What are the advantages or disadvantages of surfing with single, thrusters, or twin Fin?

Question

Surf board? Fin system? Tail?

Answer 1

I can't comment directly on the fin set up: single/twin/three/etc.  You have to decide that for your self, your board, your style, your waves.

However: whatever your decision on these items is, I wholeheartedly recommend the Turbo Tunnel fins for most any  application.  Why?  They simply do what they are supposed to very well: go where they are pointed and stay where they are pointed, resisting side forces attempting to make 'em do otherwise.

I am NOT a surfer, so take my "shameless  plug" for the company's product for what it's worth: I am a kiteboarder and I use them for my long distance & customized sit-on boards.  They add enormous stability and aid in edging.  I personally think they assist in getting upwind, as well.

I hope others can give you some more detailed answers to your questions, but I just wanted to drop you a quick: "try 'em; they work."

NO: I am not compensated for or affiliated with the company.  :-)

Best of luck!  And, feel free to ask my any further questions if you like!

Sincerely,

[e-mail]

Answer 2

HB and Nittareef answers are good except that they neglected to mention that in order to maintain your drive on a thruster it must always be in a turning motion.  There is no glide to a thruster.  This is why you see people hopping in small surf.  They are essentially pumping water through the fins.

The whole board really comes together as a package for each fin setup, with the exception maybe of longboards.  The board length, width and rail shape will be tied into the number and layout of the fins.

Answer 3

Fins create stick and drive on the wave face.

Retro Single-fin Boards are awesome for taking long sweeping turns.  You can see Rob Machado riding an MSF all across San Diego, like on the "Riding Waves" DVD.  The single-fin creates one pivot point to turn on.  You have to think about your turns and can't really force anything with it.  Classic Single-fin Boards work best on a wave that has push, but Single-fin Longboards (anything 9' and longer) work great on small waves.

The short-board thruster is what took the world by storm, and is now the standard for pros to ride.  But longboards are sold the most to the general public.  Short boarding is the way to go if you want to do what people like Slater, Fanning, and Irons are doing.  Thruster configurations give you the extra pivot points from the side bites letting you turn much quicker and faster than a single-fin.  As mentioned before though, thrusters need constant pumping and turning to create drive, especially when a board has a lot of rocker.  

Rocker is how much curve is in the board from nose to tail.  Nose rocker is the upward curve of the rocker in the front section of the board. It helps keep the board from pearling and is steeper in larger surfboards. Insufficient nose rocker will cause the board to pearl while excessive nose rocker will push water and slow down the board.

Tail rocker is the upward curve of the rocker near the back tail section of the surfboards . Increased tail rocker will add maneuverability and lift to the tail at speed and provide tail sensitively in critical turns

Foil is the distribution of foam from nose to tail on a surfboard. Obviously for the board to flow correctly it must be evenly balanced through the shape. If there is excessive foam left in the nose center or tail or dips and bumps it will create uneven flow and cause the surfboard to be unbalanced. Proper even distribution of this foam will tremendously effect it performance and flow through the water.

Twin fins are super fun, and are very fast.  Generally, they are flatter than a thruster and are great for smaller and mushier waves, but also great for larger waves.  They usually don't do well in waves that wall up quickly due to the reduced rocker.  They're usually ridden shorter in length than a regular shortboard, or the same length for maximum wave catching ability.  Since it's missing the middle fin, a twin-fin has less drag, but is usually more locked into the wave.  Meaning you can't carve the same way as you would a thruster.

Quad fins are great as they somewhat combine a thruster and a twinnie.  They're a little skatey since there isn't a middle fin, but like the twin, is very fast.  Having two fins in the wave during a turn allows for quicker turning.

Five-fins usually involve a setup called a bonzer, which is a retro-design.  There's a longer fin in the middle, and two long, but not so tall fins on each side.  Some setups have only three fins.  The fins are positioned to create channels on the sides of the middle fin.  The channels create a venturi effect which guides the water off of the surface of the board through a narrowed passage, increasing its acceleration and speed.  There are newer five-fin boards that will sling shot around sections and handles the heaviest of bottom turns without sliding out due to the extra fins.

The Squashtail is probably the most common tail shape on modern surfboards.No prizes for guessing why it got it's name. The design offers a stable ride but enables the surfboard to still remain loose. The Squashtail is a great tail shape for any standard of surfer and can be used in both small and overhead waves.

A tail that is squared at the end. The Squaretail is really the pre-runner to the Squashtail and is not so common on new boards these days. The rails meet the tail at sharp corners giving the surfboard good maneuverability. Used in small to head high waves.

This tail was very popular in the single fin days and is the tightest holding rail. Like the regular Pintail, there is no interruption in the flow of the rail from the rail right through to the tail. The Rounded Pintail is a great tail for medium / larger waves and ideal for powerful hollow surf.

The next step down from the Rounded Pintail. The Pintail comes to much more of a point than the Rounded tail and finishes in a sharper, thinner pin. This is the tail shape for surfing large powerful, hollow waves. The tube rider special!

The Swallowtail combines the rail drive of the Squaretail and the sensitivity of the Pintail.  This is the tail shape used on Fish Surfboards. The wider tail gives better paddling power and increased drive in smaller waves.

The Battail performs like a Swallowtail with it's two outer pivot points and the addition of the central point of the wing providing greater stability. The Battail is good in smallish to overhead waves and is one of the more modern surfboard tail designs.

There are a few more tails available, but these are the main ones.

Ideally, you want to ride as many different kinds of boards, from twinnies, to longboards, to thrusters.

Answer 4

It all depends on your ability as a surfer and the type of waves that you ride.  A single fin is good for longboards, while thrusters are good for high performance surfing in almost all types of waves and conditions.  A twin fin is excellent for very small mushy waves for the wider short boards (like fishes).

However, for now the thruster is your best bet to cover all types of waves.  Since the thruster has become the contemporary type board, I don't think that any professional events have been won on boards other than thrusters.   Here in Hawaii, the thruster is still the preferred board for all of our surf meets (amateurs and pros) and for day to day surfing.

The longboards are another thing, and are preferred by the "older" surfers, surfers of marginal ability, and beginners.  There are some very good longboarders, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

Tail design is personal preference and style of surfing.  You will have to try different types of tail designs to determine what works best for you.  But, for big waves, the pintail.  For medium sized waves, the pintail, swallowtail, and squashtails.  For smaller waves, any type of tail design would work except that the pintails will have to be more rounded.

You will have to contend with many variables when finding a board that "works."  These are: amount of rocker (tail, middle, and nose); rail contours (soft, medium, hard); thickness; width (overall, nose, and tail); weight; and bottom design (concaves, v's, flatness, etc.).  There are numerous other variables that go into the shape and type of board, so I would recommend that you talk it over with a professional shaper and work out a design that works best for your ability and type(s) of surf that you ride.

Answer 5

The other answers are very good but here is my take.

Single fin (non-Turbo)

Excellent for longboards in smaller and mushy waves.  Allows the surfer to use body twist to turn the board with little drag.

Single fin (Turbo Tunnel)

Again an excellent longboard fin that enables longer noserides when the turbo effect kicks in as you go to the nose.  Not much drag difference on mushy waves and no drag when in normal longboard stance on steeper or larger waves.  The Turbo also eliminates tail chatter when you move forward towards the nose on a very fast wave.

Twin fin

Best for shorter boards with a wider tail/nose and on smaller waves.   Has a slight limitation (that I've noticed) in that you can't use your weight as much to turn and must make flatter turns.

Thrusters

Best all around on shortboards but does have more drag  then a single fin on longboards.  The thrusters allow you to maximize your weight and momentum when you turn with less fear of slipping your fin off the face of a wave.  This means you can turn sharper or draw your turns out more depending on the wave and your board design.

5 fins

This is the newest design craze.  Although the design came around about 10 years back, many shortboarders are trying them now with adjustable side bite boxes, particularly around Huntington Beach.  The design enables a surfer to adjust cant based on wave conditions, mushy or steep.  John Davis has been trying the design at the Huntington Beach Pier using a specially designed shortboard Turbo.  He is able to get air in various wave conditions.

One last thing that impacts how a fin works, in addition to tail rocker, is placement of fin in the box.  Moving the fin forward loostens your tail and enables flatter turns on mushier waves.  Moving the fin to the back enables more power transfer.  Turbos are moved forward since they are intended to enable the longboarder to remove their side bites plus pull the tail down due to board rocker as the surfer moves forward to the nose.

Snake