This topic has probably already been covered but the new search engine is worthless in my opinion. Not many cutaway keels out there on the market except futures rasta keels but I’m using lokbox.
How do the cutaway keels work, less drive more hold? Does the cutaway reduce turbulence and cavitation? Just wondering what would be the best fins for surfing a twin/keel backside in small waves?
Hi Sami,
I think with the cutaways part of the deal is trying to get the feel of some flex into the fins. I’ve used the Rasta ones as stock and modified, although I’ve only used them on a flextail so the baseline experience was pretty different to a regular fish. They have a concave on the inside of the fin too, sort of a subtle version of the curved fins Chipfish and co are playing with. I saw a pic of some really nice marine ply cutaways that Rob Royal just made, so he might be able to provide some more intelligent answers for you! Here’s a couple of sets of keels Mick Mackie did- apparently there wasn’t enough flex in the Rasta’s for him so he modified further- those are the keels I’m using in my board and I’ve got no complaints. The other set I haven’t given a decent try yet, the couple of times I did surf them they felt pretty slidey- I think they might be a touch small for me, but I do want give them a another go, maybe on a smaller wave.
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In the past 3 months I’ve been riding my 5’5 twin in everything from waist high windslop to DOH Laniakea. In that time I’ve made three more of these (two for friends and one to replace my first one that buckled) It must have been luck - I think I nailed optimal fin size & placement on my first version of this. No issues whatsoever with slidyness frontside OR backhand. It will slide if you push the tail while its flat on the water. Up on a rail and I can go as hard and square through turns as Ive ever done before. I know it’s nothing new but I’m finding it amazing - Big fins, way back, toed & canted = high peformance twin. I was riding twins in 1978-79 but converted to thrusters soon after and since.
Original fin set, found these online. Worked great but two fiberglass fins of this size seemed very heavy to me-
So I had a custom bamboo set made by Marlin Bacon of 101fins, weight came in at half the fiberglass ones!
NICE looking board Bud!
board & fins in action last month small Rocky Pt. yeah, i’m a photo slut 
Badass pics, Bud. That’s one of those ‘‘aquarium days’’ at Rocky’s when the water’s so clear you can see every speck on the bottom and watch the green turtles swim by in between sets.
I like more modern twin templates also. But I’ve got great feedback on the Rasta keels from numerous riders (on fishy boards).
this is just my take, and experience, and I’m far from a fin guru…
my template looks like this:
My thinking was simply to keep the drivey, down the line speed of the keels, but loosen it up a little. That is by flex, and smaller base - which is still bigger than a normal fin at roughly 5 1/2" at the cut out. The fins still holds really well, but gives a more responsive, quick turny feel.
To me, while a fish will never be a like a normal thruster shortboard, the cutaways really make it a lot closer.
I’m getting some made by Lokbox/Rainbow here in the UK soon, and may offer for sale…time will tell as they say…
Hey sami, i have a keel fish with fibreglass glasson keels. A bit of toe, a bit of cant, and a slight inside foil. I put some superchargers on it a long time ago, and it made a big difference in speed, reduced the drag, i find it easy to go rail to rail on it. I’ve never taken them back out since putting them in. Just a different thought. 2 fcs plugs ( side ), pretty quick to install, adds hardly any weight too.
Cheers, and let us know how you go, whichever way you choose.
Great pics and surfing bud.
board looks great as always Bud.
surfing photos real good to. i’m always jealous of the surf that you HI guys post…
care to share your fin placement and cant #'s Bud? i’ve been hearing a lot good things
about hi-perf. twinnies lately. some people even say that they go better than their thrusters.
your placement seems somewhat similar to Griffin’s twin placement.
Rasta keels made my 6’0 Minami twin fin faster. I thought there would be a problem with how much the keels hang over the back rail compared to normal Future twin fins, but haven’t noticed anything negative yet. The fins take away most of the slide, so much so that I fell on the first 2 or 3 waves trying to side slip into the pocket. They are pretty radical…feels like no drag at all, with lot’s of hold and solid drive. They’re super light and strong too.
I’m having another twin fin shaped and wondering if I should have my shaper move the boxes forward to accommodate for the Rasta keel. Will this blow it if I want to switch fins around? Anyone??
Bump for HP twin discussion