Fin Placement
The number of fins on a board and the placement of the fins relative to each other and where on the board affects how the board turns and the speed (drive) of the board. The bottom contour of the board will also determine where the fins should be placed.
The closer fins are to each other the easier the board will be to turn - the looser the board will be. The further apart the fins get the harder the board will be to turn.
Moving the fins forward (away from the tail) tends to make the board looser.
Fin Set Ups
The original surfboards did not have fins. The first fin set up was the single fin on the longer surfboards. Next came the twin fin, then the tri-fin or thruster. These three set ups make up the main stream of surfboard fin positions.
 Single Fin
The most popular set up on modern longboards, although some surfers like to have a thruster type fin set up with two smaller fins on the outside.
 Twin Fin
Fish surfboards often have twin fins which keep board symmetry with the fish / swallow tail shapes. This is a popular fin set up on retro surfboards.
 Tri Fin / Thruster
The thruster set up is the most common in set up for the modern shortboard and funboard / minimal.
So there are the main set ups but there is no reason why you cannot have the set up you like. Many of the more experimental surfboards will have more than 3 fins. If you see a board with four or more fins you will always see a symmetry in the placement. Picture the stringer as a mirror and you will see one side reflected on the other.
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