We get asked a lot about fin set-up’s, what does what and which is best. Each fin set-up will provide a slightly different feeling when you are surfing. This will be more apparent if you are using your surfboard to it’s full potential when you are carving turns from rail to rail or pushing through the fins on bottom turns etc.

In short, three fins (thrusters, tri-fins) has sort of become industry standard for surfboards. It’s the most reliable, predictable and common set-up. Personally, I have devoted a lot of time to surfing single fin surfboards, both long and short, because I love the way they feel and the parameters they put in place for my surfing. It’s a preference thing, either is good, but I thought I’d write a bit about how we arrived where we are now.

Put the kettle on, here is a brief history lesson.

There are loads of different types of fin set-ups available for surfboards.

Single fin, 2+1, Widowmaker, Twin, Thruster, Quad, Bonzer, Twinzer…to name a few. It’s probably best to not get too bogged down in all that to start with. Most of you will probably be dealing in the realms of thrusters (Standard three fin set-up), 2+1 and Single fins and thats great - keep it simple and then there is a world to experiment with when you are ready.

Here is a really rough history of fin set-up’s. When surfing was in its formative years, people surfed big surfboards that had one fin. Around the late sixties people started to change their minds about the equipment they were using and go a bit shorter, this is referred to as the shortboard revolution, most of these boards were still with one fin for those early days. Stick a pin in this moment in time, we’ll revisit it later. There were other people doing things with multiple fin set-ups but none really took hold until Steve Lis developed a ‘keel fin’ fish as a kneeboard in the early 1970’s. Kneeboarding was a pre-cursor to the short boarding we see today, with people like George Greenhough pioneering more radical turns and surfing in the pocket.

Twin fins took hold as they allowed people to surf more top-to-bottom on a wave and more radically. In 1980 Australian surf pioneer Simon Anderson developed the thruster (three fin surfboard) to suit his powerful, radical surfing. The thruster is the winning formula, it’s almost perfect. It has hold, drive, speed and pivot from everywhere on the board. It’s the ultimate high performance set-up for modern surfing. It took hold globally and became standard for pretty much everyone in the mainstream surfing world.

Single fins were still popular for a while, but surfing was changing and most people surfing in competitions were left behind and the thrusters pushed everything else to the fringes after that point in the early 80’s. Nowadays, 99% of competitive surfing takes place on a thruster and most people surf them on the beaches, reef and points around the world. I’ve personally had a few and enjoy surfing them, in fact, I’d deem them necessary in some steeper, more critical conditions where hold and drive are imperative to being able to surf these waves.

Okay, that pin we stuck in an era…let’s delve into that a bit deeper. The era I want to look at is 66-72. There are tonnes of historical articles on this era but this was the time that the Longboards of the sixties started to ne replaced with the shortboards that we see today. This era was, in my eyes, the most interesting era of surfing’s history. Endless Summer came out in 1966, right at the beginning of this era, Morning of the Earth came out in 1971. There are other films out there but these are two that have had a profound influence on me as a surfer.

Endless summer chronicles two surfers, Mike Hyson and Robert August travelling the world searching for waves on Longboards. They go all over the world and search for the perfect waves of the era, peeling point breaks perfect for longboarding. Here is one of my favourite sections, Hyson and August surfing Cape St Francis, South Africa. Bruce Brown made Endless Summer, it’s the seminal surf movie. Interestingly, Brown also made “On Any Sunday” which is the seminal motorcycle movie.

*Notice how they surf from the middle of their boards, feet close together. There is nothing ‘radical’ about the surfing, they aren’t aggressive in their surfing, they are in ‘trim’ and carving nice, smooth lines, enjoying the ride, standing up tall, crouching down, using footwork to alter their weight distribution on the 9ft plus surfboards they are using. They turn from the back of the board, trim from the front.

I’m going to include these clips of Linda Benson, 1960’s female surf pioneer. This surfing is referred to as ‘Hotdogging’, spins, twists and other expressive movements on longboards.

Fast forward five years and things have changed. This is happening globally, surf travel has well and truly started in this era and surfers from California and Australia are pioneering new spots all the time and these messages are travelling across surfing communities and trends happen globally in the top ranks of surfing.

Australian Alby Falzon made the classic ‘Morning of the Earth’ film in 1971. In those five years since Endless Summer - everything had changed. The boards dropped in size, the templates were thinner, more pointed and the surfing had changed completely. From that era, there are a few surfers of note to talk about, but for me, Michael Peterson is one of the biggest characters and surfs with my favourite style. Peterson was a troubled guy, diagnosed schizophrenic and heroin addict, heavy stuff. Beautiful surfing and iconic of the era.

Here is a clip from a documentary about Peterson. Morning of the Earth is very hard to get hold of online, but watch this space, we have permission from Falzon himself to screen the film here in the north east but Covid ruined our plans.

*Note how Peterson stays low, crouched, primed and ready to respond. He is surfing so much tighter in the pocket and in the curl than the surfers of Endless Summer. He is in the tube, using the length of his board to cut-back in the pocket and surfing more radically. Theres a degree of aggression there on turns, some spray from fast movement, but the surfing is smooth. The speed is found in the middle or front third of the surfboard, the turns off the fin. Footwork is still needed but not to the degree of the 9’+ boards of Endless Summer. The emphasis is on style, poise, like a dance with the wave.

Hawaiian Gerry Lopez also featured in Morning of the Earth, he was another hugely influential surfer from the 1970’s. Peterson was part of an era that Lopez turned iconic to a wider audience, putting Pipeline firmly on the map. Gerry might have the best style in the history of surfing.

I think that the mark of a good surfer is that they are apt on all equipment, they understand the style and the way a certain board or wave is supposed to be ridden. I love short boarding, it’s incredible to watch, but it is very different from the era that we have been talking about. Watch Coco Ho surf a thruster is good waves.

*Note how powerful she is, how much spray comes from her movements and how ‘vertical’ she puts her board. She is always on a rail and moving her board to generate speed. Her feet never move, they are planted in one place, back foot over her fins, front foot towards the centre of her board.

Surfing is surfing. But within surfing there are different approaches. One of the most common questions I get asked about surfboards is

“What is the difference between a singe fin and a thruster?”

Well, the short answer for most people at the beginning stages of their surfing journey is, not a lot. The thruster is the most common, popular set-up for mini mals and shortboards. I think that most people I teach will become accomplished and confident surfers, that’s the point of what we do here at Yonder.

I like to advise people to start off on a 7’6 - 8’ft Mini Mal. That is about bang in the middle of a shortboard (5’6 - 6’6 or thereabouts) and a longboard (9’-10’ or thereabouts). I would imagine that most people reading this will have an idea of which direction they want to go as they progress. Personally, in my journey, I did both and still do both today. I followed in the footsteps of some of the people I looked up to in surfing and it seemed natural for me to align myself with the ‘ride anything’ approach. Logs when its small and clean, shortboards when its steep and fast and anything and everything in that middle section of waist to head high. It keeps my surfing fresh, exciting and I feel that my longboarding feeds into my shortboarding and vice versa. My quiver has everything from 5’5 twins, 5’8 thrusters, 6’2 singles, 7’0 singles, 9’6 logs and everything in between. It started with a 7’6 thruster mini mal fifteen years ago.

I’ll do another blog about longboards, one that I think is going to be an interesting and important one, but for now. I’m going to introduce you to a world that takes the 66-72 era and claims it as it’s own now. These are generally the people that have inspired me as a surfer.

#1 - Joel Tudor. Most people consider Kelly Slater to be the GOAT, I would argue that Joel is the GOAT.

Here is Joel Tudors take on the most influential surfers of all time taken from the excellent film “The Present” by Thomas Campbell. It’s an interesting watch.

Watch Joel, his son Tosh and another firm favourite, Alex Knost surfing in Hawaii here. Note the inspiration drawn from the shortboard revolution era of early 1970’s surfing. Middle of the board for speed, footwork, deep tubes and subtle movements. Style, grace - that dance again.

Alex Knost is a style icon. All these people ride long and shortboards and are central pillars of the ‘ride everything’ ethos.

Leah Dawson is another style icon. We love Leah’s expressive style and her dedication to pushing women’s surfing in the right direction - and riding single fins. There is that dance again.

To Summarise.

There are differences between thrusters and single fins. Single fins are for more down the line surfing, arcing turns and speed generated from the wave itself through positioning on the surfboard. Thrusters are easier in many respects, that’s why they are so popular. If you are looking to shortboard, definitely stick with a thruster beyond your mini mal, if you are looking to log, consider a single fin. Either way, foundations are vital and a thruster is a good starting point for making your learning journey easier.

Surf what you want to surf - pick equipment that is right for the conditions and the way you want to surf. But don’t think that the WSL is the only source of inspiration for professional surfing out there. The undercurrent of surfers tipping their hats to the late 60’s and early 70’s era has been thriving and more and more people are tuning into it outside of Longboarding culture. This surfing speaks to me more than hacking chunks out of waves and it’s been great to put this blog together. I hope you have enjoyed it!

I’m going to end on this. A truly well rounded surfer who, not only was world champion shortboard surfer, but knows how to surf alternative boards properly too. Steph and Peterson. ❤

Keep an eye out on our online store for great products that we personally recommend from True Ames and Captain Fin Co.

Single Fins or Thrusters?

“What is the difference between a singe fin and a thruster?”

To Summarise.