single-fin
A surfboard with one fin, as compared to boards with anywhere from two to five fins. Surfboards were finless until Wisconsin-born surfing polymath Tom Blake attached a low-profile metal boat keel to the back of one of his paddleboards in 1935. "Never before had I experienced such control and stability," Blake later wrote. The surfboard fin didn't catch on right away (most surfers thought it was t...
Subscribe or Login
Plans start at $5, cancel anytimeTrouble logging-in? Contact us.
Surfboard fin innovator Tom BlakeSubscribe to view
Steph Gilmore on single-fin, Greenmount, 2012. Photo: Andrew KidmanSubscribe to view
David Nuuhiwa, 1968. Photo: Dave SingletarySubscribe to view
Single-fin surfboards, 1963. Photo: Richard DowdySubscribe to view
Single-fin surfboard at Pipeline, early 1970s. Photo: Jeff DivineSubscribe to view
Single-fin boards, 1969. Photo: Dave DarlingSubscribe to view
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/d5a914b707047f8adb8cf076ce201b8d2bafd485-619x900.jpg?rect=0,296,619,348&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Surfboard fin innovator Tom Blake
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/2adbfa94d6e357c90aa267da950d1bdab5c791ab-900x584.jpg?rect=0,78,900,506&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Steph Gilmore on single-fin, Greenmount, 2012. Photo: Andrew Kidman
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/2ba4adec7b42a92698c2cda369b1ed1109ac9554-900x506.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
David Nuuhiwa, 1968. Photo: Dave Singletary
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/e1a25c8708323b589348c60d35bcdc8c1f75d716-900x560.jpg?rect=0,54,900,506&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Single-fin surfboards, 1963. Photo: Richard Dowdy
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/e903bc99c86b545b14120db73bd1925380f23b89-700x394.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Single-fin surfboard at Pipeline, early 1970s. Photo: Jeff Divine
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/7784282d9781b158a84b81ccf356c6d05c8d55af-900x506.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Single-fin boards, 1969. Photo: Dave Darling