If the fin is set back far enough will there be enough hold for the steeper more hollow waves? Obviously anything can be ridden if the rider is good enough, but for the sake of discussion…
ill just leave this here
Right. No one ever rode deep in the tube before the thruster was invented. Those were dark times, indeed.
Im not arguing that they can’t. We all know sprout, and other movies proves that they can do it. But not every wave is perfect and chop free like in surf movies. And not all surfers are professional level. I have seen many videos with surfers not making a wave that the modern thruster/quad probably would have been able too. What im looking for is how viable the single fin actually is to make the steeper and more hollow waves that may require you to make your own speed. I’ve seen it done, but anything can be done with a good enough surfer.
Thread’s not making sense.
I think the OP answered his own question twice , its not the board its the surfer . so many surfers are looking for that something to make up for the skill that they do not possess ,
First you asked about hold…
Then speed…
Then creating ones own speed? (How does one do this?)
could you post a couple of these video clips? might help us to understand what you’re referring to.
If the board is designed as a single fin, it should work in any kind of surf. The tail shape is usually a little different from a thruster, and you ride it differently. You can generate speed on any board if know how they work. Singles are nice because they don’t lose speed when you are gliding along. A hard bottom turn on a single fin will send you flying, and you can pump a single fin but it reacts differently.
Look up Terry Fitzgerald and see how he rides a single back in the '70s. Videos of Nat Young from the '70s is good to study too. Nat had a beautiful style.
i dont think the OP has been in the barrel before. haha JK
but in all seriousness yes the videos and what not you have seen the surfers indeed are very good and the waves generally “perfect”. WHen talking about barrels well it is usually perfect conditions that make barrels work. Anyway regardless of skill of the riders the examples you have seen, are single fins performing just fine in barreling conditions.
wayne lynch
Starting around the 2 minute mark. I don’t know why I need to post references I am sure you have seen this many times… Starting to regret asking this question as I did already kinda know the answer.
I reckon if you’d given Jerry Lopez a modern thruster to surf on back in the day he would have been getting deeper tubes. I’m not taking anything away from his accomplishments at Pipeline, indeed it is a joy to watch those old clips of him. I just reckon he would have been getting deeper on a thruster. It would be interesting to see JJF on an old Jerry Lopez single out at Pipe. Our maybe Mason Ho since he’s used to riding longer boards out there.
That would be correct, I Haven’t. However for someone looking to get into their first it would be nice to know if it is doable for the intermediate surfer using a single when the waves aren’t perfect. A little chop, the barrel has closing sections, etc. I really prefer the single to a thruster so I guess I just need to keep trying and going for it and eventually it will happen. I understand that the correct conditions are needed, but you can have non perfect barrels with rather good conditions. For example closing sections, choppy/boils, lack of Drainers going for 20-50+ meters because I live in Oregon and we rarely get conditions to produce such a wave, let alone a barrel for longer than 5 meters. I get it… I shouldn’t have asked the question I already know the answer. Its possible but only for a good surfer. Only if the wave is right. Only if they are on the right board. Only if timmy woke up on the right side of the bed.
Horses for courses Albacore.
If you’re an intermediate surfer who has grown surfing thrusters only then you will require some adjustment to your technique to surf a single fin but it should be no problem - as long as you don’t try to surf it like a thruster.
Speaking very, very generally a single will be more passive than reactive like a thruster. A single will not be as versatile in all kinds of waves and conditions as a thruster will be for you. - some may disagree with me on this.
But in waves of quality (hollow or not) that do not require you to “work” your way from start to end, they will give you a purity of line and feeling that a thruster cannot offer you.
sharkcountry spells it out pretty well.
The real breakthrough in deep tube positioning was the shorter board. Films and photos from the longboard era depict people getting “deep” in positions that are now considered rather tame. Once boards became small enough to fit in a tube better, the only limit was the rider.
The biggest difference between single fins and thrusters is how you apply your weight. Thrusters are more of a back foot design, where singles are more neutral and even a bit more front foot oriented when not engaged in a hard turn.
I hope your single fin surfboard has an FU box in it. If it does, you should contact DAVE TOWN (Bend, Or.) here on Swaylock’s, and have him make a thick foiled fin for you. With such a fin, you will tap more of the waves energy, resulting in greater board speed, allowing you to take off much deeper than you normally would. Trust me on this.
You are correct. Deeper and more turning, adjustment etc. in the tube
Jim Banks a very well respected Board builder from Australia and Bali builds a couple of single fin boards for Surfing Indo waves. With modern rockers and better rail designs and bottom contours there isn’t anything I can see that would prevent a better average Surfer from getting barreled on a modern single fin board. Of course there are some different skills involved like learning to trust your rails.