So a retrosexual and a respectful trannie walk into a fatty glassing bay, and the rock-man turns to ‘jar’ and says…
“It’s the Ambrose a’la Gravensteins that does it…what other Proof do you need?”
(I’m working on the time and place and can pm you when I know more)
-jar
thanks for saying so.
-jar
Jar,
something i’ve been chewing on lately in regards to the 5 and 4 fin setups…
somebody in another thread (“function of fins” maybe???) mentioned
that fins act like underwater sails. it would seem to me with my very limited
sailing experience that all else being equal, more sail would produce more drive.
and in a sense, when you pump a surfboard i think it’s like your are tacking (sp?)
on a sailboat and also using gravity on the downward pumps.
but, on a surfboard, this drive is fighting against the drag of the fins. i think that
most of the drag is on the leading edges of the fins though there probably is some
drag that occurs along the sides and trailing edge of the foils. if most of the drag
is coming from the leading (verticle) edge of the fins then, to me, this would go
to validate Herb Spitzer’s superchargers and Rusty’s C5. those small leading fins
with little verticle leading edge are preparing the water to flow around the larger fins
which, in turn, is less of an abrupt change for the flowing water.
maybe there is not as much drag as one might think on the rear fins of a 4 or 5
finner even though they are roughly the same size as the front. the water is still
being “prepared”. maybe?
also, instead of having one long keel fin that starts short and gets taller, splitting up
the fin face area allows for more release in turns. Oldy mentions in his epic thread
that the fins that he chose are like a keel fin that has been split into 2 fins. if i remember
correctly it’s so that there is release between the 2 fins with roughly the same area
as a traditional keel.
anyway, like i said this is something that i have been thinking about in regards to all
the 4 and 5 fin boards that get discussed on Sways. i don’t claim nor think to be any kind
of knowledgeable person on this topic. i come to Sways with the mindset of being a
sponge. just trying to learn. in that regard, i’m truly thankful to Swaylocks and the
Swaylocks community for freeing my mind from the stuff the magazines shovel at me.
this thread is a great one in that it is mind-freeing.
i did a lot of research on sway’s before i could be talked into the 5 fin, and i found GG’s posts to be helpful.
after your post i went back looking for one paticuliar post he did discussing the ‘why’ of the 5 fin speed, but my eyes got tired before i could find it. do you happen to remember which one it was?
thanks!
-jar
i read that post too and it was good.
i’m no expert either, but i can describe what it feels like, to some extent, when i get to ride them.
if i think of this board as essentually a tri fin with the surface/drag area of the trailing fin redistributed to other points on the board then it makes a bit more sense to me.
it IS a lot like Herbs’ super chargers, only different (lol)…
and a lot like the rusty and channel island 5 fin convertables.
this stuff just gets my mind going, trying to envision fin placement, fin size, toe/cant, how it would ride under different conditions and all that…
as i recall, oldy’s post mentioned that there was a space between forward and back fins to allow water to move through as opposed to the slight overlap i have seen on some of the other quads on here.
wish i had the time/resources/waves to do a real side by side taste test on all this stuff.
anyone need an R&D guy to test your boards?(will surf for cheap!)
thanks for the openmindness about this post.
as i tried to say in my last review, this board doesn’t do any one thing super great, it’s the diversity that makes it well worth taking along on a surf trip. but given unlimited money and space in a board bag, i would ultimately bring a different board for every wave i might encounter and every style i might want to surf with (think ‘quiver envy’), yet i am very pleased with how this rides in so many different waves/fin combos, and i am much better off from all i’ve learned from this experience.
-jar
yep it sounds like a really good travel board.
makes me wonder if that spoof thread that Herb started about
the 32 or whatever finner might actually be viable… how about
30 or so fins that are 1.5" long and 1" tall all toed in pointing
at the same point. glassed on… hmmm might be a fun
experiment
i have no idea if you’re mocking or if you’re being serious…
and i’m not even sure which would be worse…
but i’m sure we’re going to be having fun discussing it either way!
in fact, i just watched “sprout” for the first time just a few nights ago…
(i know, i’ve been negligent as a surfer in some respects…)
there was that scene where Malloy is riding his tri fin finless…
and the oldest known boards lacked fins…
and if a board had so many really small fins as to appear finless…
something like scales on a fish…
hmmmmmmm…
nothing but rail and curve, concaves and planes, textures…
i’m mind surfing it now…
i wonder.
(it’s all possible… 
-jar
and i’m not even sure which would be worse…
LOL! i was being serious!
yah, that makes sense. if a finless board can be surfed,
why not fins like the scales of a fish… i’m sure you’d get
laughed off the beach but… =)
if nothing else, it’d be fun to try.
it’s on my long list of surfboards to try
nothing but rail and curve, concaves and planes, textures…
yah, really just the least amount of drag from fins that will
still keep you from sliding out on the bottom… just enough to
push off of… hmmm i’m mind surfing it now too
hey Jar man,
check this out.
http://www.mckeesurf.com/brucemckee/multisystem.htm
found it on another thread… lots of info
yup!
it’s in my favorites list…
lots of interesting stuff here.
thanks.
and really, if you could sink enough rail and still retain speed, what need of fins? concave wings?
and one for the math guys… how small and close together can fins be before the mix of air and water causes slippage?
still mind surfing.
-jar
hi Jar !
what are the measurements of your fins in that photo showing them ?
and , have you tried it with all three/ four/ five fins being fibreglass ?
also , as a big back fin , small side fins / bonzer runners could be fun
thanks for sharing your fin experiment stuff with us
cheers
ben
I have those fantasies all the time, but usually gazing out over the mayhem of North Beach. And no, not the one in the City. My knee is jacked up right now, but we had a family & friends day at Heart’s Desire… had to make a quick detour down the hill to the west to see what NB was doing on a northeast wind…same as it ever is. Some of those bowls looks incredible, makeable, filthy…but all fantasy. Saw your other thread too, on the Fort…I’ve been surfing Bo since Odd T was a regular there, before he discovered the red bridge. Now, its only Chuckles O with the headstands. 
Found the little cove pretty good under the washed-out trail a couple times in February. Souths are early this year, maybe DP or tour will set up. Who wants to look & let me know? 
[back fin unfoiled so far]
here you go chipfish.
sorry it took so long but i had to go (drive) barefoot, over the hill, through the rain, 45 minutes BOTH WAYS, just to find graph paper.
hope this helps…
(wondering what you’re up to now;)
oh, and i would love to try full fiberglass all around!
cheers.
everything here is in inches. one little box=1/4 inch
and here’s the small one too…
cheers!
-jar
geeze…
here i am wondering what you’re up to and as i’m posting the fin pics it appears!
so when you going out riding again? miss the reviews…
maybe you need an apprentice?
-jar