All-rounder with multiple fin options

I’m planning my next custom board and would like to bounce around some ideas so I know what I can and cannot reasonable ask the shaper to build. I will not be shaping the board myself at this stage, although that will be a tempting project for later on when I maybe have more time.

I want the board to be a true all-rounder and as neutral and forgiving as possible. It does not need to be high performance because my surfing ability is the limiting factor, not the boards performance.This board, like most of my boards, will be built to last and I imagine I’ll grow old with it.

I want this board to be a fin-experimenters dream kit, with just about every fairly common option for fin setups catered for.

If Geoff McCoy was more amenable to shape truly custom boards, I’d ask him to shape this board for me, but I don’t fancy my chances. Rather than creating a Franken-Zot by adding fin plugs to an existing McCoy, I’ll try to find someone else to shape a “McCopy with added bells and whistles”.

I
suppose some adaptations to the Nugget/Zot style will be required to be
shaped into the board to make it work well with various fin
setups, like bringing the hard rail in the tail a bit further forward
than in a Zot, similar to where the rails start to harden on a
Nugget.

Dimensions will probably be around 8’0’’
x 22+1/2’’ x 3+1/4’‘. I’m not sure about the best width and thickness for
8’0’’ length, but 8’0’’ x very wide x very thick x very round and shaped much like
a recent McCoy is what I want. Thickness carried all the way to the
rails, nose and tail. Soft rails, except for the tail. Convex in every
direction, loaded dome bottom, round tail.

I imagine this board would work well enough (as in: the limiting factor being my lack of athletic prowess) in
knee-high to double-overhead waves, with much adaptation possible from using very different fins
for different conditions. I like to do a few power turns when needed to stay with the wave, but no unneccessary shredding. Maybe it’s a case of “sour grapes”, but I like surfing with the wave rather than against it and enjoy the glide as much as a bottom turn or round house cutback.

Regarding the fin system: Maximum
versatility is what I’m after.That in my mind includes longevity of the components, ability to repair the board, fins and plug system if they get ripped out in collisions, and ability to make custom fins or even fin boxes if I need them. A major advantage would be if the fins could be easily adjusted in the lineup without the need for carrying a bulky tool.

I’d like to be able to configure the
fins in at least the following ways, if that is feasible:

  • Single
    fin and in-line single fin. Either an extra fin system plug behind the
    fin box, or an extra long fin
    box. An extra long box that allows a fin to be placed further
    forward than usual and further back than usual might be ideal.

  • Thruster

  • Twin Fin

  • Quad

  • Tunnel fin

maybe three side fin plugs on each side, particularly if that is
required to have good thruster, twin fin and quad setups available.

I’ll probably have to make up some plug inserts to nicely close all the unused fin plugs and the unused part of the box.

Do you think this kind of board and fin setup
is feasible, for example will the side fin positions
for a thruster be close enough to the positions required for Twin
Fins or the positions required for good performance of Quad fins?

Will the toe-in and cant
for
thruster/twin/quad setups be compatible, or can a reasonably functional
compromise be found?

I’m
considering to use the RedX fin system, because it makes some adjustment forward
and backwards possible.  However, I’m not fixated on RedX.
Maybe something else is better. It really depends on the fine points around position, cant and toe-in required for the various side-fin options. If the plugs cannot be set in the board so that off-the-shelf fins will work, then I’d prefer a fin system that allows me to make customised fins most easily.

Which fin system would be the easiest one with regards to making custom fins (by either myself or by a professional fin shaper)? 

What other factors might give one fin system an advantage over the others to use for this board?

How many side fin plugs will be required and would they be sufficiently far apart from each other to allow secure nstallation?

 

Thank you for your thoughts and advice!

 

Mik

 

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