fin choice 6'8'' single fin

General Discussion
1

hello,

 

this is the story:

i got the chance to surf a 7’2’’ pintail single fin gun from the 80’s on rather big anchor point in morocco in february. i was amazed by how well the board held on bottom turns and by the smoothness of the ride in general. i attributed this to the combination of the single fin and the pin tail.

when i was in peru this summer (northern hemi), i had Klimax shape me the following: 6’8’’ - 20’’ - 2’’ 7/8   rounded pintail, wide point forward, single fin. modern concave/rails etc.

i picked up the board on my last day in lima and only had 2 days to try it so far. one was clean double-up close outs, rather large. the other was total mess onshore point break, even though my intention was to only surf it on good, clean, hollow pointbreaks.

 

the thing is: it didn’t work at all

 

it didn’t hold on critical bottom turns and felt very wobbly (around the axis parallel to the stringer).

 

i didn’t expect thruster performance of course, but i did expect smooth, secure bottom turns… :frowning:

 

i haven’t given up the board completely yet, because i suspect that my choice of fin might have been bad.

 

i bought a 7.0’’ FCS cutaway “fluid foils”. from what i have read, this fin might be a bit small to use on its own (without sidebites).

 

i realised that i own a similar fin 9’’ long, that is on my longboard. i put it on the 6’8’’ and it looks huge. nevertheless i am going to try it the next time, which unfortunately is not very soon…

 

 

is the 7’’ fin too small? could i expect remarkable differences in performance from a larger/different fin???

 

 

2

Most people use cutaways with 2+1 configurations, to loosen the board up, the sidebite making up for the cutaway by providing the extra hold and drive on the turns. Most WP forward single fin pintails use a full-figured rear fin, the depth somewhat being dependent on the width and curve of the tail @ the fin position.  Not all 14" tails (@12") are created equal.   But yeah, a full-figured 7" fin could possibly work for you on that board, depending on the template.  

I forgot to mention that most boards like you’re describing use a flatter tail rocker than your average thruster.    Short of a custom rocker I tend to use some pretty big blanks in order to get 5" in the nose and 2" or less in the tail.  If you end up going with the bigger 7" fin and you’re still struggling, you might try running the fin further back in the box.  

3

i see…

so my bad experience was more due to the cutaway than to the size?

what fin do you recommend?

 

thanks for the reply

4

Can you post pictures of the board? and the 7'2?

6'8 X 20" sounds a little curvy in the back half of the board, especially if it is coming into a pintail.

A couple things could be the problem:

What i have found with single fins and doing bottom turns on bigger waves is that if you are starting your turn with your weight at the wide part of the board, it is easy for your tail and fin to pop out and disengage. That is why a  longer, narrower board seems a little easier to do a turn on big waves on, because it takes more for the tail to pop out when the outline is straighter. try a bigger fin, it can't hurt.

Well thats just what i think. I could be way off, but i hope it helps

5

yea, ive definetly had some fin pop-outs on the very hollow day.

i dont have a camera at the moment, i might have one tomorrow…

 

the board looks like the ss1 described on their site http://www.klimaxsurf.com/home_ingles.html

with a bit narrower tail

 

 

ill try to take pictures tomorrow!

6

That board looks a bit like the Merrick Single Fin.   On the Channel Islands website there’s a pic of the board and the fin they designed for it:

 

http://www.cisurfboards.com/sb_msf.asp

 

http://www.finsunlimited.com/fins/rt_s_channel.html

 

Another board that’s possibly even more similar than that is the Moss Spacecake singlefin.  You’ll have to scroll over about halfway on this webpage to see it.  

http://www.mossresearch.com/product_pages/surfboards.html

 

As you can see, they’re not using a cutaway.  Depending on their weight and flex preferences most people end up somewhere between 7.5" and 8.5".  If you have a fin popping out you may be riding too far forward as mentioned above, or you might need to move the fin back in the box, or you might need a deeper fin.  Maybe a combination of all three.  

7

thats funny. i actually asked the shaper to try to copy the channel island board. well actually i asked him to copy the msf g2

 

http://www.cisurfboards.com/sb_msfg2.asp

 

the fin they put in the g2 looks different again… certainly looks large…

 

in my first session, i surfed with the fin as far to the front as possible. thats when i had many pop outs. in the second session i put it all the way back and had to place all my weight on the rail to trigger bottom turns.

 

exciting how much there is to play around with regarding fins… if only the fins werent so expensive, id try everything…

 

8

Try making your own out of wood. very cheap :)

Yes, I'd love to have a look at those boards, because I'm a huge fan of singles. Also how much rocker is in them, and how much vee?

If you can make a list of all of the differences between the boards then it would be easier to tell what your problem is. you might have to change how you surf the new board vs. the old. good luck

9

[img_assist|nid=1054776|title=6'8'' single fin|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67][img_assist|nid=1054777|title=6 8 single fin bottom|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67]

10

[img_assist|nid=1054779|title=6'8'' single fin klimax peruvian|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=427]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[img_assist|nid=1054780|title=6'8'' single fin bottom|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=427]

11

i cant post pictures of the old one, as i just borrowed from a dude on my trip to morocco…

12

Your cutaway might work quite well if you put the sidebite fins in.  

13

i thought so too. but i find it paradoxical to put 3 fins on a single fin…

 

besides i dont have them…

14

I would recommend a 7.5" fin with more base. The base of the fin is associated with drive, and a little more rake and fin tip will stablize the board. As someone said before, cutaways are designed to loosen up a 2+1 setup, or be used on a big board on small days. They are loose because they are so narrow, but thats also why they lack hold. I absolutely LOVE the 9" greenough 4A in my 8’0" as a single. I run it bigger than normal because the tail is kind of wide. The general rule is 1" of fin per board foot. So a 7’ board would go with a 7" fin, but that can be small if you are using a narrow fin. I’d look into the Rainbow Fin Co. Rake or the Joel Tudor “Island” by Fins Unlimited. When you choose a size, remember that the fin templates are usually made on a scale, not streched for length, so 1/2 an inch can be a bigger difference than you think.

15

Your shaper must not have gotten the memo.  Either that or he didn’t think you were serious about straying away from the standard thruster setup.  That’s okay, though.  There’s nothing wrong with the 2+1 configuration.  On the smaller boards it’s more versatile than the single anyway.  It’s just not as soulful.  

You should try them.  You might actually like the board better that way.  Get some small ones at 3.5".  That way the board will still surf mostly off the rear fin, except it won’t bleed off speed when you’re heavy into a turn.  

 

16

Might I recommend fcs GX fins or G1000. I can't remember the exact dimensions, but I've used them both and they're great!!!

17

I ride a lot of single fins. The board I’m making now is a rounded pin, wide point just forward of center, 6’6" x 20" x 2 1/2" single long box, and I plan on using 9" fins. No pics yet, but it’s not finished, I have to sand the hot coat and gloss it, but the box is in. 

I have a Greenough stage 4a I use a lot, a cutaway, and a Liddle flex, all 9". The Greenough is the go to fin for my rounded pins. I have even longer fins as well, but the 9" seems just right for boards up to 8’.  

I have never spun out with any of these fins, even with a wider rounded tail (except in some backside overhead waves). I would try something in this size and just move it up a bit if it feels stiff, and move it back if it feels too loose. I like to line up my fins so that the point of the fin is just a bit forward of the tail, maybe an inch or 2 at the most. Be sure to try the single in different locations before you give up, and mark that spot once you find it. Look around for a small tools you can take out when you surf and let you move the fin around. I like to use the slotted screw more than a phillips because you can get a small flat disc and loosen the fin screw. You don’t have to worry about a pointed object poking you during a session.

You have a lot of options. You can go single, and if you don’t like that, try it as a 2 + 1 or as a tri-fin with a small back fin. I like the way a single fin rides for most days, but I also like the way a thruster works in high performance waves. I have a couple of small back fins that can swap out and convert my boards to thruster setups. I also have a couple of small side bites to convert a single to a 2 +1.

When I started surfing, we only had single fins or the early twins with the fins way out at the back. Boxes allowed us to move fins around and try different shapes and sizes. It’s amazing what a different fin can do, or just moving the fin back or forward will do to change a board. We always moved the fin back a little for the bigger days and moved it a little forward for small days when you want to loosen it up.

 

18
19

 

haha, no, i actually told him to put the plugs in. i thought it would be nice to have the option. more for experimenting purposes.

 

 

to all others: thank you very much for your informative replies!

I think my questions have been answered and I am keen to take the board to Indo and for the first time devote some time to fin experiments

 

 

 

20

[quote="$1"]

hello,

 

this is the story:

i got the chance to surf a 7'2'' pintail single fin gun from the 80's on rather big anchor point in morocco in february. i was amazed by how well the board held on bottom turns and by the smoothness of the ride in general. i attributed this to the combination of the single fin and the pin tail.

when i was in peru this summer (northern hemi), i had Klimax shape me the following: 6'8'' - 20'' - 2'' 7/8   rounded pintail, wide point forward, single fin. modern concave/rails etc.

i picked up the board on my last day in lima and only had 2 days to try it so far. one was clean double-up close outs, rather large. the other was total mess onshore point break, even though my intention was to only surf it on good, clean, hollow pointbreaks.

 

the thing is: it didn't work at all

 

it didn't hold on critical bottom turns and felt very wobbly (around the axis parallel to the stringer).

 

i didn't expect thruster performance of course, but i did expect smooth, secure bottom turns... :-(

 

i haven't given up the board completely yet, because i suspect that my choice of fin might have been bad.

 

i bought a 7.0'' FCS cutaway "fluid foils". from what i have read, this fin might be a bit small to use on its own (without sidebites).

 

i realised that i own a similar fin 9'' long, that is on my longboard. i put it on the 6'8'' and it looks huge. nevertheless i am going to try it the next time, which unfortunately is not very soon...

 

 

is the 7'' fin too small? could i expect remarkable differences in performance from a larger/different fin???

 

 

[/quote]

 

Hi kopernikus, I would use this type of fin from that time frame, 7 1/2" in size. A cutaway is not a good option no drive with the narrow base. Here's a pic of a Parrish/Brewer fin that would be a suitable fin for your style of board. Mahalo, Larry

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