Been reading though the archives and thought I’d throw around a question for some input. I just got my first “fish” like board and am trying to figure out what fins I should be focusing on for it’s thruster set-up.
I’m 6’4, 195 lbs and regularly surf a 6’8x11.5x19x14x2 5/8 when the waves are 3-4’(Hawaiian). My new fishy board is 6’3x14x20x14 3/4x2 5/8 and I’m having a hard time feeling good on it. It’s just meant for small kine stuff and it is a wave catching machine for even the smallest ripples.
OK, so I started with an M-5 set-up and the board felt way to stiff and unresponsive. Swithed the trailer with a gs and now it’s super loose, but looses drive when turning and feels like I’m surfing on an ice-rink!! It’s fun, but at my size I want to have a positive feedback when pushing on the board and not bleed speed and slip around.
My question is, should I be focusing on bigger side fins like the MR twin fin set-up with the gs, or a slightly bigger trailer like a gx or g-1000? Just getting used to a board this wide for me is an experience, but at least I catch more small waves in a session than ever before and I love that aspect of it!!
I have two modern fishes and have had success with using G3 and G5 front fins and a GX trailing fin. I set the forward fins 12" up from the tail and the center trailer is set so that the tip of the fin is in line with the butt crack of the swallow. On both boards I’ve used just basic flat to vee panel bottoms. I may jump a plane to Kauai this coming Wed. and stay for a couple of days.
The Mr twins with a trailer might be a little big but always worth a try on a fishy board. The G5 is a relatively small template i think. Find a fin with some more base and tip area but less rake and use a smaller trailer with it like a G5 or G3. It should be drivey and release well.
Thanks guys. I think I found the right combo. Occy’s on the sides and a g-1000 center. I’m a little dissappointed on it’s performance after all the hype I’ve heard about hybrid fishes, but it’s a wave catching machine and is much better than a long board. It’s always fun to catch 40 waves in a session.
It’s been a great learning experiment to try all the different fin set-ups and to see the difference width makes in the way a board performs.
I guess I’m not a fish guy, but it definately has it’s place in the quiver for those tiny days.
My modern fishes are 6’4" and 6’6". I ended up putting the fins 12" up because of the trailer fin being pushed more forward due to the swallow tail. I was’nt sure how it would work, but the first one (the 6’6") rode good so I kept that set up when I did the 6’4". What I usually do when I’m not sure of something is to go by what looks good to the eye. I’ll put a fin on the blank to see how it looks in certain positions and take measurements from there. As far as where to set the fins on your 6’10", you could stick with the same settings or go with your instincts.
I was going to go with the same set-up, I have a 7’8"funboard that works great and I took the fin position off that board for my 7’6" which also works great. I was a bit unsure if the same set-up would work on my 6’10" due to its shorter length.
If you are saying that your 6’4" and 6’6" work fine with the fins at 12", the I guess that 11 3/4 should be OK.
If I have the fins the same off the rail, then I guess the set-up would be a bit different due to the wider tail.
But I also think it should still work as the fins have the same working relationship with the rail as the other boards.
By the way, what distance from the tail is you trailer fin?