I've just started body boarding, and have been using some fins that I had for swimming in the surf. They are longer and thinner than body board fins. They seem to work well for me, but I was wondering if more experienced body boarders could caution me about using these long fins.

Thanks!

dunno....

I've been bodyboarding consistently for about 2 years now... and fins are a complete mystery to me haa haa!

For what it counts.. heres my views!

In bodyboarding we need the fins to help us catch waves and sometimes aid us whilst we're on them. Its as simple as that!
When your catching a wave, you need a fast burst of speed... when your on a wave, you need little bursts of speed. Following me (I hope someone is )

Right.... The shorter the fin.. the stiffer the end bit of the fin will be, and the stiffer the fin is the better we can speed up. However.... the shorter the fin the less surface area is actually pushing the water so it will have a lower "top speed" if you like.
So its finding a happy medium that best suits your style.

I realised that if all the top pros are wearing shorter fins then there must be a very good reason for it!

I've got a pair of these, and even though they are short they have funky channels that help water flow and increase speed. I love em!

http://www.hydrosportz.com/default_get_ie.htm

My friend who is a swimming pro takes his long flipper like swimming fins out to bodyboard in. He's just come back from Croyde Bay and he says that his swimming fins are now ruined because of the sea water! Maybe corrosion i don't no? But, they do seem to be more fragile, like if there were some stones on the bottom then you stand a better chance in some sturdy bodyboard fins. I don't no why, but the website of the "little pink shop" www.croyde-surf-cam.com said that once you buy and wear fins you can never put you fins on the bottom of the seabed...ever!...I don't know what they're on about.

At the following website you can find info on fins. It says:
"Avoid diving fins as they drag too much. Shorter fins give more burst speed which are much better for getting into waves they can also act as a rudder to help through turns & holding in on steeper waves. There are many different shaped fins, some have stiffer blades, some tracker better in the face of the waves."

http://www.bodyboardhq.co.uk/html/tech.html

You can find fins called "winstons" (which i have) they are a cheaper replica of the famous "churchill makapu" bodyboard fins. You can find them in most surf shops that sell bodyboard fins. They're only about £20! So even if you don't want to wear them and prefer your other fins, its not that much of a loss.

Thod, Airborne, I agree with all you said.
Short fins are like the first gear of a car, they give you speed fast, however their top speed is low. Long diving fins are like the higher gears, higher topspeed, better for cruising.

The other bonus of short fins is that they let you do drop knee. It could be very hard to step on the board with a long diving fin.

It would be really amusing to watch someone try though!....
God i'm getting Sadistic!

thank you to everyone who has written about my fin issue! I went out and bought a pair of Churchill Slashers and have been using them in the surf. I find them to be kind of slow and they're causing the outside of my ankles to be really sore. Has anyone ever had this happen before? Do you think I just need to break them in, or should I buy different fins? thanks in advance!

Hi zanapple,

i'll help best I can here.

regarding the speed your getting out of them try some different kicking techniques. ie. kick with your legs straight, kick in a bicycle motion, use your ankles more, keep your ankles straight and stiff.... try as many different ways possible.

O.K. onto your sore ankles. Theres a few things you can do here. Firstly are you wearing neoprene socks? these should help with rubbing.
If your not and you don't want to you can buy an old pair, cut them up and wrap bits of neoprene around the heel strap for comfort.

If you are already wearing socks and your ankles are still hurting.... this could just be down to the fact that you've got new fins.... they will be stiff and will eventually soften up a bit for you. Also you could very well be using muscles in your legs and ankles that you havent used before! After a while you'll get used to them and they'll stop hurting.

To give you an idea... I wore Manta Blade fins for 12 months, they crippled me for the first month and I could hardly walk after using them. But became seriously comfy after a while. I've now bought hydro tech 2 fins which again gave me hassle and even gave me cramp a few times.. but again they are turning into really comfy fins.

Stick with em, they'll be fine!

i agree totally with Thodd here,

just a thought to add onto the way you're legs kick in the water...keep you're fins under the surface of the water when you kick because if you don't you lose energy, speed and power...plus you splash everyone behind you.

Also make sure that your fins are not to tight around the ankle. I have my fins, medium size, and i always get cramp on the outside soul of my feet, because they are quite tight with the socks. So, when i try the same fins (my bro's) which are larger, they feel fine because they put less force (tightness) on my feet..but they are still small enough to fit on my foot.

Keep with the fins!

Zanapple,

I found that keeping my legs straight while paddling and excerting the force from the the thigh rather than the lower leg gave me the most speed. This can get tiring so I'd do it for catching waves, but then for paddling back to the lineup I'd take it easy and flex the knees or even rest my legs by paddling with my arms.

Just work a bit at it and try and find the stile that suits you best.

As far as sore feet and blisters, well, that is part of the bodyboarding sport. I remember Bodyboarding mag runs competitions every now and then for photos of the ugliest, most knackered feet.