| Pioneer
Surfer and waterman, Wally Froiseth is one of
the first
people credited for putting a fin on a surfboard.
North Shore
surfers Mark Foo, Ken Bradshaw, Milton Willis,
Michael Willis, and Ace Cool helped prove 3 fin
thruster designs in waves over 25 ft.
Bob Simmons, early California
pioneer surf designer, was one of the first to
experiment with the 3 fins setup.
Twin
fin surfboards were introduced by Hawaiian Reno
Abellera
and later popularized by Australian Mark Richards,
who
went on to become 4-time world surfing champion.
Australian surfer and shaper,
Simon Anderson popularized the 3 fin setup he
called the "thruster" by winning the
prestigious Pipeline Masters as well as other
professional contests using his design.
Fins Unlimited's,
Bill Bahne of Encinitas, California, is credited
with pioneering the modern removable fin system.
An oversized fin is referred to
as a skeg.
Orginal
surfboards had no fins and were steered by the
surfer dragging one foot in the water.
Cheyne Horan, with input from
yacht race builder Ben Lexon, developed his wing
keel fin.
Endless
summer star, Mike Hynson, experimented with fins
that were modeled after the shape of a dolphin's
dorsel fin. Hynson also poularized the "Red
fin era".
Moving fin placement foward will
make a surfboard have a "looser" feeling.
A wide base fin, fin(s) that is placed further
back toward the tail, will make a surfboard have
a more positive feeling, or stiffer.
Popular
in Hawaii, during the 1980's, was Scott Bucknell's
X-fin design for high performance longboards.
Fin
placement is measured in 3 ways for multiple fin surfboard:
how far up from the tail, how far to tow in the fins,
and how far to cantor them out.
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