Information AboutSkeg |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SKEG | |
| surfing | |
| sailboat anatomy | |
|
In Surfing , a skeg is a stabilizing Fin located at the rear of the Surfboard . It was invented in 1935 by Tom Blake . A skeg has the effect of keeping the board moving forward in a controlled manner. THE MECHANICS OF A SKEG IN SURFING Without any fins on a surfboard, there is a tendency for the board to side slip and rotate. To counter this problem, early surfers would hang the toes of their back foot over the edge of the board to create a pivot point and thus setting the rail, stabilising the board. Once introduced, the fin revolutionised surfing, allowing surfers to direct the board's momentum and providing more balance whilst turning. The single fin, centrally located, remained unchanged until the late 70's when a second was added and popularised by Australian Mark Richards . The new Twin Fin set up allowed much more flowing carves to be performed. Mark Richards dominated the world competitive scene from 1979 to 1983. In 1980 another Australian was developing another set up which would again change the face of surfing. His name was Simon Anderson and by attaching a third fin, positioned centrally behind the twin fins, he created the Thruster set up. Today, most surfboards still use the same arrangement with its popularity arising from the combined ability for carving turns and providing control and drive. In the late 90's removable fin systems were developed. These provided surfers with the ability to alter the riding characteristics of a surfboard, by changing the size or number of fins used. It allows each surfboard to be tweaked to match the surf conditions. EARLIER USES OF A SKEG The name given to the directional stabilizer of a surf board derives from the skeg of a boat or ship. Where a vessel's Rudder is mounted on the centreline, it is usual to hang it on gudgeons and pintles, the latter being upright pins and the former, rings to fit round them. Together, they form a Hinge . The lowest pintle is usually mounted below the rudder on an extension of the Keel so that the toe of the rudder is protected from the sea bottom or anything passing under the ship. Without it, things like Rope s are very prone to catch on the rudder. This Stern ward extension of the keel is the skeg. It used to be relatively small until screw Propeller s were introduced, when it had to reach below the screw and became a proportionately larger fitting protecting both screw and rudder from damage. The word comes ultimately, from Scandinavian languages where it means '' Beard ''. In Swedish for example, the word for beard is ''skägg''. |
|
|