I've seen them on e bay. They're clear like the old Lexan transparent colored fins from the late 60s and have FCS tabs. Anybody know anything about these? I thought the FCS tab/setup had some kind of patent protection but maybe it expired. The fins are cheap enough and the transparency is kind of cool but I can't find anything about them on the internet and I don't know how well they actually function.
I have 3 dorsal fins for the standard long center box, not the FCS type. I got them because they are cheap. They are not the best choice. I re-foiled one, and another one I have buzzes when I turn hard.
I haven’t drawn the final conclusions yet.
But so far the evidence points to these FCS-style clear thruster sets being precisely “not the best choice”.
Here’s the link to the thread>>
http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/my-thruster-humming-fins-how-to-diagnose-problem?page=1
[quote="$1"]
I thought the FCS tab/setup had some kind of patent protection but maybe it expired.
[/quote]
Im fairly sure there was a court case about this and FCS cant stop people making fins with the tabs but you cant replicate any single complete fin design of theirs or their plugs/ boxes.
Same with Futures, they dont have any patent on their fin base but they do on their boxes.
I have a set and they are very soft. I would say the material is not rigid enough.
One of the top possibilities in my list is that one.
Another is, as one swaylockee already mentioned, that the foil and general shape of the fin is not very hydrodynamically conducent to a good thruster side fin functioning.
Or, a combo of those two.
When I got the brand-new set in the mail, and held the side fin in my hand, I could clearly see that the excess edge that forms between the 2 parts of the mold has not been leveled off. It runs the entire length of the leading edge of the fin.
I sanded that off, but the fin still “hummed” and slowed the board down. Which leads us back to the fins probably being too soft and vibrating like a flag in the strong wind.
They are now manufacturing a fiber-filled fin/fins. Similar to the fiber-filled fins that come with Surftech boards. Much stiffer. They have a website and I have never had any trouble finding it. Don't remember the exact address, but just google Dorsal surfboard fins. Forget about calling them. They are worse that lawyers about returning a call. I think I saw a set of Dorsal Quad fins listed on Ebay for $28 . Rumor is that they will be manufacturing a center box soon.
By the way; You can buy a full set of FCS thruster fins, plugs and screws for $32 at Fiberglass Hawaii in Ventura. I think a Quad set is $36. They will ship.
OK. Final conclusions are in.
These fins are significantly dysfunctional. And that goes for both the clear plastic ones and the “fiber-filled” black ones, as well.
Although the black ones (marketed as “ENVY”) are indeed a little stiffer (not much stiffer), they still hum and whistle when you get up to speed on your board.
I just surfed an hour ago and made the final experiments swithching the fins.
The outline of the fin is exactly like a k2.1 FCS, but the foil is faulty. The foil thickens toward the center of the fin and tapers toward both the leading and trailing edges.
I have compared them to FCS fins, and the FCS fins have foils which pretty much start out thicker towards the leading edge of the fin and then gradually taper down throughout the fin.
That’s that.
After weeks of back-and -forth with the Dorsal Fin Co. through ebay, I have to say that it’s been a bad experience.
The person in charge has repeatedly tried to avoid repaying the fins, even though I returned them.
Taking a wild guess, I can imagine that this guy had the bright idea to make transparent FCS fins and then went ahead and made a huge order to the China factory.
Then he realized that he hadn’t done his model/material testing correctly, because the fins worked like crap.
But now it was too late, because he had already paid for thousands of sets to the China factory, and all of those sets were a defective fin shape.
So looking for a solution, he comes upon another bright idea: “Let’s sell them on ebay at really low prices, and at least until we get exposed we’ll sell a bunch of them. Maybe even cover our costs?”
So that’s what they’re doing right now: selling ultra-cheap FCS-like fins that work like crap so idiots like myself are lured by the $20 “super-high performance” promise on ebay.
So, learning from my experience with Dorsal Fin Co., I have to say that I hope they straighten up and make good. Because right now, they are thiefs in my book. They still owe me money (and that is even though I returned the fins to them).
So that’s my rant.
Thanks for reading.
I don’t usually comment on the forums but I thought I’d set the record straight. Our fins are made of the same exact material as the turbo tunnel. We are working on developing stiffer resins but the current flex properties were requested by the Weber shop and is widely used and accepted.
OK this is important…I make these fins myself here in the USA, they aren’t perfect but I’m working on it. We are releasing new versions of the clear and some totally new fin types and system soon.
Lastly member that had a problem returning the items waited months to send them, and when he finally did they weren’t in original condition ( he rode them, and scratched them up ). We still sent him money back but not the full amount.
DORSAL
That member has got to be me…
Nice to see you in this discussion Dorsal.
One thing I never got to tell you was that I am at your disposition to serve as a test-pilot for your fins. Free of charge.
I think if that phase is carried out correctly you will have so much fewer troubles with clients (as happened with me).
I’m sorry for having used the product before returning it, but the only way I could have known that the product didn’t work was to screw them fins into my surfboard and going surfing.
Sorry about the hand-sanding of the fins’ edges, I really wanted to make them work before convincing myself that they didn’t work properly. But I wasn’t able to make them work.
I suggest that if somebody is selling a product claiming it has superior qualities and “more projection out of turns”, then the product better be of superior quality and have better projection out of turns.
Again, know that I am willing to test out any fin model you want to market before you go into production, so as to help you to develop a truly superior product.
Alternatively, you could find some qualified test pilots in your area.
And yeah, I strongly suggest that you fire the test pilots you used for the production of the fins which I got and sent back to you.
At your service,
C
I have 7" thru 10" sizes ncluding the Hatchet Fin. I also order a few of the clear and colored tri sets, a quad set and some Envy tri fins… just to check them out.
I gave Dorsal my comments and they sent a pair of glass filled tri fins just to check out. this was after my comment that I thought the see thru fins might be a bit soft for guys over around 160 lbs.
Keep in mind, these are low cost molded fins made around Valencia CA. An American product. They are also using recycled materials which should appeal to surfers that want to be eco concious.
The fins flex, esp. the glass filled ones sent to me are very close to the 333 and 555 you can get from Larry Block. some guys like the flex some guys don’t. The fin area is somethng to cnsider as they have more base than the aforementioned fins.
I thought it was a little funny and ironic that the trailing edge was straighter more like what Griffin is a proponent of but certainly on a much more primitve level…these aren’t G10 and they don’t cost near the price.
As far as the single fins… same kind of deal, low priced, some like the flex some don’t. Not bad though, especially considering the affordability factor.
Bottom line is Dorsal has come up with affordable fins that can be coupled with a board of modest stature to offer a lower pricepoint for an entry level surfer. If a pro likes them, then what are you gonna say? Sorry KS, you’re not allowed to use them?
If you have a mass produced cheapie Asia popout, does it make sense to put $140 fins on it?
To the contrary, do you fit your Ferrari with retread tires?
To each their own.
Choice is the hallmark of a free society (I said that).