I just got a (used) Channel Islands single fin 6’5"x20.5"x3", I have not tried it yet. I wanted to try a single shortboard since I wanted to try retro board I am really not into longboards yet have allways been intreagued by fins used in long boards (plus it looked so damn fun). It came with a 8.5" stock fin by Fins Unlimited, I think. Can anyone recomend placement and alternative fins to try? I am 6’4"x210 surfing 20 yrs at 34yrs old in Nor Cal SF-SC mainly and not really into “just cruising” I want to be able to snap and carve, single fin style of coarse. From other threads It sounds like True Ames norm flex 7-9", Rainbow TK flex 8.5" and Halycons fins (Rich) in Santa Cruz look very interesting. Plus has anyone tried the Rusty single fin on this type of board, it looks good I saw it on the Rainbow website. Any reply is appreciated. Thanks!!!
Single fin shortys drive me crazy.I just can’t seem to rely on any one type or style.We make cool retro’s w/resin smears & tints,neat little eggs w/old school rails & what-not,all single fins with a box.I love making them, they look and feel really cool,but more often than not the damn things let me down.I just never know when the fin is gonna do something unexpected,like spin out,or just leave me there in the pocket waiting to project down the line.One day I might love it;the next swell I feel like a kook.The weird thing is my single fin longboard I’m currently on is one of the best ever,I like it more than the sidebyte set-ups I’ve been on for the last12 years.It holds like a champ,cutsback unreal,bottom turns in juice,pumps down the line…The fin in it is a Hap Jacobs made by Larry at Fiberglass fin co.,a 9 or 10 inch I think. We’ve included the Rainbow TKflex model as well as the Rusty fin made of 4oz. cloth(for flex)in quite a few of our mini-logs and retro-glides(6-7footers).There’s so many templates out there,but I think most important is to have the right size fin for the conditions.I think it’s better to have more fin than not enough,also.Adding small side fins on the rail & even just those little biscuit fins like twinzers had make a single fin feel more predictable to me.
I use the 8.5 tk flex in my 6’ 3" single fin. Found it to be the best so far but haven’t tried that many different fin templates yet. I know this- the flex fin allows me to hold a cutback all the way around and project back into the whitewater and crack it. Stiffer fins were spinning out on me halfway thru the turn! Just my 2 cents.
Hey Shaun, Channel Island boards are beautifully foiled. I have a couple of fins underway of my own templates to be used on a 7’0" and a 7’4" single interchangably. The boards aren’t Merrick’s but they look pretty good. One fin is a Mod-Mental 8.0" and is a speed fin. The other is a Bottlenose 7.75" and is more for heavy conditions and breaking through the mushed out sections. When I get them foiled I’ll send you some photos, if I can have you email address. It the 8.5" fin that came with the board is a Greenough Stage four or something close to that it may work just fine. I don’t know what a Fins unlimited stock fin looks like but I can probably guess pretty well. I got you call today but missed your phone number. Give me a call after you put the kids to bed if you’re so inclined. Mahalo, Rich
…I agree with STL on this one,I have several.The most important thing is the degree and placement of flex.If it’s too stiff or better yet too soft in flex for your weight,it won’t work right.Herb
I recommend you take that thing to the beach and surf it !!! Start in the middle of the box or wherever you like. Mark the starting fin placement with a sharpie and go from there. Get a wonder bolt so you don’t need a screw driver and start moving to where you desire by 1/8 inch increments. It feels drastically wrong go a quater inch at first then fine tune it from there. I would also start out by using the fin you have. If it’s your first single it’s going to take a little getting use to no matter what you have. An 8.5" to 9" standard fin seems perfectly suited for that board. Everything else is a matter of preference and riding style. If you still have a strong desire to change out that fin and experiment. I would go with the true ames flex 9". I use a TA 8.5 flex in my 6’3" mini egg and it works great. Have fun with the R/D .
The key to the single fin is to keep high on the wave. This is actually true of all boards. When you ride high you get a lot of speed. But with a single fin this is especially true. Big bottom turns can sometimes make you lose your speed. Of course, some surfers can do anything on a single fin, including big bottom turns that don’t lose speed. I think it depends on foot positioning. I find that if I put too much weight on the back foot when making turns on a single fin that I lose my speed, especially if the tail is narrow and the nose is wide, which is very similar to most seventies single fins. That’s my take. Oh, and those flex fins are great. I have an 8,2 single fin with an 8 inch flex fin. It rocks and actually picks of speed.
Rascoe, I had the same problem with an egg I made earlier this year. I tried all kinds of fins up to a 9 incher and it still would slide out on bottoms turns. I ended up adding some FCS side bites and they made a world of difference. I almost sold that board but now its one of my favorites. All my longboards are singles too and I have had no problems with them, thats why I couldnt figure out why I was having the spin out problems on the egg. Im not too sure, I think on my next egg I may put in a bit more vee and a little more rocker behind the fin like my longboards.
i find having a few beers before i go out seems to really help when riding a short single fin…
I’ve been riding the single for about 2 years now, after riding thrusters and bonzers all my life! I have to say, there’s something about the single I haven’t felt on any other board. It has this slippery feeling that I’ve been able to figure out how to control! It feels so drag free out on the open face, that the only way I can descibe it is to say "bar of soap in a bath tub! It’s given me a whole new approach to facey not-so-great waves! I’d recommend it to any good surfer as long as your open-minded enough to consider different ways of riding a wave! The 8.5 TK flex from rainbow literally lit the thing up!