hey guys i have a HSW i am thinking of putting a D fin on. the board is thin in the tail and i will struggle to get a fin box in. It could be done with some creative mods but this got me to thinking of the F fin. the question is what will i lose in proformance in having D fin over a moden noseriding fin, ie 10 inch fsc fat boy or simlar.
I plan to ride the board often in small surf as my noserider. i got a bit carried away on size with this one. the board is 9ft6 - 24 1/4- 3 3/8 -18 5/8 nose 16 3/4 tail thin-ish 50/50 rails small vee in the back 1/3 of board flat up front. anyway heres a pic if it helps. boards still needs alot finish sanding and tailblock cut etc should be glassing in a week. sanding wood sucks foams so easy
so any fin advice would be great. i am thiniking that as the board is so wide i would be better with a fin with less of a base to it than a D fin to help let the board turn better? anyway as i said any imput would help. i could do with a fin template
Sorry I have no template, I use the leading edge of a "Sparky" as my template for the front curve of the "D" then flip it over and upside down and use the leading edge again for the back curve.
Beautiful board. I can see why you would be worried about putting a fin box in. A D fin will turn from the tail, but be pretty unforgiving from the middle of the board. A more vertical template like the FCS Fat Boy will be looser and more forgiving, but might lack hold if your board is heavy. Take a look at some old Bruce Brown films like Endless Summer One or Barefoot Adventure, and then watch some more modern longboarding and choose where you want your surfing to go.
Have you thought about a bigger pivot fin? Something like the FCS Hatchet? They hold well and stay loose when the surf is small. Kinda half way between the two. Thats what I use in my 9’8" Weber Stylist. The board is pretty heavy and the big pivot fin holds the soft rails in when I’m up front on a steep face, but dosen’t lock up on me when it’s small.
Whatever you go with, just keep it off the rocks in Raglan. I lost a board there and she was never the same.
Actually, a D fin is a super good noseriding fin. Michel Junod swears by their noseriding capabilities in an interview that I read somewhere(i think surfapig blog). If you think about it, a D fin has a ton of surface area, but is not as deep as a pivot style fin. It won't be a problem in small waves, because it won't "pop out" due to steepness, but will hold because of the surface area and give you optimal stablility.
hi guys its going to be a D fin i just need to find a patten and work out where to set it. It looks like a lot of the old boards have them set right back near the tail. guess the down side it turning that far back. i will post pic of rail profile as rails are true 50/50 and kind shaped like the narrow end of an egg more piched than round. i not sure how this combined with a big base fin will work for turning maybe all drop knee turns on this board.
If you've not begun the fin yet I can try to trace one of mine and scan it to a PDF, would that be helpful? Also I could send a scan of the "Sparky" that I spoke of. It's also a great fin but ever since I started using it as template tool it stays in the tool drawer!
Alot of guys doing a more modern "pig" design have been putting their d fins up about 4". Makes things a bit easier to turn. Dano, almond, and Junod do a few if I'm not mistaken. placemet all the way at they back is cool too though, plus it'll be more stable for tip time.
Well I have the templates scanned to PDF file but cannot post due to size. I shrunk them as much as possible but they are still too big. Send me a PM if you want and I'll e-mail them to you.
That reverse D is cool! We should start a new D fin thread. I think I saw one a while back but I just love the creative things people have done with them. Austin's work really stands out!
…D fins are visual cool but lack and lick in the functional design dept…
you see these fins now because of the retro movement, etc but all other fins with cutaways are better and the D fins were discontinuated for functional aspects until few years ago with the retro longboard craze
"...D fins are visual cool but lack and lick in the functional design dept..."
I know you are correct... but I'm just sitting here with a big grin thinking how my new Maxima is functionally superior to the 70 Chevelle I miss so much!
I really do wonder though if the average surfer can actually gauge the difference?
