Difference between retro fish and kneeboard

bc11 · June 10, 2011, 5:13am

I’ve seen some boards listed for sale as kneeboards that look exactly like the current retro fish shapes. Even the sizes are similar (5’8" to about 6’2") and around 3" thick.

What are the major differences between the two (if there are any)?

surfhack · June 10, 2011, 5:44am

I’m no expert, but I think the original fish was shaped by Steve Lis (a kneeboarder) as a kneeboard, but was subsequently ridden stand up by others.

kneelorob · June 10, 2011, 8:07pm

Just to add perspective, I know all about Glen Winton but the kneeboard community glommed onto them in the mid 80s, the Surfer community had a love affair with the Thruster that didn’t let anything else in. That has changed in the last 10 years.

luis · June 10, 2011, 7:38pm

the differences between fishes and kneeboards is the wide point and the center of gravity of the board;

wildy · June 10, 2011, 7:58pm

Quads actually were taken seriously well over 10 years ago... Glen Winton and John Mills immediately come to mind... in Aus anyway...

kneelorob · June 10, 2011, 5:26pm

Well I can speak to a Quad Kneeboard Fish which can come in sizes up to 6’3" or so.

A older twin fin fish kneeboard were never made in that upper range of size, it would be too much…5’8 or 5’10" would max out the design.
Fin positioning is further up the tail at appx. 9" for the rear set, appx. 15" for the front set
fin bases are longer than usually used or available for standups.

Front set 5.0" base, rear 3.75"

widths are at 22-23" wide

Those dims are distinguishing features right off the bat.

Further kneeboarders were riding Fishes longer than anyone else.
Steve Lis invented the twin fin fish kneeboard…yada yada yada, but kneeboarders as a whole
didnt abandon the twin fin fish as a whole until the middle 80’s when they went to Quads(Fishes and all tail designs) and stuck with
them to this day. Notice quads have been taken seriously by standup surfing in the last decade, but not before.
Kneeboarders also ride Thrusters , but their own version of them, the fin cluster is similarly moved way up the tail.

hannya · June 11, 2011, 5:35pm

IMO a retro fish is a name given to fish type boards shaped in the last ten years (maybe?) Most fish type boards were ridden by kneeboarders. The fish was designed as a kneeboard. Some of my stand up friends liked riding my fishes as stand up short boards kind of like David Nuuiiwa spelling? Some stand ups didn’t like the transition from rail to rail of such a wide tailed twin fin board. Some chose to add a trailer center fin others narrowed the tail of the board. The retro fish is a board shaped for the stand up crowd. Modern kneeboards tend to be longer and wider than the retro fish of today. Fin placement are totally different from a stand up boards on some types of kneeboards. Those are known as fins forward or Aussie style. I’m not sure if someone could stand up surf a fins forward board. His back foot would be behind the fins about six inches. Quad fish kneeboards have been working for me since the early eighties, I have been using twin fin fishes since the early seventies. Check out these sites to see what modern kneeboards look like ksusa.org legless.tv

Aloha Hannya

red_boards · June 16, 2011, 12:09am

They are pretty much the same (I’m talking the historic Lis style here) - kneeboarders and kneeboarding have changed. There are still some kneeboarders who ride classic-style fishes (with the flat rocker, hefty rails and wide nose and tail), but they tend to be “old school” kneeboarders who are into drawing lines. Actually one of the kneeboarders (who has a ton of respect for his big-wave balls) rides a fish. Kneeboarding in general has moved to rail length with fin clusters pushed well forward.

However, If you buy a more modern kneeboard fish you may find increased rocker, fins further forward, refined rails, and thinner tail than you’d expect to see in a stand-up version.

sdrepairman · June 16, 2011, 12:25am