Fin Placement

Fin placement along with fin type determines how fast your board is and how your board turns. Traditional surfboards didn’t have fins which made turning and big wave surfing very difficult. The distance between your fins and how far your fins are from the tail are very important they change how fast your board is and its maneuverability. If your fins are spaced close together then your board will turn easier. The farther your fins are from the tail of the board the looser it will be. There are four main types of fin placements there is the single fin, twin-fin, tri- fin, and the quad-fin setup.

The single fin is mostly found on long boards. The benefit of this is that it gives you less resistance which means more speed. The maneuverability of this set up depends on how big or small your fin is.

The twin fin mostly found on fishes because it is very loose and is good for doing spin tricks. The twin fin set up is not as fast as a single fin but are excellent for stalling in barrels.

The tri fin or thruster fin set up is the most common. They are a combination of the single fin and the twin fin and offer you stability along with maneuverability.

The quad fin set up is not very common and is mostly found on fishes. This is basically two twin fins right behind each other. It gives you the maneuverability of a twin fin with some extra stability.

Deck Pads

If you are going to be riding a short board then you are going to want a deck pad. Deck pads are placed where you put your back foot on the board and are a replacement for wax on the tail of your board. They prevent your back foot from slipping off the board, and make it much easier for you to dig into the wave and make really hard turns. They are also good because unlike wax you only need to put them on once. Deck pads come all shapes, sizes, colors thicknesses. They can come in either multiple pieces or one piece.

When you have bought your deck pad and want to put it on your board first take all the wax off of the area that you are going to be placing It. If you can’t get the wax off then you should just leave your board in the sun for about 15 minutes. You just want to get your wax soft so don’t leave it in the sun for too long. Once your wax is soft you are going to need a wax scraper or maybe just one of your friend’s credit cards. If you still can’t get that wax off then you can use some paint thinner. Once you have the wax off you want to read the directions (words on back of deck pad) on how to put it on. Putting on a deck pad is just like putting a sticker on something (just make sure your put it on straight). If you have a multiple piece deck pad you just want to line up all of the pieces on your board. You only have one shot at getting it on straight because once you place it on your board there’s no getting it off.

Fins

Fins are probably the most important part of your board. They are the things that give you traction when you’re riding on the wave. Fins come in many shapes, sizes, flexibilities, and color and they all make your board ride differently. You may think that you can just put any type of fins on your board but you’re wrong. First you need to buy fins that are the right size for your board. Then you need to find fins that will fit into your fin plugs on your board.

There are two different types of fins. The first is the glassed on fins, these are really sturdy but it they break then you are screwed. So I would recommend on getting a board with fin plugs so you can change out your fins every once in a while. The second types of fins are removable fins. The two main brands of removable fins are FCS and Future fins. The differences between these two brands are the fin plugs (make sure that your buying fins that will fit in your boards fin plug). The length of the fins makes a huge difference in your turning abilities. The longer the fins are the more traction you will get (good for big waves). Which means it will be harder for you to turn but you won’t slide out on the wave. If you’re planning on sticking to the smaller waves or doing a lot of turns and carves then you’re going to want shorter fins because they give you more maneuverability. When you buy fins make sure that you pick up a fin key. A fin key allows you to put in and take out your fins it’s basically an Allen wrench on a piece of plastic.

Epoxy Surfboards VS. Fiberglass Surfboards

There are two different types of surf boards there is the traditional fiber glass boards and the newer epoxy boards. Fiber glass boards are hand shaped and hand glassed. Fiberglass boards allow you the option to customize everything from the length, thickness, wideness, fin placement, paint job, and tail type. The main shapers on the north shore are Pyzel and Shaper.

Epoxy boards are made by machines. They are a little bit stronger and giver you more floatation with less weight. So if you’re planning on dinging your board a lot I would go with epoxy boards. I have tried both types of boards and personally I like fiber glass boards better than epoxy but its more but hey its your money so get the type of board that you like better. If you are unsure and want to try the boards before you spend a month’s paycheck you can test out different boards at surf and sea in Haleiwa.

Ding Repair

When you are learning you are bound to ding your board. When this happens you should get out of the water immediately because your board is like a sponge and it will suck up water and get heavy and yellow. When you get out of the water you can do two things to get the water out of your board. You can suck out the water as if it was a venomous snake bite or you can leave it in the sun to evaporate (I do both when I ding my board surfing).

Once you have the water out of your board you have two options repair your board yourself or pay someone to do it professionally. If I were you I would just pay someone because chances are you going to do a crappy job, get super pissed off and then punch your board creating another ding. Ding repair only cost about fifty dollars which is reasonable since a bottle of resin and catalyst cost about twenty. If you just have a really small ding then you can just mix up about an ounce of resin and about 5 or six drops of catalyst. Once you mix these two chemicals together you have about 7 minutes to brush it on your board before it starts to get hard. Once it dries then you are going to want to lightly sand the ding until it is has the same texture as the surrounding fiberglass.
(small ding to the left, this ding you can repair yourself)

(bad ding below definetly pay to get it fixed profesionally)

Surf Bags

Board bags are pretty self explanatory. It’s a bag that you put your board into; it protects your board while you are not using it. Right now your probably like “where can I get one of these and how mush cash do I have to spend for one”. Well board bags can range from twenty dollars all the way to 400 dollars. There are many places where you can find these, they sell them at Surf and Sea, Tropical Rush, and pretty much every other surf shop in Haleiwa or in Hawaii for that matter.

When you are picking out your board bag you should consider three things.
What length of a board bag do I need for my board?
How much padding do I want for my board? (Depends how far you’re traveling for surf, and were you are going store your board.)
And how much cash do I want to spend?
There are three or four different types of board bags that come in all shapes, sizes and prices. There is the sock, the hard case and the standard board bag.

The sock is the cheapest and cost anywhere from $15 dollars for $50 dollars. It is basically huge sock that you just put around your board. They are excellent if you are just storing your board in your room or in your garage. These are perfect for bringing to the beach with you because not only do they protect your board they also double as a towel. However board socks are not perfect they don’t offer as much protection as standard bags and the hard shells. If you are going to buy a board sock you will need one that is about the same size as your board in length and wideness.

The Standard board bag is water proof and will offer your board great protection. However they are a bit more expensive and range from 50 dollars to 150 dollars. Most of these bags have a nice thick layer of foam on the inside to protect your precious board from dings. The cool thing about these board bags is that they offer bags that hold more than one board, which is good if you have multiple boards that you want to protect.



If you are going to be bringing your board on an air plane or are just over protective about your boards you can get a hard case. These are made out of thick plastic, you can pretty much throw this out of a two story house and chances are your boards will be just fine. The downer is that they cost a lot and can cost anywhere from 80 dollars to 400 dollars.

Leash

A leash is a polyurethane cord that attaches the tail board to your leg. The thicker the leash is the stronger it will be, however the thin leashes give you less resistance and allow you to go faster on the face of the wave. The leash saves your board from getting taken in and smashed up against rocks by the waves when you fall. If you don’t have a leash, be prepared to do a lot of swimming each time you fall.

A leash also makes the lineup a lot safer because you don’t have to worry about getting hit by stray boards. When you pick out a leash you want it to be about 8 inches longer than your board. If it is too long then it will get tangled around your legs and on the reef. If it does get tangled on the reef try to remain calm and pull the cuff off of your leg. If your leash is too short then you have to watch out for your board flinging back at you after the wave pulls on it.

A leash is made out of four essential parts the cord, rail saver, cuff, and swivels. The cord is made out of polyurethane which is very strong. The cord can come in an assortment of colors that just make your board look cooler. The rail saver is the flat piece of material that protects your rails from the tension of the cord on your rail. On end of the rail saver is attached to your leash plug and the other is attached to the cord. The cuff is the part that you attach to your leg. You want to put the cuff on the foot that will be on the back of your board (Dominant foot). The swivels are a very important part of your leash they allow it to twist and turn with out your leash getting all tangled.