First off I just need to introduce myself as this is my first post and I’ve been reading and learning
as much as I can from all the other posts. Great online community!
I just bought these two boards for $60 and plan on fixing them just as good practice…
But I’ve never seen this type of fin box that on the smaller “fish”, anyone have info?
Looks like the center fin can be removed by sliding forward. Thanks in advance
Jeff,
currently in Monterey and soon to be in San Diego
Learn something new everyday: never in my life have I seen this fin system…
Drag must be an issue, to say the least…
Welcome Jaffo 76,
A friend of mine made those boxes here in the late-70’s/early-80’s, he called it the “Dove Tail”
fin system. It had a piece of waterproof foam under the front pressure tab which allowed you
to release the fin and the tab would spring back up and lock the fin in place. It relied heavily
on the wedge effect of the fin base.
Inspiration came from the “Edge Boards” made by a fewshapers here in the late 60’s. Those fins
would get a molded base then a coat of car wax. Then get placed in a slot that extended off the
tail and resin/fiber was poured in place around the fin base. Fins were held in by friction, you just
gave them a whack rearward and they would come out.
It had some issues with the fins de-bonding from the molded bases. I have his
email address if you want to try to contact him, but I don’t think he is into the system anymore
so he probably does not have any spares or fins and such.
He had all the local shapers using them, so you might see a few labels with them. I used them
on a couple dozen boards. I remember Stevie using them. John Holley and Rich Pavel also.
What shaper made that board?
Stanley Pleskunas lives in NorCal now, still inventing stuff. Had a great discussion about blank
making recently. He’s made a lot of shaping tools that you may have already seen or used as well…
my guess is chuck vinson who i believe started out at morey pope, shaped for bolt in the early days and spent a long time in the santa cruz area.currenlty residing nearby and still making some beautiful boards…
my guess is chuck vinson who i believe started out at morey pope, shaped for bolt in the early days and spent a long time in the santa cruz area.currenlty residing nearby and still making some beautiful boards…
There is no signature on the board but it does say Chuck Vinson Designs and glassed by Santa Cruz Boardworks. The fin came right out with a little tap from a rubber mallet. Just thought it was interesting…
hi jaffo !
welcome to swaylocks mate … enjoy it , mate !
i had a Rip Curl twin fin , with a very similar system a couple of years ago . [i’m not sure WHO made those fin systems <span style=“font-style:italic”>here </span>, though .]
the ‘fish’ you posted a shot of in fact looks VERY similar to a triple flyer kneelo that my neighbour john bought at a swap meet here last weekend …for $10aus !! [his one , like the early thrusters did here , had a very small back finbox and , fortunately , a quite okay fibreglass back finbox fin . i need to get a photo [and , hopefully , a go] of it at some stage , i think ?]
cheers !
ben
Hey plus one,those Dovetail boxes were ,in there day “KING”.
Hey Herb,
at that time, they looked like they came from the future! lol. The features were so salient.
Stan is like that, he describes his process as bringing together others’ ideas-
then just totally dialing it in.
About 20 years ago he and Greenough were testing a hollow sailboard, it was just insane.
They totally described it to me, how to do it, where to get materials etc. Back in that time
it still wasn’t even cool if you traced another shaper’s board, but I was so stoked on the board,
I asked him, “could I try and make one?”
He smiled and said, “that’s what it’s for!”
Greenough just shrugged “give it a shot… …make it better”
That attitude of open info has always stuck with me…
Make it better!
YES!!!
i just saw chuck about an hour ago.he still has a bunch of those boxes if ya need one, let me know…
I could use a fin base …( don’t really need the fin or base for that matter)…it would make it easier to dub fins.I’d love to get a set or couple.Herb
herb- i’ll look into it and see what i can do for ya…
Don’t breaks your balls over it,and Thankyou ! Herb
Chuck used to shape w/ Joey Thomas at West Cliff in SC. Chuck is around here and still shapes beautiful boards. He is a fin
aficionado.
PM me and I will get you in touch w/ him
no worries herb- i see him just about every day of the week…