Twin Fin / Fish Surfboards

Back in the late 60's a forward thinking Californian kneeboarder named Steve Lis put his swim fins on, kneeled down on some butcher's paper and traced a line. This line, essentially a deep swallow, became the tail of his kneeboard, his aim being to reduce the drag caused by his fins. Impressed by Lis' innovative surfing, stand up surfers began to wonder if something along the same lines could work for them. Turns out it could, with the control provided by the exaggerated swallow offsetting the inherent speed of a wide, flat plan-shape to great effect. The design became known as the Fish and, whilst somewhat forgotten during the Thruster's heyday, it's latterly been re-appreciated as a highly functional, super-fun and surprisingly versatile option. While the Fish's influence can be seen in many a summer groveler or hybrid, plenty of so-called fish are merely just a bit fishy; a true fish will feature a forward of centre wide point, very low rocker, plenty of width and of course that deep, curved swallow - punctuated by either a twin-keel or quad fin set up.