I am looking for more drive out of my 8’0" Eaton Bonzer. Right now it has a center fin that looks a lot like an upside down comma…a really narrow base with a round tip. The board is fast, loose and A LOT of fun, but I wondered if a different center fin would create more drive. I noticed the Cambell bonzers have a more traditional looking center fin. Any info. or suggestions?
Fins with longer bases offer much more drive than a cutaway, which is what I assume your using. One or more of the major fin co’s sell Bonzer specific fins…check online. You should call Eaton directly for the best advice.
Hello, i think i have the same board as you (see the photo) and i feel the same about the fin. I tried a Bioflex fin that worked better, but it also loosed drive on harder turns at high speeds, so i’m really interested too on finding a fin that works better with this board.
I’ll stay tunned to this thread, but i can’t give you more information.
Good waves!
I have a much bigger Bonzer from Mike Eaton. I did not care for the fin that came with it, mostly because of the kelp catcher that it was. I went to a cut away that was one inch shorter then my board. So for your board a 7 inch cutaway should work just fine. Try one of Johnny Rice’s cut aways. They look like they would work just fine. Let us know how it works out for you.
Are bonzers supposed to use flex fins??
I ask because the Campbell designed fins are a template that makes minimal use of flex, but it could also be the case that the double side runners offer enough turning power that you can do well without a flex fin.
I don’t think so. I feel that the bonzer in ment for speed. The 3 fin Mike Eaton Bonzer that I have is the fastest down the line speed board that I have ever ridden. I feel that the cutaway fins are also made for speed, but do not really flex that much. I’m not a real fin guy, I’m sure that some of the other guys here will know a lot more about this then I do. I do know that the cutaway on my Bonzer works good enough for me so I’m happy.
Thanks for all the info. Coque, my board looks more like a short longboard with alittle rounder nose than yours, but the fin is the same as the one you posted. I’ll give the cutaway a try this weekend. I called Mike and he basically said to try a bunch of different fins. He didn’t say one was a better match for the bonzer than others, but he did say to move the fin around 1/4" at a time. He felt 1/4" makes a huge difference in performance. Has anyone tried the True Ames Bonzer fin?
i used the 6.5"true ames bonzer fin in my 8’5" point blanks bonzer for the last several years, it works really well , there’s no flex and lots of drive-----since i came home from costra rica i changed it to a narrower base fin that’s a bit taller–can’t decide yet which is better------on my 7’8" campbell bros bonzer i’ve been using a 6" fine for about 4 years and love it–BUT, it took a bunch of messing around to fine the right spot and the right fin—actually that
's partof the fun of bonzers, getting them tuned in, once you do, you’ll really know it, WOW, what a ride!
I haven’t surfed the board a lot but i tested the flex fin (as it was the only other fin i had with me) in small waves (3’ easy waves) and it worked better than the original fin on those conditions, this doesn’t mean that this is the best fin for this board… that’s why i said i was also interested on this thread.
On the cut aways i tried i must say that i didn’t like them at all, except Halcyon’s ones, the rest didn’t give me the hold i wan’t and / or the speed i want, but maybe they’ll fit on this board.
On the next clean swell, with glassy conditions i’ll give a try to the Halcyon’s center fin and also to other center fins i have, i’ll let you know what i feel.
I also must say that the rail fins on my bonzer have a LOT of flex.
Good waves!
My True Ames Bonzer center fin finally arrived. What an amazing difference it made! I got the 7" and now I get plenty of drive out of my turns and the tracking is gone. I went thru a number of other 7" fins and the TA bonzer is without question the best choice for my eaton bonzer. Thanks for all the input!