Ok, so I just got done doing a 7’ egg. Got a round pin tail and is about 20.75" wide and 2.75" thick with a spiral V rolled into a rolled bottom. I’m not sure on what to do in terms of in set up though, I’d prefer to ride the board mostly singlefin, however on biger days I’d like the option to go 3 fin set up, or 2+1 I guess you could say. I want to stay away from FCS because I’m doing a resin tint and the plug will show through, but am I setting myself up for dissapointment here? I was looking at the finsunlimited and futures sites and came across some that might work, the FU site had the k2d2 but I thought all fins should be the same size, which would be hard as the talest Futures I found is 4.6 or there abouts. Ok, after that ramble I confused myself. Basically, if I’m looking to do a 2+1, what fins should I be looking at here.
Hey Christian, There’s nothing wrong with the F/U center ~ Future rail combo. It offers you lots of fin choices. You boards is going to ride fairly deep in the water with the bottom configuration tending to be convex. I wouldn’t bother with big rail fins because I don’t think they’ll do much but slow a board like this down. A center around 5.5" to 6.0" and rails around 3.0" to 4.0" would be a good place to start. You can always move the center forward in the box to loosen the board. As you slide it back in the box turn radius will lengthen and the board will hold in a steeper wave face better and white water better. Without the rail fins you’ll need around 7.0" to 8.0" of center fin. Depending on what type of template you choose. Mahalo, Rich
my opinion is that larger side fins would suit this board. because the bottom contours will slow it down ,its gonna need waves with more push to make it go, or ride the face a little higher,larger side fins will let you ride the face high thus putting the board in the power zone …dont forget M.R. rode 15 foot sunset in the late seventies on a twin fin no centre at all …he was hooking under the lip when other guys were carving under the lip … regards BERT
Both good points, however I don’t think the bottom contors are going to slow it as much as you’d think. It’s a slight V rolled, had it been a more drastic V I would agree with Bert’s comments that the bottom contors would do most of the slowing. Yeah, you bring up a good point about the fin set up Rich, it definitely gives me a good place to start. With fins being relatively cheap these days, it’s one of the few things I’ll be able to afford buying a few of so experimentation could be fun. Stupid question though, is the canter of the fin with futures controled eith the fin itself or the installation of the box?
Contrary to what Bert has to say the bottom contours, rails and rockers have more to do with how well a board will ride high in the face of the wave than the fin set up does. I’ve surfed enough bottom contours to know this for a fact. Certainly you need enough fin surface area to hold a trim line but bigger rail fins won’t make it hold a higher line unless they were undersized for the center fin you have in the board to begin with. Consider that lots of single fin boards will hold a high line just fine. I have several. A board tends to be skatey if the center fin is undersized. If you put a large center fin with large rail fins the fins tend to work against each other and you’ll notice as the board slows down it will want to walk from rail to rail all by itself, which can’t do much for overall performance. A proper balance of rail control and center stabilization is what to look for. Big rail fins on a convexed tail only make sense if you’re riding without much center fin and what to surf the board on the rail on the time. How the mid section of the board is configured and how it is rockered will have everything to do with how it trims. How you fin the board is as much about styles as anything else. Certainly if the center fin is a less dominante part of the picture you’ll have to increase rail fin size to hold a line in the high part of the wave. I hope this will assist you and selecting a fin set-up to start with. Board specks, photos, foil, rocker, bottom and rail configuration and conditions one intends to surf are the determining factors I use when building custom fin set-ups. Finding a balance is not as simple as one might think. The cant is in the fins in futures the box is flush with the bottom of the board. Good Surfin’, Rich
halycon …i wouldnt argue with a thing you said there…i wasnt saying that those bottom contours would make it ride higher i said they would slow it down,thus to get the most out of that bottom you would need to make it ride higher on the face ,or punchier waves, the only way i could sugest a higher ride was larger side fins as the rest of the shape was already done ,and as you pointed out a smaller tail fin in combination with the larger sides was exactly what i had in mind even tho i didnt mention the tail fin .i was looking at optimising what had already been started …but either way i was impressed with your comments… regards BERT
Hey Bret, There are so many variables out there it’s hard to capture it all in words. With a given board in front of us I sense we would both come up with a similar fin set-up on it to optimize performance. The bottom line is is codfish simply can’t keep up with a tuna no matter what kind of fins you graft on him. He simply isn’t shaped right. Good-on-ya, Rich
to true …ive had experiences where ive met people who are very innovative and have been working on stuff similar to me but along way away and found out they have solved the same problems in identical ways … logic and an understanding of basic principles of physics can go along way… ps ive just got back from a trip down the coast today and had to personally thank the guy who gave me the address of this site … this place is the best thing that ever happened to me ,to be able to communicate with like minded people ,and not be stuck in my own world with only my own thoughts to build on , thank you very much to the people who established this site …you have made an enormous contribution to surfing…