Hey all, first time posting here. I’ve been surfing about 9 months
now,
started out on a Bic 7’9" and recently moved to a
Westbay Hybrid,
dims 7’6" X 21 3/4" X 2 7/8". Obviously I still suck quite badly but I’m
now at the stage of riding along the wave in trim and doing some simple
turns. I’m about 5’10" tall and weigh 165lbs. The waves where I surf most often tend to be mushy, most often in the range of knee to head high. This forum seems
friendlier than many of the surfing forums I’ve found so I thought I’d
ask a few questions and get some advice from you. Apologies if this has been covered before but half an hour searching hasn’t turned up anything specific enough.
Firstly,
the board came with FCS copies, plastic, generic. I’m told that, now
that I’ve started turning, a better set of fins will benefit me. The board has F3 fin boxes so can accept either FCS or Futures fins, do people have any recommendations as to a good set of replacement fins out of their ranges? I’d like something that can add a little speed down the line but I’m open to all suggestions.
Further, I’m interested to hear peoples’ opinions on these boards? It’s EPS/epoxy and a world better than the Bic I came off. Would have gone shorter but the shaper talked me out of it.
All constructive comments welcome.
Hi -
Everybody starts somewhere. Only dicks with big egos and short memories write off beginners.
In my opinion the center fin size, shape and position will likely have the most effect on your ride. Any chance the board has a center box? If not, a custom fin guy could make up a couple of center fins to fit FCS plugs. By varying the position of the tabs relative to the base, you could achieve fore and aft position adjustment. A bigger fin with wider base will generally add down the line speed.
Plastic is OK. I don't think the material will matter that much. Any fins out there except on really cheap soft boards are pretty good.
Practice and the search for decent waves will pay off more than fin experimentation at this point. That hybrid board looks like a great board to learn the ropes and advance your skills.
Firstly, the board came with FCS copies, plastic, generic. I'm told that, now that I've started turning, a better set of fins will benefit me. The board has F3 fin boxes so can accept either FCS or Futures fins, do people have any recommendations as to a good set of replacement fins out of their ranges? I'd like something that can add a little speed down the line but I'm open to all suggestions.
If you like toys and want to support your local surfshop buy some FCS Honeycomb T.Pattersons template or some G5 Merricks. Both work well however at this stage the standard plastic issues are most likely fine as JM said in his post earlier.
Would have gone shorter but the shaper talked me out of it.
Hopefully this is not your last board?
Your shaper is just wanting you to catch as many waves as possible as each wave you ride will make you surf better and advance sooner so you can order another board!
The better you get the more boards you will need. At one time I had 11 under my house on the North Shore from Fishes = Shortboards to Guns.
As you get into it you will never stop thinking about surfing.
I believe that surfing is a healthy addiction.
Welcome to Swaylocks!
Hating is not allowed.
Surfding
All constructive comments welcome.
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Don’t be in a hurry to go for shorter board. It’ll just make the learning curve much much longer than it needs to be. The fundamentals can be understood much faster on that new board.
I recommend you ride it as a single fin for a bit if you can find a fin in the 8’’ or more range. It really teaches you to ride the wave correctly in the right spots, without using the side fins. After you get the hang of that try a twin fin for a change, it’ll teach you how to pump side to side on a wave and gain speed. In the end… put it all together with 3 fins and you’ll have a much better understanding of the dynamics at play.
It’s kinda funny how the most people will always want a 3 fin thurster shortboard when they are 3-5 years off from using them to any efficiency. That’s where you get those people that wag their butts, stomp hop on their decks, and look funny as hell. Don’t go for the hype, since most of those high performance boards are refined shapes developed for proffessionals that have spent most of their lives surfing (that 0.1%).
One step at a time is the best way to go with surfing. There is no shortcuts at all since we are land creatures and most of us are pretty awkward in the water to start with. Unless you are the second coming of Curren or that guy from Florida…
Thanks for the replies.
The consensus seems to be that new fins won’t make much of a difference to me at the moment. Fair enough, that’s some cash saved.
I think the center fin box allows some leeway (1-2") in positioning the fin. It’s -3C here at the moment so I won’t be running out tonight to check it. Heh! So i might play with positioning to see what difference that makes. Presumably moving the center towards the side fins will make the board a little looser?
Hopefully this is not your last board?
Definitely not, while MTBing will always be my first sport, I’m finding that the challenge of learning to surf keeps me coming back for more. That, and the fact that there’s nothing like that feeling of “oneness” you get sitting out back waiting for a set to roll through.
Thanks for all the encouragement.
"Presumably moving the center towards the side fins will make the board a little looser?"
Yes. If you will, send me a template of your center fin. Just take it out and trace around the whole thing including the tabs. I'll see if I have anything different that you can switch.
Check PM.
Unless you are the second coming of Curren or that guy from Florida…
No…definitely not. Only learned to swim at the start of the year. Makes me kind of sorry that I didn’t learn when I was younger but better late than never.
And johnmellor, you have a PM. I checked the fin boxes too and the centre fin position is fixed, there’s a tab that prevents it from sliding up or down the box. Ah well.