beautiful board paul
i never ridden aproper fish shape with keels
so id have to say the starfin would be my fin of choice
Hydrofoil that sucka!
(all wood hydrofoil, please. I’m dying to see how you do one!)
Hydrofoil ? Yes !
I agree with LeeV’s suggestion. In 1971 or so I had made a 5’11" single (thick; piggy outline) from a G&S light stringerless blank with a 4 oz. zippered rail glass schedule. Practical me also shaped full down, knife rails at the back. The board weighed in at <5 lbs. and surfed pretty well. But I would paddle out, surf alone for an hour, paddle in, and find 2 or 3 dings in the tail rails. Must have been the bumps from passing jellyfish… That got very old, very quickly, so after a couple of months, I amputated the rear 13" of my problem child. The resulting “chunk” was generally similar to the shape Paul shows (albeit much cruder), although there was nearly no outline taper toward the tail. I wanted to experiment with multiple fins (a novelty on the East Coast at the time), so I moved the existing single to about the middle of the remaining board, then I cut two semi-circular keels about 3-3/4 deep of ordinary 3/8" ply and glassed them at no more than 3/4" inboard from the rail line about 9" up from the tail; no cant, no toe. After a couple of prone sessions, I realized the center fin was just in the way, so I pulled it. The final result was fairly easy to arm paddle (no fins) into a wave (for a 180 pounder on a 4’10", natch). It was a fantastic bellyboard: fairly fast; very maneuverable; and those keels allowed it to track amazingly far out and high on the lip over hollow sections (until it “fell out of the sky” - yee ha!!!). I also could ride it standing, although it was jest a bit touchy in the stability dept. It’s possible that I had more fun on that bastardized little chunk of foam than on any other board I ever rode, home or commercially built :->
-Samiam
If Paul wanted to stick with the all-wood theme I would think it not too very difficult to steambend a similar fin (although it mioght be easier to achieve a parabolic than a circular arc). I don’t know the steambending characteristics of balsa, but I’m sure cedar or some other un-dense wood would serve. Lamination is probably out, but with both “ends” secured strength becomes a lesser issue, so that’s probably OK.
-Samiam
small twin fins that simmons used on his boards…
i am calling for it to be kneeboarded or ridden as a paipo, twin, quad, or a five fin with a very small trailer
" …i am calling for it to be kneeboarded…"
…yep, funny you should say that …
my thought was ,
"why not kneeboarded ?’ , but with side fins to hold in the WIDE tail , as well as possibly a big raky main fin [in a finbox] ,
as I know from experience that this board did NOT work well as a SINGLE fin kneeboard [why I made the “fireball” / “bushfire fish” multi fin option board out of it !]
before …
after …
cheers !
ben
where is Hicksy ?
I just remembered …your ‘malubbie’ wood board you made is similar to Paul’s board , yes ?
do you have a photo of the fins you made for that somewhere , mate ?
cheers !
ben
Here's what I'm thinking...
Twin fins...
I'm looking for fins with good release at the base with some tip "twang"...
My template is laying on top of a Parmenter template...
You can see the size differences...
Zebrawood...
Foiled on one side, very thin at the tip...
Positioned something like this...
Maybe back a bit more...
Paul,
The most effective fin(s) position for standing use will be different than for prone surfing.
Please elaborate…
Paul,
Prone surfing tends to involve higher and deeper lines than is possible when standing. Unless your prone surfing requires minimal maneuverability, fin(s) could be set farther forward (closer to your hip joint) than for standing use.
Center of gravity and weight distribution for prone and standing are entirely different in how they relate to board design (especially for relatively inflexible solid objects)
… for most prone riders (let’s say about 6’-0" tall x
175 lbs.) a 5’-6" board presents a fairly long waterline, yet short for standing.
to my senses the outline is very body prone.
the ‘Fin’ limits once imposed are difficult to shake.
As I have presented in the past,not exclusive of my surfing,
We are addicted to fins.
the fin you pictured juxtaposed with the pmenter fin
has a higher efficient sensitivity to drive ratio
yet the higher profile greenough school is more likely
to leed to the freedom of glide - sensitivity
that a drive oriented large base fin would stifle fluidity.
The sensitivity of the finless craft requires a higher finesse
to execute protracted manuvers
once finned the art of direction change
is accessable to a broader spectrum
of technically able surfers.
the goal of reducing fin area
is not common.
the goal of the higher angle of glide
has been the trend since the introduction of the fin in the 1930s.
the revolution s in fin design has periodically flirted with
the reduction of fin area.Sideslip fins of the 69 - 70
cut out fins of 64-65
greenough fins of the ahi continuium…
the Hynson Dolphin fin promotion
all these were not underground efforts
so we can wide and far share them as references.
prone riding can access the holding power of the trailing swim fin
and release as well
these trailing fins are well taken
necessities on the finless boards.
after a few riding hours on a given board
choices on fin placement will have a more likely
'‘educated’'criterion.
A good guess
is a good guess
is a good guess
…ambrose…
you can lift trailing
swim fins out of the water
fins on surfboards cannot be retracted
or can they?