Forum
Single fin surfing
Right you lot, who surfs a single fin then? Im pondering the thought of trying one.Ive heard theyre kinda tricky. Im an average as surfer looking for something dif, mainly surf out west aucks. I quite like retro old school, Like watching Larry Bertlemann on his single fin. So is this my calling?? I mainly surf an Al merrick Fishcuit board most days and have another more performance quad fish that hardly gets used so thinking of replacing it with something different with a bit more float too. Id prob only use it when its 3ft plus as I love my fishcuit.
*edited 31 Jan 2012 14:32
Appreciate your help guys and girls
scooter/beertrash is prob your man.
ive used a single a bit but im not very good at it always try and surf it like a thruster which doesnt always work well
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Chairman of the sub 1000
From the small handful of days I've spent riding one, I really loved it. I need one. Whereas the fish is off down the line and skipping across the top, the single was much more a pocket board, and it felt like it really tapped into, and kept itself in the power zone of the wave.
Yeah ive seen a few guys on mccoy nuggets not sure if they were single fin version tho but they look like they surf quite dif , really hanging in the pocket. Im expecting it to be the opposite to what im riding now.
Would ya compare it to riding a skateboard with real loose trucks as far as control goes ?
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Check it yourself ya lazy c..t
nah id say its a bit tighter than that tatnorth maybe like a carving board but cranked up trucks a little
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Chairman of the sub 1000
never replace boards tat. add to the quiver. you can find cheap old skool single fins online. just depends on how much you wanna spend.
if you can find a stubby old skool single fin treasure it as it will offer you pleasures that only an experienced GILF can offer.
*edited 31 Jan 2012 18:28
I've had a real nice couple of single fins from 7 foot guns to 5'5 round nose dungas and i'd say take Dungas advice (best i've read on this forum) don't get rid of any boards and add to your quiver. I've always found single awesome to ride as long as u accept harder more drawn out turns instead of trying to do snappy thruster turns. If you can get into waves that are semi down the line an hollow they really come into there element. . get an oldy an fix her up and give it a go...
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theepicboatmish.org
you have to use the rail, they dont have the drive or stability of thrusters so you cant surf so vert, see if you can look up a surf video called 'shelter' loads of newish school surfers riding singles (and a table top at one point)
Chux bought my single but im keen to get another or even make one
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www.heavywater.co.nz
modern singles [youtu.be]
Go for it tatnorth so much fun
i've got 7 i use em all regularly
esp good for fine tuning your bottom turns (crank it too hard and she'll slide out but set your rail just right and you'll have loads of speed off the top) and barrel riding singles seem to hold the speed of the pocket very well
some old singles are good but some are bunk ..........my best is a modern custom one.
if your a bit tentative maybe go a widowmaker (single with small sidebiters gives the ?best? of both worlds 
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In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it. Lao Tzu
^^^^ dude threads about singles no side bites
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Pipe Fins.New Zealand best,Since 2009.
if the sidebiters aren't shoddy ones made by you they're removable .....thus single fin and widowmaker in one board!
don't worry pipe it's just a bit over your head
okay for you to go back to huffing the petrol eh!
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In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it. Lao Tzu
*edited 01 Feb 2012 09:08
Originally posted by: Beemertrash
if the sidebiters aren't shoddy ones made by you they're removable .....thus single fin and widowmaker in one board!
don't worry pipe it's just a bit over your head
okay for you to go back to huffing the petrol eh!
Just to fuc# YOU off a bit more.B Hansen's old man likes the small curved Pipe Fin side bites he uses on one of his boards (Roger Hall) for the left reef at northern Makarori.
So as I was saying dude this thread was about single until you started with side bites,so get fuc#ed.
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Pipe Fins.New Zealand best,Since 2009.
well i heard kelly slaters mums cousin uses o'lfishl fins so we should all swap to those 
sounds like you are more desperate to convince yourself than anyone else 
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Chairman of the sub 1000
Originally posted by: Pipe Fins
*edited 01 Feb 2012 09:08Originally posted by: Beemertrash
if the sidebiters aren't shoddy ones made by you they're removable .....thus single fin and widowmaker in one board!
don't worry pipe it's just a bit over your head
okay for you to go back to huffing the petrol eh!
Just to fuc# YOU off a bit more.B Hansen's old man likes the small curved Pipe Fin side bites he uses on one of his boards (Roger Hall) for the left reef at northern Makarori.
So as I was saying dude this thread was about single until you started with side bites,so get fuc#ed.
i finished with a sidebiters option
you started with name dropping
huff girl huff
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In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it. Lao Tzu
and this thread was goin so well...
question needs to be asked whether peoples opinions are based around new skool single fin shapes or old skool single fin shapes. there is a great deal of difference in feeling between the two shapes. not a fan of the new skool shapes. might as well get a thruster.
I like the heaps of volume under the front foot and real pinny old singles for beachies or really fast/big waves
and
the more modern single shapes (round/squash tails with stingers) for points and smaller longer peeling breaks as it seems you really can get vert and crank your turns harder.
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In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it. Lao Tzu
nice for quarry beach /aras
crumbly 2ft days
points
the only longboard setup
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In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it. Lao Tzu
Originally posted by: Dunga
and this thread was goin so well...
question needs to be asked whether peoples opinions are based around new skool single fin shapes or old skool single fin shapes. there is a great deal of difference in feeling between the two shapes. not a fan of the new skool shapes. might as well get a thruster.
mine is from the 70s thick wide rails and heaps of foam in it thick i have a pic on photo bucket somewhere.
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Chairman of the sub 1000
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Chairman of the sub 1000
truly beautiful
is that the tubecruiser ?
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In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it. Lao Tzu
I ride a 'Breakwater' 6'2" pin tail single a LOT, prob 75% of the time. I have been riding it for 20 years now and can safely say I have it dialled in.
In certain waves I can't think of anything better to ride, at all. They draw such a nice line in bigger waves, and do cutbacks like a bar of soap around a bath tub.
Depending on the style of single, you will need to tweak your method a bit, but any lessons learnt on it translate so well going back to your normal equipment, I strongly suggest having one in the quiver.
You will learn a lot about trim, line and timing.
2 options I reckon, shorter buttons style, fin pushed forward a little, rounded tail, fairly eggy shape,
or what I have, a little longer more drawn out shape, wide spot further up, narrower tail.
that's a beaut Jabes!
Mine, second from left...
loads of volume, but short enough to turn on a dime.
Originally posted by: Beemertrash
truly beautiful
is that the tubecruiser ?
yeah a tube cruiser either number 6 of 900 from paul shanks! old flat mate had it in the garage and i got it for next to nothing. think about $50 from memory he had it sitting in there for about 20years or so
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Chairman of the sub 1000
nice lil quiver there mister. the far right looks similar to a joe niwa iv got. how do you find it?
Ahhh! Singles. The New Plymouth Club have a single fin expression on a Friday (read 'Bar Open') night in Feb when the forecast and tide coincide. Chip Andrews has won the style section each time on a Michael Peterson 6 footer. That model is worth gold now - turned down over $1500 for it. Stupid me.
But you're right. Add to the quiver. In fact I am in favour of a new model where attention has been paid to revised rocker. That was often the problem with the earlier models. Great plan shape - rotten rocker.
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5 over is greater than 6 under
It's a tiny 80's Seasons. I call it my U.F.O.
5'6"-5'5" maybe, no dimensions on it. Enough volume to get me floating though and flat as a pancake rocker-wise.
and yes, if buying an older single, avoid an S-Deck style one, hideous on most levels.
'S-Deck' please elaborate?
I just find them very sticky and they seem to track badly, being keener to go straight than to roll from rail to rail.
http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/whats-s-deck [www2.swaylocks.com]
http://www.blackapachesurfboards.com.au/wp-content/uploads/5_s-decker-400x300.jpg [blackapachesurfboards.com.au]
get one tatnorth.
my first board was a single similar to those shorty's^.
then the thruster came along...
then i wanted that single speed feel again and for the last 10 yrs or so my trusty 7' has seen me through many a good waves. ..easier paddling and earlier takeoffs too,and they are fast as,. as for drive..a good single will have heaps of drive.
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XXIst sentry scribe
great thread, some beautiful sticks on display. dumbells comment comparing a fish with a single fin is interesting. thinking about my next board, if i really like tucking in there, finding a line and just fanging it, which would be the better option? saw a dude at houghton bay on a old stlye twin keel fish, fastest surfer i think i've ever seen....can a single do the same thing?
the blokes of the past (specially the late 70's & early 80's) were onto something and its interesting to see that you see surfers in the water using shorter sticks with more volume.
i was down back beach a few months back and some of the boys were gettin coached by some ozzy bloke. he said in passin to one of em that he could take a few inches off the top and exchange in width/depth to get a better plan shape.
its definitely something to think about i reckon.
my best rides have been on stubbies. single or thruster.
Originally posted by: Jabes
I had a 6'4" tubecruiser that kind of shape ,very good stick.Thats a lighting bolt?
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Pipe Fins.New Zealand best,Since 2009.
I started surfing on the things in the 60's, and although they still look beautifully elegant to my eyes, I really dont like surfing them. I have some lovely old singles that are beautifully foiled, and look so pretty, but try and cut back on one, and it feels like you have just thrown the sea anchor out.
People often say , well they go well in hollow waves where you have to go fast, but I have always found when you get up high on a steep wall, they are prone to losing an edge and sliding down sideways.
Maybe modern ones with modern rockers, rails and plan shapes may be better, but I did experiment with a 6"4" back when thrusters first came in, I tried all combinations, , first a single, then thruster, then gradually grinding down the back fin until it was a twin, and the thruster was definately the best.
Incidently, I still have the stringerless Atlas Woods Tracker my auntie bought me in about 1968.
HOLY SH!T!
wouldn't mind a go on that channel, first row 2nd from left.
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XXIst sentry scribe
Originally posted by: seeka
wouldn't mind a go on that channel, first row 2nd from left.
Yeah thats a good one, its a Wayne Parkes, I have lent it to a friend of mines' son, and I am not sure he realizes what a slice of history he is bobbing around in the whitewater on.
lucky kid.
those mr's would be worth a bit?
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XXIst sentry scribe
Originally posted by: Pipe FinsOriginally posted by: Jabes
I had a 6'4" tubecruiser that kind of shape ,very good stick.Thats a lighting bolt?
yeah thats a lightning bolt it goes pretty well but im very much a thruster surfer so i tend to flounder a little on it tho will take it when going to a point as its pretty fun to cruise and carve round on it
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Chairman of the sub 1000
used to love the early thrusters with mid channels. bit skatey on heavy bottom turns, but that added to the fun.
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XXIst sentry scribe
oops, back to singles...
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XXIst sentry scribe
well thats spuds collection beaten by icon1
"all of Wayne Parkes surboards are single fins, if you want a thruster he just adds sideys."
a single fanatic I know.
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Better to sleep in an uncomfortable bed free, than a comfortable bed unfree.
old but great design thread
http://postsurf.com/2009/08/29/photo-dispatch-teen-choice/ [postsurf.com]
Find a older shaper who's been around for awhile and who still makes shortboards... get him to make a new modern version of a classic single fin 7ft in height.
If your spending that sort of money on a classic make sure it's got channels and a nice resin tint
thanks for your input and photos fullas. Jabes you gotta keeper there.
wish i was around in the 70s.
Originally posted by: tatnorth
wish i was around in the 70s.
You probably dont
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5 over is greater than 6 under
Originally posted by: tatnorth
wish i was around in the 70s.
I think Seeka's making a time machine in his shed at the moment...
the 70s were cool, practising safe sex meant asking if she was on the pill....
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www.heavywater.co.nz
single fin 1971
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www.heavywater.co.nz
same board cornwall 71
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www.heavywater.co.nz
in order hayling island / newquay town beach and porthleven i believe...
oh and spot x 1983 also on a single
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www.heavywater.co.nz
Originally posted by: icon01
I started surfing on the things in the 60's, and although they still look beautifully elegant to my eyes, I really dont like surfing them. I have some lovely old singles that are beautifully foiled, and look so pretty, but try and cut back on one, and it feels like you have just thrown the sea anchor out.
People often say , well they go well in hollow waves where you have to go fast, but I have always found when you get up high on a steep wall, they are prone to losing an edge and sliding down sideways.
Maybe modern ones with modern rockers, rails and plan shapes may be better, but I did experiment with a 6"4" back when thrusters first came in, I tried all combinations, , first a single, then thruster, then gradually grinding down the back fin until it was a twin, and the thruster was definately the best.
Incidently, I still have the stringerless Atlas Woods Tracker my auntie bought me in about 1968.
EPIC collection Icon!!!!! If you have the time I'd love to read a breakdown on them all. Here's mine --- http://diggasurf.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/quiver-ing/ [diggasurf.wordpress.com]
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www.diggasurf.wordpress.com
epic alright. nice collections.
here's one of my singles,
7'11" x 19 1/2 x 1 15/16. hollow.
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XXIst sentry scribe
That is a thing of beauty seeka! How does it ride?
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theepicboatmish.org
your board looks like an 'S' deck seeka.