A leg rope or surfboard leash is a urethane cord attached to the deck of a surfboard, down near the tail. It prevents the surfboard from being swept away by waves and stops runaway surfboards from hitting other surfers and swimmers. Modern leashes consist of a urethane cord where one end has a band with a velcro strap attached to the surfer’s trailing foot, and the opposite has a velcro strap attached to the tail end of the surfboard. Should the surfer fall while riding a wave, the surfboard will not be swept away, thus allowing the surfer to quickly recover his surfboard and return to the take-off zone.

The leash was invented in the 1970s amidst controversy that it was a dangerous accessory. Prior to leashes introduction in 1971, surfers who fell off their boards had to swim to retrieve them with runaway boards being an inconvenience to the surfer and a danger to other surfers. Initially, people expressed concern that if a surfer fell while riding a wave and wearing a leg rope, the surfboard may bounce back and hit the surfer causing serious injury. Although this can happen, most surfers today choose to use a leg rope while surfing as it is believed that leg ropes prevent more accidents than they cause.

Santa Cruz resident Pat O’Neill (son of surfer Jack O’Neill, inventor of the O’Neill Wetsuit) is credited with inventing the surf leash. His initial designs consisted of surgical cord attached to a board with a suction cup. At the 1971 Malibu international surfing competition, Pat offered leashes to his competitors in the event. Consequently he was disqualified from the event for wearing his leash, dubbed a kook cord by those at the event however over the next year, the leash became a ubiquitous tool in the surfing world. ^[1]

Pat’s father, Jack O’Neill, lost his left eye in a surf leash accident as the surgical tubing used in the early designs allowed the leash to overstretch, causing the surfboard to fly back towards the surfer. Subsequent cords were made with less elastic materials such as bungee cords. ^[1]

The first leg rope on the surfboard was created by Peter Wright, in Raglan, New Zealand. It was established in the very early 1970s. It consisted of [nylon]. He is not credited for his efforts because he did not copyright the leg rope. The urethane design was patented by David Hattrick ^[2]. Later in the 1970s, he established Pipe Lines surfing products and developed a design that could be patented. This design also won an Australian Design Award in 1979.

Santa Cruz resident Pat O’Neill (son of surfer Jack O’Neill, inventor of the O’Neill Wetsuit) is credited with inventing the surf leash. His initial designs consisted of surgical cord attached to a board with a suction cup. At the 1971 Malibu international surfing competition, Pat offered leashes to his competitors in the event. Consequently he was disqualified from the event for wearing his leash, dubbed a kook cord by those at the event however over the next year, the leash became a ubiquitous tool in the surfing world. ^[1]

Pat’s father, Jack O’Neill, lost his left eye in a surf leash accident as the surgical tubing used in the early designs allowed the leash to overstretch, causing the surfboard to fly back towards the surfer. Subsequent cords were made with less elastic materials such as bungee cords. ^[1]

The first leg rope on the surfboard was created by Peter Wright, in Raglan, New Zealand. It was established in the very early 1970s. It consisted of [nylon]. He is not credited for his efforts because he did not copyright the leg rope. The urethane design was patented by David Hattrick ^[2]. Later in the 1970s, he established Pipe Lines surfing products and developed a design that could be patented. This design also won an Australian Design Award in 1979.

Structure[edit]

Modern leg rope consists of four parts cuff, swivel, cord and rail saver.^[3] The cuff comes with a double wrap-around velcro cuff. The swivel allows the cuff to spin and twist without the rope itself twisting or tangling providing less strain on the rope. The cords are typically made from a high-quality polyurethane and typically come in 2 thicknesses. However, the thicker leg ropes has more drag in the water.^[3] The rails saver is designed to provide a secured connection to the board and protect the rail when a surfer falls.

A leash cup, also known as a “leash plug”, is an indentation in the deck of the board close to the tail that contains a small metal bar that a short cord can be girth hitched to for attaching a leash.

Surfboard fins can help surfers control their boards

A surfboard fin or skeg is a hydrofoil mounted at the tail of a surfboard or similar board to improve directional stability and control through foot-steering. Fins can provide lateral liftopposed to the water and stabilize the board’s trajectory, allowing the surfer to control direction by varying their side-to-side weight distribution. The introduction of fins in the 1930s revolutionized surfing and board design. Surfboard fins may be arrayed in different numbers and configurations, and many different shapes, sizes, and materials are and have been made and used.

Historically, surfboards had no fins; some amount of control was achieved through convex hulls and the surfer dragging a foot in the water. A common problem with these early boards was “sliding ass”, in which the tail would slip sideways, usually causing a wipeout.^[1] The first fixed fin was introduced by surfing pioneer Tom Blake in 1935. In Waikiki, Blake attached a 30 cm (12 in) long, 10 cm (4 in) deep metal keel from an abandoned speedboat to his surfboard, and was immediately impressed with the results.^[1][2] Around 1936, Woody Brown independently added a fixed fin to his second surfboard design in San Diego, which further popularized the feature.^[3]

The stability and control fins allowed revolutionized the sport, though many surfers avoided them for several years; evidently, they were thought dangerous. The feature grew more common in the mid-1940s and became the universal industry standard in the 1950s. Experimentation with fin design and configuration increased after 1966 with the popularization of shortboards. Parallel double fins, first introduced in the 1940s by Bob Simmons, became periodically popular. In 1980, Simon Anderson introduced the three-fin “Thruster” design, which has since become standard.^[1]