Sponges and some bellyboards are finless. What about kneeboards or surfboards? Why would that work for laying down but not the others? Has anyone ever seriously tried that? If yes, then what kind of rail shape (shapes?) can take the place of regular-type fins? Are there articles or links on this subject? Great forum! Thanks in advance.
If you want to lay down and hug your rail, then take off your fins!! But if you take your weight off the rail you’ll slide all the way to the beach. The fins are there so when you lean your board into a turn the rail doesn’t pop out, as a lot of the forces exerted by the water are wanting to push the board out of the water. I guess it transfers the force into controllable forward motion along the wave instead of uncontrollable towards the beach. I’d love to see a finless board, but I have a feeling the bottom configuration would somehow resemble a fin in some way.
Those are stupid questions. No one now should want to regress to going finless! That was for olden times when surfers werent smart enough to think of them. I wonder why they just didnt take a look at fish! DOH!!!
The finless boards in the water that really perform are high performance boogie boards. I’ve seen them ridden at Pipeline. The other one is Dale Solomonson’s surf mat. Granted these are surfboards in the true sense of the word but they are very high performance finless surfcraft and must not be overlooked as very progress creations. Once you stand up on the object you riding and raise the center of gravity fins become imperative. Off to the fin shop, Rich
two words-hot curl…
When you are lying down there is an amount of your body that is draging in the water and you use it to create turns by forcing drag when and where needed, simple as that. That is why you dont need fins. KR http://groups.msn.com/MyKRSurf/yourwebpage.msnw
finless surfboards that haul asssss…
“Hot Curl: surfboard history”, by Craig Stecyk The Surfer`s Journal, Volume 3 NO. 2 - Summer 1994 
Hot Curls, 1940-51 In Hawai`i, use of Hot Curl surfboards had risen to the point that it was the board of choice amongst surfers wanting a piece of the big stuff. Hot Curl usage continued through the 1940s and on into the mid-1950s. “Rabbit really started this style that they call hotdogging,” said Californian Joe Quigg, who moved to the islands a little after the war. “In the summer, Queen’s would get overhead and Rabbit would be inside of the tube hanging five with no fin and his back arched. All you would see was this flying green blur visible through the lip of the wave. He’d do it over and over again, always with precision.” “The Island kids were doing amazing things on all kinds of their finless boards, but no one ever gave them credit,” underscored Quigg. "Rabbit would come flying out of the section, stomp on the tail real hard and stand the board straight up on its tail and bring it down on a different angle and then run to the nose and take off in another direction… “We got our board’s length coming down, really trimmed with four inch tails and pointed nose, and brought in to like 18 or 19 inches. They were pointers like the modern day gun, that’s how we had our boards. Redwood plants with a V tail. for the big ones at Makaha, where we used to go a lot, we’d go out with the width to 20 or 20 1/2 inches. At Makaha, you’d drop in, point and go… make it through the bowl and do cutbacks and S turns on the inside. At Queen’s when we used to, ya know, get the hotdog deal going, my board was like 7 or 7 1/2’, sometimes up to 9’. I used to write ‘Chi-Chi Bobo’ on them.” “At its apex in the mid-1940s,” wrote C.R. Stecyk, “there were around thirty- five top flight practitioners of the art of hot curl surfing. Names which still inspire respect among the cognizant include: Mongo Kalahiki, Richard Kauo, Blackie Makahena, John Kelly, Jr., Rabbit Kekai, Smokey Lew, Hyah Aki, Louis Hemma, Squirrely, Fran Heath, Jonah Hemma, Snookie Whaley, George Downing, Black Dan, Eugene Kaupiko, Blackout Whaley, Wally Froiseth, Small Sam, Woody Brown, Dickie Cross… The complete absence of any surf media during the hot curl period was further compounded by the Island’s remoteness and World War II, all of which served to make the movement invisible to a greater audience. Furthermore the hot curl aficionados favored restricted entry (i.e. clan controlled) surf spots and often frequented the jucier breaks which were located farther out.” http://www.legendarysurfers.com/surf/legends/ls10z_hotcurls.html 
I think I’ve seen a Velzy hot curl that he’d done in foam. Now that would be an interesting rider. Talk about a classic.
Thanks Scratch. I’ll probably never get to use one, but looks like more fun than a fat penguin!!! http://www.xxxseduction.net/Rosalind/
Sorry, that is definitely not my url contact. Must get this guys computer cleaned. Needs a brainwash! http://www.art-5.com/
and what does Gee Dub mean???
and why does he keep posting those porn sites?
Gee Dub… What does anything mean??? And I’m trying to get rid of this crap. Someones attacking me with porn infiltration and I’m computer illiterate. AAAAAHHHHhhhhh… Bear with me, please. http://www.art-5.com/