Partially to bring something up aside from spam posts, and partially because I am curious. NWSD has a good looking board i’ve been interested in Card
But im not sure how well singles will perform in oregon? I love the feeling of projection and glide they provide, but realistically im probably not good enough to make some of the harder sections when the waves aren’t perfect. And in Oregon they only get perfect a select amount of times per year. So to anyone with a larger knowledge of this style of board, any recommendations? I don’t have a lot of spare cash to burn so getting the right board to advance on that I won’t regret buying is very important.
albacore - I like and ride single fin surfboards, and I also ride and like a lot of quad surfboards. I don’t surf a lot of beach break waves, so I’ll just respond with generalities to get the conversation started.
First of all, single fins have been ridden, and ridden well, in every type of wave there is. Thrusters were developed for a certain style of competition surfing that has become the standard for modern performance surfing, but that doesn’t in any way negate the effectiveness of single fin surfboards.
To hedge your bets, the common approach is to add fin plugs for sidebites. You could even use a small fin in your single box, and with sidebites make the board a thruster. You can also add quad plugs to a single fin, which allows many fin configuration options.
Singles are fun, and good surfboards. If you surf like a pro, or aspire to surf like a pro, then you’re probably gonna be happier with a thruster setup. But even a lot of pro’s ride quads on certain occasions, and some of them still ride singles too, so I think that if you are drawn to the shape you posted, you shouldn’t let your apprehensions scare you off. Just add some plugs for more options, and go for it.
I think all along I knew this. I was just hoping to hear someone else say it and you did exactly that, so thanks! I am not drawn towards the modern thruster set up for style or surf approach reasons, but rather the notion I seem to hear with their ability to create and produce speed without being in the sweet spot of a wave. I didn’t think about adding some plugs and I may have to do so if I feel the single fin isn’t working all the time. Thanks again, I think I will go through with this!
if you’re ordering this, you could probably have the maker add the sidebite plugs. But if you want to add them yourself later, there is plenty of good information and helpful people here to get you through the process. Or you could take the board to a local shaper and have it done professionally.
Contact Dave Town, in Bend, Or., who posts here under his own name. Order a thick foiled fin from him, for use in a 10 1/2 inch FU box. Don’t doubt me.
I’ve made about a dozen short singlefins over the years and without exception I always ended up going back and adding sidebites. I even did it on the McCoy-style mashup I did. They’re fun in very specific situations but they’re not at all versatile.
IMO, the difference between a singlefin vs a twin or other multifin setup is that with a single you will be going with the wave - which can either be a great thing or a horrible thing depending on how good the wave itself is. By contrast, a multi-fin gives you the additional option of making your own energy and doing so on different parts of the wave and throughout your turns.
If you’re making your own board (which is what Sways is all about) then my advice is to go ahead and make a singlefin but stick to a simple flat-to-vee bottom. Surf that for a few months to get the hang of it, because it will teach you a fair bit about style and looking further down the line to plan your approach more in advance. It’ll be a good experience for you and will influence how you surf your multifin boards, too.
Then if you get bored (which I always did) you can add sidebites later on. Just make sure that when you add the tailpatch for the finbox that you cut it large enough to also reinforce the area where the sidebites will go later on.
Well that is kind of what appeals to me in many ways about single fin surfboards. Using and utilizing the wave. Going with it and doing what you can with what it gives you. I think it provides not only a (this may sound cliche, but to me its a real experience) spiritual or out of body experience to be harnessing the waves energy as it is given to you. But as you said G, it will also improve your surfing. It teaches you to read the wave and react to it. I think I have sold myself on this one. I will probably get the bites for the sake of choices, and killing 2 birds with one stone.
All and all I think any surfer who rides more than just a thruster or just any one type of board has the right idea. Expanding ones quiver is always a good idea and sometimes you find that magic carpet out of something you would have never thought to look. I have a board that has one Single Fin box with a quad option as well. This board was shaped by ACE in Ocean Beach San Diego. I would say this is my magic carpet board. works well as a single and love it as a quad. Riding a single fin is really fun and challenges you to use your rails more than it does on a thruster. Don’t get me wrong I love all boards.
I have a lot of single fins, but I found that I prefer shorter boards side side fins. I don’t know the dimensions of that board, but it looks like something that would be great with 5 boxes. The wider rounder tail would be great as a quad, but having the 5 boxes would let you try it with so many other combinations. The large single and small sidebites is a fun combination too, but I’m moving the sidebites more inline with the single.
All of these boards are between 5-10 and 6-6 and started out as single fins. I liked them much better after I added side boxes. I converted several to quads when quads were becoming popular. I found that I could get much more drive off the bottom.
Once I get to 7’ or longer singles are great. For me, they work better with a straighter rail line in the tail and with the wide point noticeably forward of the center.
"Riding a single fin is really fun and challenges you to use your rails more than it does on a thruster. "
“Once I get to 7’ or longer singles are great. For me, they work better with a straighter rail line in the tail and with the wide point noticeably forward of the center.”
Two comments saying basically the same thing - singles seem to work better at longer lengths and are more about the rail and less about the fin. I always have at least a couple singlefins around but they’re always in the longer lengths.
I have yet to ride a single that is over 6" (not counting longboards) , I think it would be fun to get my hands on one that is of a retro era… my quad to single is 5’8 and surfs really well even though it has a shorter rail line, with that said it does have diamond tail which helps with stability.
