Stabilizer Fin

Stabilizer Fin

Which Surfboard Should I Buy?

If your thinking of choosing your first surfboard or are looking for tips on the next one to buy in a long line of boards, then read on.

There are many factors involved in buying a board. One or two will likely be the deciding factor so it’s helpful to know some of the pros and cons involved with each one.

Outline/Size

The size or outline of the board determines turning speed. Along with length, width and thickness, these attributes determine how the board will handle in the water and hence the ride your experience. 

Length - A long big wave gun board with gentle sweeping curved sides will have long gentle turns. While shorter boards with concurrently shorter tighter curved sides will turn much faster.

Width – The wider the board the more stable it will be and easier to catch the wave. While wider means more stable, stable won’t let you do truly awesome tricks so it depends on your skill level and what you feel more comfortable with.

Thickness (rails/edges) – This attribute helps determine turning speed. ‘Rails’ or edges can be thin or thick. Thin means the deck of the board slopes toward the edges giving a thin edge which gives short turning on small waves.  Thick rails or ‘full rails’, make a flat box like deck this gives better performance when shifting your weight during long smooth turns. You can get boards that vary in thickness throughout the length of the board.

Beginner – Go for a fairly long board (like 210cm+) that is as wide as possible, 48 – 53 cm, this will give you the stability and buoyancy you need to get up and going, as you advance you can trim the width more and more and change the length to suit.  This setup should allow you to practice, stance, stability etc.  Thin edges are better for beginners.

Intermediate to advanced – You guys will know what you like, however a longer board is better in the water for speed and bigger waves, while a shorter board will allow you to turn faster in the water. Whatever you choose you’ll likely want a narrower board than the wide beginners. Thickness is dependant on your surfing style with thinner rails giving better turns.

Materials/Hardness

Modern surfboards are made from many materials depending on the intended use of the board. A beginners board will be made from soft or padded materials while and intermediate to advance will be made from harder stuff.

Foam boards – These tend to be made from EPS (Expanded polystyrene). These boards are quite soft so if you accidentally crash into someone or get hit by your own board it will likely be a non-event with no damage to yourself or another. The trade off is that these boards won’t last as long and are prone to snapping. You’ll find as you advance that the board doesn’t keep up with your surfing and you’ll need to move onto a harder board.

Glass boards (as in fibre glass and polyester resins, not actual glass) – This has been the material of choice since the 1950s. It is a hard material and comes in different grades depending on your need. Light – for performance and sports. Medium – The all round standard for the average surfer. Heavy – More weight but more durable. So less prone to dinging (chipping) of the board. Colliding with a fibre glass or polyester resin board will likely result in some sort of injury so for intermediate users onwards.

Epoxy resin – These boards are tougher than the glass or foam boards and lighter than the glass boards. The makers who shape the boards find this material, although tougher and lighter, more difficult to work with and this translates into an increased price tag. An interesting fact about epoxy boards is that surfers tend to get a boost from the bottom of a wave due to a slight bending of the somewhat pliable material.

Carbon fibre – The high tech choice. This material has the highest strength to weight ratio available. Strong, light and flexible with no foam inside required. This seems the perfect choice but again a difficult manufacturing process translates to increased price. As with epoxy, the bendable material gives surfers a slight boost on turns and at the base of waves.

Balsa wood – This is a very soft wood that has been used in surfing since the 1930s. Not very popular but still used in long boards and is easy to shape into the required. Balsa is typically the heaviest material used in surfboard manufacture.

Beginners – A soft foam board would be the safest for your surfing career. You can get padded version of the hard boards that are an in between and good for learning. Soft foam boards will stand up to the inevitable dings that are going to occur during the start of learning.

Intermediate to advanced – For you guys and gals this will depend more on your budget than anything else. Get the best you can afford.

Tails

What’s in a tail? There are a few styles out there all with slightly different attributes. Here are the main ones.

Square – This looks like someone has cut the end from the board. Where the rails meet the tip it gives a sharp edge good for cutting into the wave, giving great turning performance.

Squash – Similar looking to the square but this time with rounded edges. This tail tends to be a bit of an all rounder and as such is one of the most popular tails.

Rounded pin – This is the standard looking tail round like the front of the board. This performs better on larger waves as in smaller ones it tends to drag in the wave slowing the board.

Pin – Looks much like the rounded pin but staves of to a pointier, less rounded tip. As this style has the least area in the water it performs better at higher speeds. So is preferable in large waves.

Fishtail (or swallow tail) – This is quite recognisable looking like someone has taken a v-shaped wedge from the tail of the board. The space between the pivots (two points of the tail) allow the water to flow easily through giving good performance in smaller slower water.

Beginners – Beginners shouldn’t be too concerned about the tail of the board. Stick with a squash tail or fish tail. These should be favourable in the slower water beginners will be in.

Intermediate to advanced – Use the guide above to see what attributes your looking for in your board. Great turning or stability at high speed?

Fins

Fins are the part of the board that hangs down at the back. These are responsible for stopping the board capsizing and keeping it as a stable platform. These too have a few varieties with pros and cons. Typically the heavier the rider the larger the fins you should be looking for.

Single – The original design, based on a ships keel, this fin is good for control and stability at high speed but doesn’t contribute much to maneuverability.

Twin – This is almost the opposite of the single. Good at slower speeds and smaller waves but on larger ones can hinder your performance.

Tri – This fin configuration has the best of both worlds. You have stability, control and maneuverability in all surfing conditions. It’s for this reason that the tri fin is the standard fin configuration.

Quads – 4 fins. Fantastic control on big waves and maneuverability is good too. These are used for bigger water to maintain stability.

There are a few other sub-configurations to these fin setups however if you know what these different types are you can work out the others that you might see.

Beginner – A beginner would do fine with a tri-fin. The other fin setups are specialised to a specific board use.

Intermediate to advanced – As with previous sections, have a look at the different setups and decide what’s best for your need.

Cost

For some people the deciding factor.

Beginners - You want to spend as small an amount as possible. It’s likely that your board with be full of dings, scratches and scrapes and may even break. Take the advice above buy a cheap soft board with squash tail and tri-fin setup. Once you’ve got the hang of it you can decide what surfing style you want to get into and purchase your next board from there.

Intermediate to advanced – You guys and gals should know what you want and with the advice above be able to pick out your needs. In this case I suppose cost is a limiting factor rather than a deciding factor. Buy the best you can and take care of your board.

Other things you might need

A leg rope or leash – When you come off your board this is the only thing that will stop your board heading to the beach and wasting lots of your time. If your board doesn’t come with one then it’s a sound investment.

Wax – If your bored isn’t waxed then you’ll not be spending much time on it. Wax is required for grip. Grip is required to stand on the board. Get wax, wax the bored, have fun.

Tail grips – These are pads that you stick to the top of the tail so your back foot has loads of grip. Ask in store to see what’s available.

Surfboard cover – You fantastic awesome new board deserves some tender loving care. Get a cover to keep the board in. It’ll stop scratches and has other features. Make sure to buy the right size for your board.

Conclusion

I hope this guide helps you to make an informed decision on the kind and style of board. What the different features do and what your looking for to suit your boarding style.

Happy surfing!

About the Author

Oliver Ellice is based in Queensland, Australia. He has started an online business. Follow his advetures as he makes his way in the online world. http://www.shortsandshirts.evolveshop.com.au

if you are trimming the ruder, does actually move the whole fin (vertical stabilizer) or just the rudder?

The vertical fin is always mounted rigidly to the airframe. Rudder trim controls use a small control surface called a "trim tab" inset in the trailing edge of the rudder to apply trimming forces to the rudder.

In some transport airplanes, pitch trim is applied by moving the horizontal tail surfaces to an up or down angle, but rudder trim is not done that way.

Thor Force Helmet at Chaparral Motorsports