The Bottom turn

The one major turn that sets your whole ride up. The spring board into attack, the Bottom turn. It projects you straight up or down the line. If you take a late drop on a large wave and then just lean over into your turn its a wonderful feeling driving off the bottom…

On a smaller wave a little slight pump before you lay down your rail can really help you gain momentum. Of course if you learnt to surf on a single fin where the fin was a base up from the tail then you had to really “crank it”. On one of my really early boards I had handles on either side of the widest point and that really helped to pull the rockerless board onto its rail and off the bottom.

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Bottom turn, 4 fin.

 

This is all in the early days of developing fins, positions, size and flex, but when it all came together YES a driving Bottom turn into the pocket for an off the top or into the tube. Its the start of a ride, and what a ride when suddenly one fin went to two and you had a bullet on your hands.

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Bottom turn, 3 fin.

From learning to crank your single fin to get on a lively Twin fin was liberating, you could put a vee apex deep or double concaves or run channels out through the tail. The Twin fin allowed quick rail to rail change, run your turn and swing hard off the bottom at high speed! The the Tri fin, interesting, loose like a twinny with the drive of a single fin.

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Bottom turn, “Fresh Fish” Twin keels inside small nurse fins.

I always pushed my fins forward on a Tri and back on a Twin. The “Fresh Fish” a full nose with flex keel twin fins with little nurse fins on the inside to direct water flow, a four fin, LOVE IT, drivey Bottom turns direct long or straight up, versatility is it’s trade mark!

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Bottom turn, Single fin.  

 Five fin only for me special survival type no fancy stuff just power plus, stagger fins large, medium, small. Bottom turn your board into the ride of your life, set yourself up with that initial important turn, gain momentum through every turn sink your knee into it throw your body behind your weight, the Bottom turn the start of it all, free your mind and go for it!

 

 

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