Hi guys, I need a bit of advice. I made a fish and put wings on it. I’ve never made a board like this so I really am unaware of where the wings were supposed to go and where to put the fins. The board itself came out great, but I don’t know where to place the fins (before the wings, in the middle, after). The board is 6’2"x13.5"x20.5"x14.25"x2.5". It has a concave to a double concave to a flat in the tail. The fish tail is 6.5" wide and 1.75" deep. The wings are 13.75" up from the tail end of the board and the width where the wings is 16". I am thinking of putting the back end of the side fins right where the wings start, and the front end of the center fin 3.5" below that (the back end of the fin would be 5.75" from the very end of the board) I don’t know if this puts the fins too far forward. If I put the fins any farther back, I would have to put the side fins in the middle of the wings. If anyone can make sense of the numbers I put up and knows what to do, please Help!! Thanks!!
…Try this if you can’t get Red-X in your board. 12.5" on the sides from the tips to the trailing edge of the fins.And the center at 5.25" from the tips to the trailing edge of the fin. …These are proven settings,I use them on my personnals all the time.That is if this is a thruster fin set-up/size fins. …TOE 6" past the tip of the nose and cant at 4 degrees. …The only thing better would be a set of Chargers added to it.Herb
“12.5” on the sides from the tips to the trailing edge of the fins.And the center at 5.25" from the tips to the trailing edge of the fin." Herb, if I put the side fins 12.5" from the tips of the fins, I will be putting them in the middle of the wings. Does this matter? The wings are 13.75" from the tips of the fish tail.
…Bingo! That’s where you get the best use of the wings.Herb
If you don’t mind explaining, how do the wings affect the board? I just put them on there for this guy that wanted them. I’ve heard that it helps to make the tail thinner and that acts as a pivot point, but never got a straight answer.
Silvia, There are a lot of variations on this theme. Ben Aipa moves these wings all over the place on his shapes and is the most famous of all the shapers using the design. I’ve had some experience with them and in all cases the wings have added extra bite to the rails and actually made the board track more readilly than the ones without wings. Some width can be added to the center section of a board by doing this and still have a tail with considerable holding power and bite. Watch some of the those old surf flicks with Larry Bertleman and you see how radically a tail like this can perform as a single. I works great as a twin or with a modified thruster set-up too. My 7’0" with 4.5" full base flexy rail fins and cutaway center the same depth way better than it ever did as single cause it was just too stiff that way. Larger rail fins make it work great as a twin fin, though this set-up too loose for me. Mahalo, Rich
So Rich, Herb-what exactly does putting the fin in the middle, behind, or in front of the wings do? Or does it not matter?
…It’s where the waterline breaks.It’s like moving the tips of the tail up to the points of the wings.Herb
Sylvia, I’ve always thought that the wings should be cut in behind the trailing edge of the rail fin. That way the two are working together to break the water as break point. However when you start move the rail fins too far off the tail you distroy board performance completely. As you move the wings back toward the tail and off the trailing edge of the fin these cuts in the outline give the tail some bite but don’t have as much affect on traking. That my take on things. There are lots of variations on this theme that fall out side of the ones I’ve addressed I’m sure but I hope this helps. Mahalo, Rich
Thanks for all your feedback!!