Fish Fin Placement

General Discussion
1

Hi, folks!

Finally found the Posca pens I needed (thanks Jenette) and glassed my 6’4" XPS Shape. I’m ready to glass on the fins. The board is 6’4" and 21.5" wide. I’ve 7" x 5" keels with 3/4" of rake. When placing the fins where should I take my measurements from, the tail tips or the crack? How far from that point to the leading (trailing?) edge of the fins? How far from the rail should the leading (trailing?) edge of the fins, how much tow-in and how much cant?

Thanks!

2

Howdy, on my fish (also a 6’4") I put the fins at 7 1/2" from trailing edge to swallow tip, around 1 1/4" in from the rail, I think, toed them 1/4" and eyeballed the cant so it looked right with the vee going off the tail. This board is a pudgy oldish style fish shape…

Hope this helps you.

Cheers,

Scott

3

peobus,

My eye isn’t as good as scottw’s. I cut a block of wood at 4 degrees and use that to set the cant. I don’t toe the keels in as much as you, either. Typically, 1/8 inch, if at all. There is ton of fin placement info for fishes in the archives, too. Mike

4

Rooster, a friend made me a cardboard jig for setting cant, but it would sometimes get lost in concaves and channels. Otherwise it works fine. I found usind a small carpenters square works well to. The eyeballing part comes in when dealing with the vee or concave.

Scott

p.s. my eyes aint so hot…

5

Hi, again,

Regarding fin placement, it the above mentioned measurement from the tail tip to the trailing edge of the fin the way to go? Thanks for the help.

6

peobus,

How far between the tips and how deep is the butt crack? Mine are a minimum of 10 inches between tips and the crack is half the distance of the tip to tip measurement. Sometimes a little more. I line the rear edge up with the tips. Usually around 1 1/8 to 1 1/4 inches from the rail. For distance from the tips I line the rear edge up with the crack or maybe a half inch up. Usually 6 to 6 1/2 inches from the tips. Double foil fins I mount with no toe in and no cant. Single foils I toe in 1/8 inch and cant about 2-3 degrees. Scottw’s number probably work fine,too. It’s a pretty forgiving shape in my opinion. Relatively easy to shape and ride. Nice wide stable platform. Gets up to planing speed really quick. Looks goofy in a bitchen way. Backyard, soulful history. It’s all fun. mike

7

Mike,

Thanks, man. Just what I was looking for. I’ve fins that’re foiled on both sides. That means no tow-in. The board has a very wide tail. I’ll probably add the half inch from the crack. Thanks to everyone who contributed.

Peobus