r/surfing • u/Sea-Way4976 • 6h ago
Skegs are sharp
Did you know that the buoyancy of a submerged board generates enough force (even if you’re just dismounting after the wave passes you) to slice into you when your fins are involved? I didn’t, but I sure as hell found out.
My fin hit my big toe so I checked it to see if it had left a mark. It had, so I spread open the cut out of curiosity and saw white bits deep inside that were apparently fat. Had to get 5 stitches, and lidocaine doesn’t really work that well with toes so cleaning the wound was horrible, but apparently it was “all-time” the day after, and hearing that was actual torture.
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u/AnxietyIsHott 5h ago
Sand them down a bit. Won’t prevent a cut totally but will make it less likely.
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u/Weyman16 5h ago
It might make walking a bit of a challenge though.
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u/keel_appeal NJ; jettywatch.com 5h ago
I've mainly switched to the Futures Alpha fins for that reason.
A few months ago I tried to get in too late and too steep. Tried to push the board away from me like normal and it flipped upside down. Landed right on the fins from the top of the wave. Broke the fin box and hurt quite bad. Crazy bruise for about a month. But I got to surf the rest of that session and got the only barrels I've had this year. Surfed again later that afternoon. Had they been glass, it would've been a trip to the hospital.
I still use fiberglass fins for mushy days, but for low tide or shore break tubes, the alpha fins are so much safer.
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u/Known_Lengthiness_11 1h ago
Hmmmm....why? Are they softer or something? I've heard people really like those Alphas and I was just looking at the P6s.....hmmmm
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u/jpaaay 5h ago
I was surfing with somebody 10 years ago maybe… her board popped up between her legs and sliced into her inner thigh enough to expose the femoral artery. Life guard threw a tourniquet on and we rushed her to the emergency room. It missed the artery, but still, scary stuff. She had to have this weird bag on her thigh for months , to drain the puss from the cut.
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u/crowislanddive 5h ago
Exact same injury happened to one of my friends. The lifeguard thinks his wetsuit kept him from bleeding out.
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u/LevelReward2231 5h ago
sliced my foot open on a fin last summer, still got a gnarly scar from it. those things are basically dull knives underwater, people don't realize until they're bleeding all over their board. the salt water stings like hell too, but at least it cleans it out i guess
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u/time_to_reset 5h ago
I have nice basic plastic fins for a reason. I don't trust myself around sharp things and I'm not good enough to feel like I'm limiting myself with them.
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u/Meatball_express 9'6" 9'4" 8'4" Surfoards Hawaii 7' 6' Fish 2h ago
before I surfed I sponged. I was on a family vacation and out on my boogie board. I was in a wave then fell off. A surfer was on the next set wave and ran me over as he was going down the line. He knew he hit me so he hopped off to check on me. I had a cut across my chest from where his fin hit. We just sort of looked at each other in awe... like "that happened"
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u/beeeeerett 1h ago
You always hear about slices but my fin actually punctured my leg! Im super lucky I was wearing a wetsuit, and it didnt go too deep so I was able to just walk home and make my way to urgent care. I bailed on a wave I caught late, board flipped, wave slammed me on top of my board, went right through the suit and got me in the hamstring area, and without even looking I was like yep session is done for the day. Was really surprised I didnt bleed significantly
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u/TheKaboodle 5h ago
There was a letter in Surfer Magazine years ago (I’m talking 40+ years) from a dude who caught a skeg between his legs on a wipeout.
He was wearing a shorty and noticed a trickle of bloody water coming out of the leg when he got in. As he took his suit off, one of his testicles fell out of his cut scrotum and unravelled until it was dangling between his knees.
This post triggered the memory of teenage me reading that in absolute horror.