When surfboard design was still in its infancy, an important finding was that adding a fin to the underside would give the rider greater control and overall stability. Ever since there has been a whole host of further developments, leading to a large variety of fins that differ in shape and material. The 2 most common types of fin however, widely speaking at least, are the removable and glassed on fin. Lets examine them a little closer and consider their strength and drawbacks.

Glassed on fins do not come away from the board, but are instead built into it. They are generally found on older surfboards but are now actually again being used in modern surfboard design. The great thing about these fins is that the form a very smooth and well finished join to the board, which reduced drag and speeds up the board. The fins also will not fall out in the water which can sometimes happen with removable fins. The weakness of glassed on fins is that, although rare, when they do break it is a huge headache trying to fix the fin again. Extreme sports are not known as such for nothing and extreme force is often placed on equipment. Additionally, if the damage is serious, water can enter the fragile core layers of the surfboard and this can lead to a great deal of all-over damage.

There are number of different types of removable fins, but the best and most widely used is generally accepted to be the FCS system. These FCS fins come in a number of different shapes and materials so you can easily adjust them to suit the conditions and your riding style. On top of this the convenience factor is very high, with surfers being able to take a damaged fin out and put a new one in very quickly indeed. The fact that the fins cause a little more drag in the water and can sometimes come loose and get lost in the ocean are the only major flaws.

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