Question: Are shallow fins good for surface tricks?
About the article "Wakeboarding", section "Boards".

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Boards are buoyant with the core usually made up of foam, honeycomb or wood mixed with resin and coated with fiberglass.
Metal screws are inserted to attach bindings and fins.
The configuration and positioning of the fins and bindings vary according to rider preference and are adjusted for a variety of reasons.
A wakeboarder will change the type of fins used for different types of tricks.
For example, shallow fins (which do not protrude into the water very far) are better for surface tricks, such as flat spins.
Many newer board models contain small moulded fins on the board, allowing the rider to use smaller centre fins and also to create less drag.
Board hardware is often set up to allow a rider to ride "Switch" or "Fakie," with either foot forward.
Such setups are usually symmetrical in layout.
New riders normally set up their boards to be comfortable to ride with their "natural" foot forward, which does not allow for riding Switch without modifications.
For best results and easy wakeboarding, this sport is normally done in lakes, though the intercoastal waterways are also becoming popular.
Fins are constructed with three different kinds of materials.
The first and original fin material to wakeskating is plastic.
This material will bend and crack if it is exposed to the right conditions.
When the fin breaks and bends, it loses its performance.
Plastic fins can only be molded down to .5 inches in width.
Fin manufacturers also use fiberglass and aluminum.
Due to the fact that they are hand molded or machined they can be much narrower.
The narrow fins will cut down on drag in the water.
Aluminum fins are heavier and cost more, but they hold up to the beating that wakeskating can give them.
Fiberglass fins are cheaper than aluminum fins, but in time they chip apart.
They don’t weigh as much as aluminum fins either.
The length of the fin on your board can vary greatly.
Some fins are 5-8.5 inches long.
The longer fins are good because, they don’t have to be as deep to get the same surface area in the water.
They will track better than a fin that is shorter.
Also the long fins work better on rails and ramps because they are shallow enough that they will not make a lot of contact with the rail and ramp.
Shorter fins must be deeper to get the same amount of tracking.
A shallower fin will not track as good as a deeper one.
But a deeper fin will have more drag in the water, and it will not release from the water as fast.
Many wakeskates are designed to be ridden without fins.
After several early years of stigma associating finless riding with bad style, several prominent wakeskaters who prefer to ride finless have emerged over the last few years giving legitimacy to the argument that fins are a personal preference and not totally necessary. 
The Trick competition has been described as the most technical of the three classic water skiing events.
Trick skiing uses small, oval-shaped waterskis.
Beginners generally use two skis while more advanced skiers use one.
The shorter, wider Trick ski has a front binding facing forward and a back binding facing at a 45°.
It has a smooth bottom that allows it to turn over the surface of the water.
According to official 2013 Tournament Rules for 3-event competition in the United States and the Pan-Am Games, skis used in the Tricks event must be a single ski without fins, although molded rails/grooves less than 1/4" are allowed, as are a foot pad cemented to the ski as a place for the rear foot; in addition, the ski must float with all bindings, fins, etc., installed.
The ski's configuration allows the skier to perform both surface and air tricks in quick succession.
In a tournament, skiers are given two 20-second runs during which they perform a series of their chosen tricks.
One pass is for hand tricks, which includes surface turns, rotations over the wake, and flips.
The second pass is for toe tricks, which are done by doing wake turns and rotations with only a foot attaching them to the handle; the foot is either in the toehold part of the handle or, professionally, attached to the rope.
A trick cannot be repeated.
Each trick has a point value.
A panel of five judges accesses which tricks were competed correctly and assigns that predetermined point value to each successfully competed trick.
The skier with the most points wins. 
Riverboarders typically wear fins to provide the thrust to navigate in river currents, while a personal flotation device provides additional buoyancy.
Wetsuits, booties and helmets are worn as protection from the cold and from rocks.
Additionally, shin guards, gloves, knee pads, thigh pads, and elbow pads are sometimes worn for extra protection on shallow rivers.
Instruction, board design, and gear continue to improve, making riverboarding safer and opening up the possibilities of rapids that can be run on a riverboard and new tricks that can be performed while surfing on the belly. 
Skimboarding is a boardsport which involves riding a skimboard either on an outgoing wave, or in shallow water, where instead of going for waves the rider may attempt to ride a rail or do "tech" tricks.