page_title: Surfboard fin
section_title: Types
hierarchical_section_title: Surfboard fin / Types
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Futures Finne English: Futures Fin
context_page_description: A surfboard fin or skeg is a hydrofoil mounted at the tail of a surfboard or similar board to improve directional stability and control through foot-steering. Fins can provide lateral lift opposed to the water and stabilize the board's trajectory, allowing the surfer to control direction by varying their side-to-side weight distribution. The introduction of fins in the 1930s revolutionized surfing and board design. Surfboard fins may be arrayed in different numbers and configurations, and many different shapes, sizes, and materials are and have been made and used.
context_section_description: Glass on fins are fins that are permanently connected to the surfboard through fiberglass.  This type of fin was mainly used on older model surfboards.  Glass on fins are broken easily and are hard to repair.  You rarely see these types of fins today because a different type of fin has replaced them.
  Removable Fin Systems The most common types of fins used today, removable fins are surfboard fins that can be unscrewed from the surfboard and be replaced by different fins or be moved about the board for a different setup in maneuverability and stability. In the early '90s, three Australian surfers invented the fin control system (FCS). Since its global release in 1994 FCS has become the industry standard; providing elite athletes and everyday surfers an abundance of fin designs and a platform to change the performance of their surfboard by changing fins. The system also streamlined the surfboard manufacturing process by making it easier to install fins into boards and repair damaged fins. The leading competitor to FCS fins is Futures fins. Using a single larger fin box, the manufacturer claims the fins provide a stronger connection and more closely approximate the feeling of a glass on fin. Third, there is the US Box system that is still often used for single fin setups.
  Flexible fins fins are used on most rental boards because of liability.  These fins are much safer than a hard fin because they cannot cut you. However, it does lose some of the performance.
  ADAC System Adaptive Dynamic Attack & Camber fins. bio-mechanics variable geometry fins able to adjust the attack angle and camber according to the various phases of the trajectory.
  Materials Used Nowadays fins are normally made in Plastic or Fiber. Fiber fins are combining different materials to obtain better performance, and better weight and flotation ratios like honeycomb cores, bamboo core, and then glassed with fiber and sometimes reinforced with carbon fiber.
caption: Futures fin
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