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This was the question asked by John concerning what he saw as an extra fin on a seemingly complete design.
I say seemingly because the board might not be what it seems…….Bruce might well ask…..what are those two extra anchors for!
I think John & I are of a similar age as is Bud & quite a few others on here…born in 55….we have been subject to much the same influences. [I’m not going to talk about spoons here!] …the main split early on was the great difference in design between the Lis fish [USA] & the Crawford slab [Aus]…much documented on this site.
My first custom order was shaped from a photo in Surfer magazine of a Lis fish…so probably not very accurate! Since then I’ve no idea how many boards I’ve had but I’ve tried to learn from & experiment with as many designs as possible….the excitement for me is the evolutionary process.
I don’t see the 5 fin as being a corrupted 2 or 4 fin fish any more than I see it as a corrupted rounded pin 3 fin!….it has elements of both…& just is was it is…a board in it’s own right…just as people who are born to mixed race parents are people in there own right!
The world is a melting pot in more ways than one & the boards we produce are a product of all that has gone before…& without bias.
So….it is only logical to try to get the best of all worlds!
I love the fishes ability to drive off the bottom….probably the majority of us on this site were heavily influenced by those early pipeline kneelo shots….full rail & not much rider showing! Who could not want to surf like that!
These boards were surfed from the tail…..& because of this had one major drawback…
I love the three fins ability to drive powerful round cutbacks!….& to smoothly link turns…it allows the rider to build momentum….this doesn’t have the drawback of the fish & is a more complete board if you wish to do a more complete repertoire of moves…..but it doesn’t quite have that bite & drive off the bottom of the fish.
My take on this is –
The fish is great on a bottom turn because it is going from drop to rail [& not rail to rail] …& the straightness in the tail rail provides bite…..great for point & shoot!
When it comes to a cutback most fish had their fins set far back & wide point forward, so its hard to drive with momentum through the turn because your body has to be far back too.
The other problem is as you go from rail to rail there is a period where you are in no mans land when one set of fins are released & the other has yet to engage…not a problem on a three fin.
The five fin fish seems to have a squirt of power that the threes don’t & the bite & drive off the bottom of the fish...…but they also drive smoothly & powerfully through turns.
They turn tight & are really positive.
This is not a sales pitch!…..just some thoughts to explain & add to the melting pot….& there wasn’t room in the boards gallery to answer Johns question!
, but I imagine it took some work to settle on fin sizes and templates to strike the right balance in your fin assemblage.