THE SINGLE FIN
Clean lines and smooth, free-flowing turns are a single fin’s forte, and that’s what we’re into here at Thomas Surfboards. Our longboards are typically designed for small to medium waves and in these circumstances, a single fin allows for the most control and stability and least amount of drag.
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SO WHAT'S THE RIGHT TEMPLATE FOR YOU?
Our longboard fins stem from two areas of fin design. The first being the Australian involvement period of the mid-late 1960’s, which are best exemplified by the George Greenough style, high-aspect ratio, raked fin designs. And the second being the Californian style pivot fins, which are best known as "noserider" fins, and have increased surface area to create a slower, more stable feel.
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HIGH ASPECT RATIO/RAKED FINS
High aspect ratio designs are our favourite and most recommended. They allow for a sharpness and strength in your turns that Californian pivot fins can't, and with the ample base surface area of our fins, they provide more than enough stability to noseride and hold a line.
Our classic 'Thomas' fin, the 'Bowl Cut', and the 'Hus Mix', all sit in the high aspect ratio realm, and provide what we deem as the ideal mix of attributes for great longboard surfing.
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NOSERIDER FINS
Noseride specific fins are largely inspired by mid to late 60's Californian fin designs. The Californians at that time were more focused on tip time than turns, which is why noserider fins are designed to increase drag. Drag slows your board down, and locks it in place in the pocket for long noserides. This also has an affect on the way a board turns - noserider fins promote a stalling/pivoting style approach to turning, rather than turning on rail.
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Our Noserider fin (see above) has added surface area and less rake than the high aspect ratio fins, but it doesn't go so far as the California Pivot or Hatchet fins. The Thomas Noserider fin increases stability to the extent that we, as honest involvement period enthusiasts, think is necessary, without hanging an 'anchor' off the back of the board.
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SO, WHAT ABOUT SIZE?
Our longboard fins typically range in size from 9.5” to 11.5”. The lighter/smaller you and your surfboard are, the smaller your fin, and vice versa. Here is a rough guide, with some leeway allowed, depending on the amount of burgers you ingest.
9’0” - 9’6” board uses between 9.5” - 10” fin.
9’6” - 9’8” board uses between 9.75” - 10.25” fin.
9’8” - 10’3 board uses between 10” - 11.5” fin.
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There are also plenty of instances in which a two-plus-one may work better than a single fin longboard. Take the wave ridden by Harry in the photo above... in these conditions, he's using side fins to complement the longboard rail line and rocker, extending his turns on the wide open Bells Beach walls. If you often surf large waves, with wide open faces and adequate room to project along them, we would absolutely recommend exploring the 2+1 setup.
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But say you're like most of us, and rarely ride a longboard in surf over head high... we'd suggest you play around with a couple of single fin templates! They're impossible to beat if you have any interest in trimming or noseriding - and exploring templates to find what works best for your surfing can be an incredibly fun experience.
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