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. Since then fin design has come on a long way and there is a huge variation of different fins made from multiple materials and a whole host of different shapes. The main two types of fin however are the glassed on type and the removable type. Here we look at the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Fins known as 'glassed on' a sculpted on to the board when it is first being shaped and are not removable afterwards. 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. On top of this, unlike removable fins, glassed on will never come loose from the board in the water. 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. On top of this, damaged fins can let water penetrate the inner layers of board and cause more extensive damage.

Among the many fins on the market that are removable, the FCS system is widely considered the best to use. Their are a whole range of various FCS fins you can get hold off, differing in material and design. This means that you can have a number of different fins ready for certain surf conditions or riding styles. They are additionally very convenient if they pick up damage as it will literally take you two minutes to replace one. The drawback of using removable fin systems is that they often cause more drag than glassed on fins and can even be ripped out in big surf.
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