When Tom Blake took a stabilizing fin off a motorboat and bolted it to the bottom of his hollow surfboard at Waikiki in 1935, he set in motion a fascinating process of development and refinement that ...

Surfers have been experimenting with fins ever since Tom Blake commandeered a keel off an abandoned speedboat and screwed it into the bottom of a paddleboard in 1935. In the century that followed, ...

Fins to the surfer are like footwear to the footballer. Sure they mightn't matter much to those just starting out but for the more experienced, different designs can deliver the added stability and ...

A few days ago I got an email asking me when they first started putting fins on surfboards and who was the first person to do that. So I thought it would be fun to take a little look at the evolution ...

Posted: September 13, 2025 | Last updated: September 14, 2025 The number of fins in a surfboard has a dramatic influence on how a board responds and the style of surfing that is best suited to it.

F ew people in this vast realm of surfing can say they’ve had a hand in shaping the sport (quite literally) for more than ...

In a previous life, the soda and beer cans held carbonated drinks that were sipped – or guzzled – but in their new form, these recycled cans will help a surfer ride waves. And, in the ’60s, sounds ...

Australian surfer and shaper Neal Purchase Jr. has combined the best parts of a single-fin and a twin-fin in a new surfboard design he calls the Duo. Neal Purchase Jr. (NPJ) is an Australian ...

Switzerland can hardly be described as an ideal location for developments in surfboard applications, since it is a landlocked country, far from prime marine surfing locations and a high wage-cost ...