on the beach, he then took that keel and attached it to
the bottom of one of his boards, thus the skeg was born (circa 1935
Waikiki, Hawaii). The original fin that Blake used was metal and
approximately 12" long and 4" deep, even this made a monumental
difference in the feel of the board. It took the skeg several years to
catch on, but it did, and then other surfers started to make
innovations.
George Greenough
Experimentation has played a large part in the evolution of the fin;
even Blake tested different templates and materials. The next great
advance in fin design happened in the '60s when George Greenough took
his observations of the tail of the Blue Fin Tuna and applied them to
fins for his kneeboards. These fins were high aspect and closter to the
templates that
we ride today than the skeg and it showed dramatically in the riding of
the waves. This fin development coincided with the shortboard
revolution and the rest is history. The '70s mark the golden era of
board and fin design. In the early '70s a longboard salvaged from a
cave, by a young Steve Lis and Stan Pleskunas, was cut in half to make
two blanks. One of those shapes gave life to the keel finned fish. The
Campbell Brothers (Duncan and Malcom) designed the Bonzer, the first
board with 3 finds (and later the 5 fin bonzer). Mark Richards brought
us the twinnie in the late '70s and in the early '80s Simon Anderson
created the 3 finned thruster, the design used by most professional
competition surfers. There is still a lot of research and
experimentation going into fin design and some of the players mentioned
above, among others, are still pushing the envelope.
Click below to find out more about fins.
