"The Future is Here...
In the early, beginning days of tow-in surfing, our biggest problem was the fins on our boards. The board shapes, the PWC familiarization and the towing technique all evolved at a steady pace but our fin technology, while adequate in most situations, would, on occasion, throw a monkey wrench into the machinery. What we thought were state of the art, glassed-on, hand-foiled fins, was not handling the speeds we were attaining in this new, exciting variation of big wave surfing. Fin cavitation in the pit of a monster wave at Jaws were a nightmare with real serious repercussions.
Someone suggested we try out the Future Fin Systems, telling us the fill-its of a glassed-on fin plus the crude hand foiling could be our problem. Our egos practically laughed at the idea that a removable, plastic fin could be better than what we were using. But I took a closer look at the Future system and liked what I saw in regards to the installation process, the obvious strength inherent in doing it their way and especially the foils of their fins. With nothing to lose, I put Future Fin boxes into Darrick Doerner’s next tow-board. I didn’t have any special fins when I sent it to him so just packed in some stock molded fiber filled models that looked good to me. A few days later, I received a phone call. It was Darrick and Laird …. calling me from the channel at Jaws. They were very excited about the new board but especially the new fins they said worked so well that they felt like they were snowboarding down a big mountain. It was a breakthrough moment in the sport of tow-in surfing and I haven’t glassed-on any surfboard fins since then. From that point forward, the Future Fins have improved dramatically in regards to tow surfing, using special materials and more evolved shapes but always maintaining the high standard and perfect foils that made a stock, off-the-shelf set of plastic fins become a turning point for this new sport.
Today we have another variation of wave riding called stand up paddle surfing. The level of performance as well as the design of the equipment is progressing at a rapid pace. From the start, it has been a matter of adapting fins designed for regular surfing to the SUP boards. But SUP boards are different … longer, wider and thicker. With the leverage of the long handle paddle, one is able to exert considerable force when laying into a turn or cutback. All this adds up to requiring a special type of fin. With some minor input from me in regards to a template, Future Fin Systems again has come through with a spectacular fin model specifically for high performance SUP surfing. Expertly engineered, perfectly foiled and fitted, whether for a standard thruster design or a quad fin set-up, look to the Future Fins Systems for the leading designs in SUP or any other surfing fins." -Gerry Lopez
