3 fins or single fin

shoulda got a quad mal

Not alot of information to go by but ......

First, having the 2+1 set up gives you lots of room to experiment with different fins and their positioning. It will take awhile to get the feel of the board and what works best for you but that in itself can be fun.

Second, people I know who have surfed mals for years swear by the "Fatboy" fin when surfing the board as a singlefin. Just Google it and you should find them pretty easy.

Last, talk to your shaper or retailer. Anyone worth their salt should steer you in the right direction.

Enjoy the slide.

because if you have 4 fins your pretty much guaranteed to surf like kelly slater. and you also lookl like a mad dawg walking down the beach with a quad.

Are you just learning Jim? This isn't a payout but I'm curious as it would help to give advice.

Basically fins create drag, so the more fins a board has the more drag it will create and the slower it will go in a straight line. Note the last point - in a straight line. Thrusters (3 fins) generate speed by allowing the rider to lift and push off the fins as they pump. The area of the fins - particularly the side fins - provide the resistance to push against.

This is why I was asking if you're just learning. If you're still learning to get to your feet then you don't have to bother with 3 fins. You need to concentrate on other aspects (balance, trim, reading the surf) before trying to generate speed. If you are a competent surfer you need to understand that longboards aren't really made to pump and generate speed - they're longboards after all, it's all style and trim - so a single fin will often suffice.

I live at a beach where there are a large amount of really great longboarders and perhaps only half ride thrusters. The rest get by on just one fin.

Hi Jim,

I think it depends on what surfing style you are going for and the conditions on the day.

I also have a 9'6 and it's a single fin traditional style board and made to ridden in that way.
I'm not a fan of the fat boy fin mentioned earlier, but each to their own, it's a good fin...
I like a fin with a wider base when riding single fins to lock in more when nose riding.

Then I've got a 9'1 which is a 2+1 set up. more of a performance longboard and better when conditions are a bit heavier / suckier.
That board has a cutaway centre fin in it for manoeuvrability.

If I were you I'd go out on a day when the surf is just how you like it and have half a session with the single fin and then whack the others in after an hour and see which you like best.

Hi Jim,

Like others have said, try both setups and see what you like best. Personally I prefer my 9'6" as a single fin.
About the only thing I can add to the conversation is that with (I presume) smaller side fins installed the 'turning' section of the board will be further forward. With the single fin only, and particularly if it's set back in its box toward the tail, you will be turning off the very back of the board. This can be cool when you are really familiar with the board as you can appear to "turn on a dime" very late and very critically using footwork or stall heavily to position a nose ride, but if learning, having the side fins will be more forgiving in turns. What's the shape like? Heavy and traditional?

brush the fins all together and buy a surf-o-plane. i hear they will be all the rage in the summer of 12/13

I have had a good experience with Josh at wetfins.com.au

I too was in the same situation as you and I didnt know what to do. I spoke to Josh at wetfins and he was so helpful and insightful.

I ordered a fin and I think I got it the next day, couldnt ask for much more!

give both setup's a go and convince yourself the difference...if your a beginner surfer then you probably wont notice any difference. sometimes im just too lazy to bother putting the other two fins in and just run with the centre on my minimal and it still rides great. it depends on the board, conditions, and your skill level. experimentation is the key...ride many different boards...find what you like.

MrsBradPitt, thankyou for the laughs.
thats was excellent.
for anyone wondering about single fins versus thrusters, the single fins are for kooks.
thrusters are better.
everyone on the pro tour uses them so they must be the best.
single fins are for hippies.

it's a 9'6" mal ...

3 fins ain't gunna make a pigs fart of difference from 1 fin.

go the single and dig the glide.

1963-malibu wrote:

MrsBradPitt, thankyou for the laughs.
thats was excellent.
for anyone wondering about single fins versus thrusters, the single fins are for kooks.
thrusters are better.
everyone on the pro tour uses them so they must be the best.
single fins are for hippies.

1963? malibu? you must be a hippie, or perhaps a hipster by now :-).
This is an old question but one beginners will always ask. Single or Thruster depends on how your board is shaped, what waves you have available and how you like to surf them. Learn to surf a bit on either fin set-up (it wont matter at the beginning like some others said), do some research, then experiment. It takes a while to find out what type of surfer you are and what you prefer in your equipment. The trend is for thrusters co's the groms wanna be like Kelly Slater, but thrusters are not better than singles - just different, for different purposes, style and technique.

stunet wrote:

Basically fins create drag, so the more fins a board has the more drag it will create and the slower it will go in a straight line. Note the last point - in a straight line.

You are referring to the angle of attack on the fins. the only time that the fins produce drag without making lift is when there is zero angle of attack and that only happens when surfing at right angles to the wave front i.e. straight down the wave. When a surfboard is going 'straight' in trim across the wave the fins are producing lift.

Carefull Roy!!! That's getting a little bit too Truthfull. Possibly a bit too big of a 'sprigg'.

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, tra la la la la la, la la la la

Tis the season to be jolly...

uplift wrote:

Carefull Roy!!! That's getting a little bit too Truthfull. Possibly a bit too big of a 'sprigg'.

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, tra la la la la la, la la la la

Tis the season to be jolly...

Lol Roy does not partake of the seasonal silliness, and how is it possible to be too truthful?

'how is it possible to be too truthful?'

Thats what Gallileo wondered Roy. For quite some time too. The 'family' has ways of doing... 'things' (so to speak). Ways of bonding, ways of cementing 'things' into place. Ways of keeping 'things' safe, protected. Ways of acting. Ways of keeping the hallowed halls 'legendary'. Of keeping them safe, nurturing places for 'family' 'legends'... Of 'creating', well, of underproducing halls of tunefull, gleefull kumbaya... for 'legends'. The Truth isn't exactly what they, 'the family' the 'legends' have in mind... so to speak. Out of sight, out of mind... so to speak. Nothing is worse for the 'family' than the sight of legends' 'strung' out to dry... strungerless 'legends'?

Whilst the boughs of holly, the boughs of 'Truth', deck the hallowed halls beautifully, the 'family' has different ideas about beauty. Too much 'Truth', perhaps 'over producing' Truth isn't one of them. The odd sprigg of Truth can be easily overlooked, explained away.

But you are right, there can't be too much Truth, the more the better. Well, there can't even be more. And hide it you might, but it's always there, there's always enough, decking away effortlessly.

Don't forget Piltdown either... the halls can be 'funny' places regarding Truth. The 'family' legends' living... perhaps closer to the Truth... hiding in the halls, can get a bit 'funny' about the Truth too. It can all be too much! What flamin' price is the Truth today?

Perhaps a bit of an underproduced ditty, but easy to strum along...

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, tra la la la la la, la la la la

Tis the season to be jolly...

There is always a bit of Piltdown action going on Lifty. Way of the world.

Too much Truth?

Many people don't like it. Many identify with the total opposite, rely on the fibs in the hallowed halls, and so are easily lost, and panic easily. Some are even experts at exploiting that.

Lookout girly!!! Ssshhhhh Roy!!!

No denying the voice though. Truly beautiful.

One thing worth remembering, the Truth never changes, never goes anywhere, way of the world or not. You can count on that. Worth remembering that. Saying and counting on aren't the same though. Like the gym. Knowing what to do is one thing, but, you have to do it.