What are the advantages of a single fin midlenth(seven to eight foot) as opposed to a thruster?
What are the advantages of a single fin midlenth(seven to eight foot) as > opposed to a thruster? It’s all very subjective… This is why I prefer a single: It holds a higher line in steep fast waves…Doesn’t get wobbly going real fast…Is smoother…and, It doesn’t require you to be a ‘pumpin’ monkey’ to make it go… As I’ve said before…On a thruster you ride the board, on a single fin you ride the wave…Just my opinion…It all works… Paul
It’s all very subjective… This is why I prefer a single:>>> It holds a higher line in steep fast waves…Doesn’t get wobbly going real > fast…Is smoother…and, It doesn’t require you to be a ‘pumpin’ monkey’ > to make it go…>>> As I’ve said before…On a thruster you ride the board, on a single fin > you ride the wave…Just my opinion…It all works…>>> Paul With a single fin, you can use more rail in a turn, and with a board over 7 feel long, you have more rail available to use…so use it! It’s cubic inches of power gone to waste on a multiple fin board.
With a single fin, you can use more rail in a turn, and with a board over > 7 feel long, you have more rail available to use…so use it! It’s cubic > inches of power gone to waste on a multiple fin board. I try to stay out of design theory discussions because so much of it is really a matter of choice.I talk to a lot of people here and there and it is obvious that single fins are making a huge comeback.That should tell you something.When Rusty,Al and the other media reckognized shapers jump in it will be a new deal all together.The small builders are slowly gaining momentum so we will see different things.I can remember being a part of the generation that went short and in essence put the biggies out of business…maybe its a new revolution.
So much of the way a board responds to how it is finned has to do with its outline, bottom, and rail configuration in addition to the surf conditions that making general statements about which fin combination will works best on a mid length board is just to general a question to answer. I have an 8’0"x21.25" that I’ve surfed single, twin and tri. It works well all three ways but wave conditions dictate which one’s the most fun and after all that’s the bottom line isn’t it? My suggestion is to just get out of the box and try different things. That’s why fin boxes were invented it seems to me. Trying different combination is invariably educational and can’t help but make one a better surfer. I continue to discover some very interesting things along my way. The world of fin development is a long way from being over. Don’t be afraid to try something a little different, singles included. You may be pleasantly surprised. Mahalo, Rich
I would have to agree with Rich… It all has to do with what you like to ride. I ride real small rip sticks and 9 foot plus tanker single fins… I don’t really ride mid range boards but if i did i would ridw a 7’ tri but i would ride a 8’ single fin. and if it fell between like a 7’6??? Bonzer maybe?? I just think you will get Tanker single fin longboarders going single and guys that ride thin light HPLB would lean more towards tri mid range boards… It comes down to what fit’s your style… It’s like 10 foot tri longboards to me i don’t get it??? It’s hard to ride a 10 foot 23" wide tank rail to rail when you have all that rail to turn??? So in a nut shell i think as mid range boards get bigger then you may want a single… If they are in the say 6’9 to 7’4 i would think tri would be the call. I really need to work on my mid range size range designs this spring/summer… I know i’ll do both…>>> So much of the way a board responds to how it is finned has to do with > its outline, bottom, and rail configuration in addition to the surf > conditions that making general statements about which fin combination will > works best on a mid length board is just to general a question to answer. > I have an 8’0"x21.25" that I’ve surfed single, twin and tri. It > works well all three ways but wave conditions dictate which one’s the most > fun and after all that’s the bottom line isn’t it? My suggestion is to > just get out of the box and try different things. That’s why fin boxes > were invented it seems to me. Trying different combination is invariably > educational and can’t help but make one a better surfer. I continue to > discover some very interesting things along my way. The world of fin > development is a long way from being over. Don’t be afraid to try > something a little different, singles included. You may be pleasantly > surprised.>>> Mahalo, Rich http://surfnwsc.com
What are the advantages of a single fin midlenth(seven to eight foot) as > opposed to a thruster? While watching old footage of Malibu during the Hippie era(early seventies), Jay Riddle is pulling tail 360’s on his egg looking single fin. Viewing this, even got a rise out of some teenage air nazi rippers that were watching with me! The fact that Riddle still looks handsome and articulate ‘now’, fueled my “back in the day” speech to these young scrutinizers, who think ‘Slater’ invented radical manuvers. A good dose of 70’s Terry Fitgerald after that had me in my gym doing bench presses with these new school posers(by then i was talking sh@t, Fitz’s looks/style in the early 70’s were without a doubt the pinnicle(no gay sh@t here either!) . The look, style, flow, lifestyle, physical stature of these early unpaid magazine hero’s has kept me strong all these years. We all need to PAY ATTENTION and REPRESENT! Get off the Longboard and the Carbohydrates. When you tell someone “yeah I’m a surfer”, you represent an athlete that is part of a culture that most people can’t even start to wish they were part of. If I see another pot-bellied Longboarder smoking in the beach parking lot finishing his quart of coffee I’m going to cry. Some of you will understand…
I just went through this, after making my first shortboard single fin (6’3"). Not only is it about how you want to ride the wave but more importantly for me is what the waves have to offer the rider. I’ve finished the board several months ago and have only had a handful of good sessions on it. Living in FL and dealing with slow moving wind swell mostly, the days when the design elements of the board can be utilized are few and far between. It might just be me, having ridden thrusters most of my surfing life but groveling in crap surf trying to figure out a board sucks. All I am saying is take into consideration your local break and design accordingly. I had always wanted to try a board like this and when I got the opportunity to look at one and work off it, I went for it. Normally I have a frame of reference on a design and go from there. This time I just jumped in, lesson learned. That is what I get for watching shelter one too many times. Good luck.
I just went through this, after making my first shortboard single fin > (6’3"). Not only is it about how you want to ride the wave but more > importantly for me is what the waves have to offer the rider. I’ve > finished the board several months ago and have only had a handful of good > sessions on it. Living in FL and dealing with slow moving wind swell > mostly, the days when the design elements of the board can be utilized are > few and far between.>>> It might just be me, having ridden thrusters most of my surfing life but > groveling in crap surf trying to figure out a board sucks.>>> All I am saying is take into consideration your local break and design > accordingly. I had always wanted to try a board like this and when I got > the opportunity to look at one and work off it, I went for it. Normally I > have a frame of reference on a design and go from there. This time I just > jumped in, lesson learned. That is what I get for watching shelter one too > many times. Good luck. I had the exact same experience, except in reverse. Rather than FLA beach breaks I’m, in SoCal point wave territory. When I’d had enough of the longboard (at 8’6" a local shop owner once told me that wasn’t so much a longboard as it was a girl’s board) I got a 7’10" midlength tri fin. It was my leap of faith. Middies were just starting to come out, singles unheard of under 9 foot in length, and I wanted to give “smaller” thrusters another go. It turns out that I would have been much happier on a single, probably just because that’s what I did most of my short board surfing on. The 7’10" feels like a shortboard, or at least a non-longboard, but is totally reliant on pumping etc. for any solid feeling…exactly what I asked for, actually. That bumps the whole thing back to what Paul said earlier about riding the board or riding the wave. While it isn’t my favorite board in the water I’ve learned more about my own surfing from owning and riding it. Maybe 3 fin boxes is the best choice for the initial step into mid-lengths.
What are the advantages of a single fin midlenth(seven to eight foot) as > opposed to a thruster? For the thruster design to work best, your back foot has to be directly above or just in front of the fin cluster. Once you begin to lengthen the board or add area to the front third of the outline (egg or fish outline) you move the sweet spot away from the fin cluster. The benefits of the thruster design then start to break down. The single fin is less dependent on foot placement as you use the rail (if designed properly) more than the thruster. Therefore moving the sweet spot around has less affect on the riding characteristics. You can make a longer board work with a cluster but you will need bigger waves to achieve the same riding characteristics (Hawaiian guns and semi-guns). The “big boy” thrusters will work because the sweet spot is still at the rear of the board. Tri-fin eggs, though, are so compromised that they usually have none of the beneficial aspects of either the egg outline or the thruster’s responsiveness. Longboard tri’s have enough planing area that they can overcome the drag of toe-in tri-fin clusters when trimming. Newbs
I just went through this, after making my first shortboard single fin > (6’3"). Not only is it about how you want to ride the wave but more > importantly for me is what the waves have to offer the rider. I’ve > finished the board several months ago and have only had a handful of good > sessions on it. Living in FL and dealing with slow moving wind swell > mostly, the days when the design elements of the board can be utilized are > few and far between.>>> It might just be me, having ridden thrusters most of my surfing life but > groveling in crap surf trying to figure out a board sucks.>>> All I am saying is take into consideration your local break and design > accordingly. I had always wanted to try a board like this and when I got > the opportunity to look at one and work off it, I went for it. Normally I > have a frame of reference on a design and go from there. This time I just > jumped in, lesson learned. That is what I get for watching shelter one too > many times. Good luck. I am also infected by the shelter retro aspect and planning to shape a single fin. has anyone some input on dimension of the retrostyle boards the guys (tudor, machado, frankenreiter etc.) are riding in that vid. thanks & ride on Zimbo
What are the advantages of a single fin midlenth(seven to eight foot) as > opposed to a thruster? This tread has got my curiosity. I have a 7’6" FCS-plug thruster and would like to try it as a single. Question: are there large enough FCS fins to use as a single? (haven’t check the shops yet) And, I would assume that if there are, that the plugs would hold-up under the additional load? or am I completely off my rocker?
The trailing fin on a thruster-type cluster is probably too far back towards the tail for use as a single.
I spent $50 and had a glasser retrofit a 10" box into a board like that. They use a router to remove the fcs plugs. The plugs are slightly wider than the box so the edge of the plug patches are visible when you’re done. Worked good for me though, now the board is totally versatile. Ride on. Dan
The trailing fin on a thruster-type cluster is probably too far back > towards the tail for use as a single. Thanks Newb, I think your right.
I spent $50 and had a glasser retrofit a 10" box into a board like > that. They use a router to remove the fcs plugs. The plugs are slightly > wider than the box so the edge of the plug patches are visible when you’re > done. Worked good for me though, now the board is totally versatile. Ride > on.>>> Dan Thanks Dan, Good idea.
I don’t think any of the small FCS fin templates would work as a single. FCS once made long center fins with 4 tabs at the base. Don’t know if they’re still making them. I haven’t seen any around in a long time. Recently they started making standard center fins that fit the FU Bahne box. Their web page has been down. I hear rumour that they’re making changes to their fin system. Who knows?
I jumped on the FCS single fin bandwagon when they first came out. I bought one of their jigs for the plug setup. 6 in a row grouped tight together (so close you have to remove the little arm things that stick out of the top of the plug). The fin has 4 tabs on it, so you could move it forward or back two plugs. The installation is easy the problem was, too much fin with not enough support at the base. With a 8 or 9" fin pulling it out of the plugs or snapping at the base was way too easy. The distributor near me does not even sell them anymore and is only selling remaining inventory. If you really wanted to try a single you could route a fin box in your board or better yet find an old used single fin and take her home.
There’s always glass-on’s!
There’s always glass-on’s! Single fin boards have to be tuned (moved up or back)to get maximum performance. Unless your shaper or glasser really knows the design, the surfer’s style and waves they’ll be riding, they are glassing the fin on a spot where “it looks right”. A quarter of an inch fore or aft can make a star out of a dog or vise-versa.