Hey sway,
Can I get some advice… I used a pre glass FCS fusion plugs and messed one of my side boxes. Essentially I have finished the board (sanded the gloss today) and the cant on my fins are way off. As seen in the photos the left side fin in the photo is at only 3° cant (48°) and the right side fin is at 7° (52°).
I am pretty bummed. This is the 4th board I built and was happy with the build but super disappointed I messed up the fins so bad.
I only see two options here: 1) live with it or 2) glass over the plugs and put on glass ons?
With the fin that left side fin so upright and cants so different from each other I feel that can be a real drag. Is glassing over and putting glass ons dramatic?
Any advice here?
Thanks,
James
Hi James -
Fin cant, while perhaps important to a ‘tuned in’ expert, might be over rated for GI Joe. With the angular paint job (nice by the way) I can hardly notice the cant issue. I would just forget about it and ride the darn thing. People are doing all sorts of asymmetrical stuff ON PURPOSE so maybe you’ll discover something you like. It wouldn’t be the first time serendipity played out in the surfing world.
If you can’t shake the idea that something is wrong, there are easier ways than glassing on fins to fix that. I can’t tell from the photos if those are plastic or fiberglass. If glass, you might try shaving down the thickness of the tabs on the more vertical of the two and add a layer of resin to the other side of the tabs… that’ll result in an opposite tilt from the way it is now. If you have a drill, you might find a 2"-3" Rol-Lok grinding disc to be perfect for that job. I promise you that you are not the first person to have a tweaked fin installation. I’ve seen plenty of pro jobs, including glassed-on single fins back in the day that were tilted one way or the other. I’ve also seen plenty of single box installations with some sort of deck ‘ornamentation’ to cover up where somebody routed through the tail. That is a cool board you made… don’t be too hard on yourself.
The advice and observations, tendered by John above, are rock solid. I have the same opinion of your situation. Ride it 'til it squeals!
Hey man,
I appreciate the response. Those are fiberglass fins and I do have a Rol- Lok setup, so I am going to take that approach.
Good heap of swell with some favorable winds are forecasted so I will throw in the water and see how it surfs before I take it back to garage.
Best,
James
Figure out what you did before making the next one.
One thing You might try is a custom fin with built in cant. Maybe some here can set you up with a set that has one with cant and one without.
I’ve been using FCS H2 fins that have a built in cant of about 5 degrees, maybe more. I use zero degree inserts in my Probox fin boxes to get about a 5 degree cant. I love the way they work with this setup. It might not work if you use only one because the fin profile and foil are unique.
