I just finished a 9’ single fin gun. Any advice on a fin would be great.
Beautiful looking board. The Orange resin tint looks great, As for fins I have no idea.
I had more than 8 guns over 9’.
Anything from 7.5 thru 9", depending on your size and riding style. Swept, wide base, moderate thickness. Since the waves can get radical, you want a simple, solid, holding style of fin that allows long drawn out turns. Once you figure your riding style and the type of wave for that board, you can adjust fin shape to match your needs.
Better to start with something a little too big back in the box. Too stiff? Move fin forward in increments. Still too stiff? Change to smaller fin and repeat.
Spinning out on your first big wave isn't fun.
Interesting take, John, and probably as valid as anything else…
However, if you followed muiti fin board ideas, it seems lots of manufacturers actually undersell the need for big fins in big waves, preferring a wider triangle on most multi finned boards, and the veneralble 8" sizing recommended for single fin boards.
Of course, most guns have straighter tail outlines and narrower tails widths than the one pictured, so more fin might be the call.
My first two guns, 9’7" and 9’11", used rather narrow 8" single fins, and holding power was never a problem. The big plus of smaller than what you’d think fins for big waves is the ability of the board itself to FIT into the wave face, so you can make adjustments and allow for some sideslipping to avoid the dreaded “rail catch” that you see often in wipeout videos.
And smaller fins alloiw you to turn from more different positions on the board, in case you’re too far forwards or too far back. Most of us know you cannot pivot turn on big waves, so even too far back, a long drawn and projected turn is the first option.
I owned probably 6 Brewers longer than 8’10", and fin sizes ranged from 4 3/4 to 4 5/8 on those trifins. Much smaller and more spread out than you’d think.
Oh, my 9’6" Colleta had a 7.5" rather narrow base swept fin glassed on. It never slid uncontrollably and even was fine for windsurfing.
Once you get up to speed, those “small” fins have much more holding power than you’d think you’d need for smaller waves.
Larry Allison of Fiberglass Fin Company offers what he calls a Parrish/Brewer fin. I have used a few of them and think that one might be an excellent choice for your 9 foot gun.
If not mistaken, I think that Bing Surfboards uses the same template on their Bing Lotus Fin, which there is a photo of on the Bing site.
I think Larry has posted a photo of the Parrish/Brewer fin on this site, so if interested, you might try a search.
Thanks for the input. I didn’t glass the board just shaped it. My shaping room is in the garage of a sober living house. The fire marshal lives 2 doors down. Larry is not to far from me and I am planning a visit to him, but I thought I would get some ideas here first.
i like this one very much
this one too
Top fin looks like a longboard fin, might be too flexible for big waves.
Bottom fin looks like a windsurfing wave fin, close to perfect for the job, depending on size and personal preferences.
True Ames "California Rake" or something similar from Larry..
Hi LeeD -
No argument from me on any that. As usual, valuable info posted from you on gun details.
I just tried to be careful to suggest only in general terms.
As we all know, there are no experts in this subject, only experience and experience from other surfers.
I’ve talked at length about fins with guys like LarryMcGraw, MikeCrook, DocRenneker, TomAllegre, and a few of the SanFrancisco crowd, and most prefer a forgiving fin over anything else.
Even at Wiamea, the boyz often show up with what appears to be “undersized” fins, but for the bumps, the backwash, and the currents, small is more forgiving than big.
I have no experience at Mavericks.
But, it IS educational, eh?
Contact Bill Barnfield, I have one of his fins glassed on my 10’6" pintail. Had my friend Greg Jaudon build me that board for big Tres Palmas (and another PR wave) and was set on a glass on. Bought the fin from Barnfield and he even helped me with placement via emails and phone calls, Bill is a great guy and I was honored at the fact that he took out some of his precious time to help. So far I have tested the board in 2XOH and 3XOH and it bottom turns suprisingly smooth (for a 10’6"). No cutbacks though, just choose a line and connect all the dots from start to finish… Where do you intend to ride your 9’? Will take measurements of fin and board/placement if you wish…
I doubt any big wave rider would call it a “cutback”. Maybe a turn back, a fade, a redirection, but no LarryBertleman hand dragging laydown cutbacks on guns.
My 10’4" Brewer did fine with a 8" swept wide base fin, me often needing to move it forwards a bit for smaller waves.
And of course, the hips and the location of determines whether we really cut back, or just do the above.
I tend to like way smaller fins than most others. Just a personal preference. I want my fin to keep my tail from breaking completely free, but not hinder my ability to make quick direction changes. I also have a soft spot in my heart (probably in my brain too) for single fins. I’ll mostly rely on the rails and rocker to hold me in turns - hence my preference for extra tail rocker. For my use, I’d put a 7.5" cutaway in that sucker, pushed all the way forward in the box - most of the fin companies have similar models. I’ve got a stack of them from Futures, True Ames, Rainbow, etc.
For the rest of the surfing world… a good place to start would be a 8" Brewer gun fin. Again, this is something that several fin makers have in their product catalogs. Thick profile, wide at the base. Like what they called the “dolphin fin” back in the 70s. If you’re in So Cal, a trip to see Curtis Hasselgraves or Bill Bahne (next door to each other) will get you what you need. Otherwise, tell any fin maker you want a Brewer gun fin, and they’ll most probably know what you want.