I’m making my first board, a 6’6"x22"x2 3/4" fish shape. I think I want to go with twin fins, anyone got a recommendation on what size they should be? Also, would you recommend I go with a fin system like FCS or Edge, or just glass on?
Hi there,
The answer depends on your preference and also your location for access to certain fin system suppliers. Twin fin is a good option… I’m currently shaping my first board which is also a fish and I’ll be using glassed on D fins from Finfektion.
In saying “Twin fin” though there are many options for the template of 2 fins… you can go with one of the fin systems such as FCS or Futures that offer a twin fin alternative template but for my liking these templates are really meant as an alternative setup for a shortboard and arn’t really consistent with the fish design.
The traditional fish had quite large fins refered to as “keel fins” and are typically 7" to 9" in the base and 5" + in depth. These fins were originally shaped from ply wood and as they are quite a large template, they do put a bit more force onthe base of the fin and therefore a fin this size really needs to be secured better than your standard 2 plug FCS.
So one of the options if you’re looking at the larger fins for a fish are to get glass-ons from say Finfektion (Contact Rod finfectionfins@msn.com - Rod posts on here as “Finfektion”… I’m using these and to see the 2 fish templates they offer, go to my website www.geocities.com/thefishexperiment and click on design… scroll to the bottom for the fin pics) or if you troll through the archives, you will find threads on making your own fins from ply wood. You can either manufacture them to use 3 FCS plugs or glass them on.
As another alternative that I really liked but couldn’t explore due to lack of supply to Australia is the Lokbox fin system. Lokbox are at www.lokboxfins.com and they do a really nice Al Merrick fish fin template - check the site and you can get their contact details from there. The guy from Lokbox also posts on here under “Lokbox”. My only issue with Lokbox was that I couldn’t get a supplier in Australia, so it would have meant that if I lost a fin I’d have to wait my time to get a replacement. If you’re in the US, it may be easier to get your hands on them.
Hope this helps some… I know other guys on here will have other suggestions for you - just keep researching until you find something you think suits what you are trying to acheive in the board. Some guys are also talking about Bahne Unlimited fin boxes, but I don’t know a lot about these.
-Cameron
One
Here’s a good thread from Burt Burger on shaping your own fins from ply wood.
I have heard people that have used fcs in their fishes that the boxes aren’t strong enough and the whole fcs system rips out if you are going to buy a fin system buy lokbox
These aren’t up on our sites yet, but here’s some of the custom stuff we’re making.
The CI template
With logos
Turbo version
Wood inlay version
G&S with swirl lay-up
Infinity (cluster) twin designed by Steve Boehne
Bonzer
Rich Pavel canard quad
Hap Jacobs Zippy fish
Rusty C5 With smaller Lokbox
We are currently working on distributorship in OZ. If anyone can recommend any fin makers maybe in the gold coast area, that could handle some volume fin manufacturing…we’d be stoked to find out about them!
bahne / fins unlimited…the Aussie equivalent here are boxes made by 'multi fin’systems… I think they might be byron bay ?
These are what I used for my current board, and are reasonably priced…I get 10" ones for around $10aus, 12" for 12 , etc…the smallest I’ve got [on the ‘bonzer’] are 7" , giving a 6 1/2 range of movement in the slot…
worth checking out, for sure…you can DEFINATELY make your own long based keels and runners for THESE !!
Previously, I have used three , and even four, F.C.S. plugs per home made keel or runner [the beauty of making your own !!]
ben
Quote:
We are currently working on distributorship in OZ. If anyone can recommend any fin makers maybe in the gold coast area, that could handle some volume fin manufacturing…we’d be stoked to find out about them!
Try Fluid Foils! there like one of OZ’s biggest.
Nice!
You guys should work toguether and make some Herb’s Superchargers for those little boxes…
Chano,
Yes I agree that the F.C.S. plugs are lacking in some of the larger fin templates if installed incorrectly but if the plugs are reinforced with glass patches they will perform with less chance of cracking around the plug, so it can come down to the person installing them. In the case of twin/keel fins being
to large in template area this can gotten around by using a third plug on each side and custom made tagged fins.
Triple tagged d-fins will work as I have made a number of sets
for fish set-ups, than you have the extra plug location for your twin fins to move forward or back for different conditions.
Rod
Finfektion.
Lokbox,
I love to see what you guy's are doing in the state's
and the quality of your products is outstanding, but with the number of plugs in the boards I am sometime’s left wondering
how much extra weight is being added to the tail of your board’s. When are you going to move to lite but strong product’s, you must be getting your resin and cloth for a great price when 60% of it end’s up on the floor of the foiling bay.
Rod
Finfektion
Chano,
Yes I agree that the F.C.S. plugs are lacking in some of the larger fin templates if installed incorrectly but if the plugs are reinforced with glass patches they will perform with less chance of cracking around the plug, so it can come down to the person installing them. In the case of twin/keel fins being
to large in template area this can gotten around by using a third plug on each side and custom made tagged fins.
Triple tagged d-fins will work as I have made a number of sets
for fish set-ups, than you have the extra plug location for your twin fins to move forward or back for different conditions.
Rod
Finfektion.
these were a couple of mine, 2 and 3 tabbers … pre-sanding, but this should give an idea anyway…
the blue 3 tabber is pigmented fibreglass…the black one is a wood core glass combination.
ben
Large box is 38 grams. less than 2/3rds of an once of resin to install. I guess it looks heavier than it really is. You’d be suprised. We do some pretty small boards for some of the guys/girls like Rochelles and Carissa Moores. 5’6"s and stuff. They feel pretty good with the glass fins in. I could send you a sample…
RTM fin technolgy is just not available here in the states. The aero-cors are somewhat available, but the quality is just not up to our standards. We’ve been trying to work with some of the overseas companies that some of the other fin companies use, but again, the quality is all over the place. One batch looks good, the next…well you know. Maybe it’s good enough for some, but i’m going hold on a second…
i have a board that is comporable to those dimensions. i have double sided keel fish fins that are 8 inches long by 5 inches tall.
and they work awesome on the board.
Thanks for all the info! I wish I’d found this site before I started making my board, it could have saved me some headaches.
Those are some sweet fins lokbox when will those be available for distribution? And How much will they cost?
The Swirl and clear fins look the coolest
Currently we have distributorship for the east and west coast, hawaii, Japan, and the UK. Europe,OZ, peurto rico,and south america coming soon. For pricing contact Rainbow fins at info@rainbowfins.com . All the fins i’ve posted are available for ordering now, as well as so much other stuff, I could fill up about 3 pages if I had the time to post them all. We make somewhere around 150 plus different templates right now, but it’s going up daily. It’s an ongoing process…
Hey lokbox, just curios, but why wouldn’t you put the attachment tabs up at the front of the fin so there wasn’t any little gap? Is it just cause that would make the front part of the foil more difficult to shape??
Fins are foiled first, and then tabbed, so that wouldn’t matter. The tab position varies slightly depending on base length and depth. The “beam” or thickest part of the foil usually runs about 3/8ths of an inch back from the leading edge of the fin, and tapers more towards the center of the tip in the top portion of the fin. The position of the tab (and it’s relation to the beam) can severly alter the flex characteristics of a given fin. Depth is also critical. On thruster fins that have a base of 4 3/4 or less, the more you move the tab forward, the more rigid the fin becomes. On some templates (like a gun fin) with at least 4 3/4 base and 5 in. plus height, we’ll adjust the tab forward as much as 1/4 inch to avoid the fin becoming mushy. The opposite applies to smaller fins and smaller boards. You want some flex in the mid to tip area to keep you board feeling lively. Stiff fins work well in flat faced waves where you need to generate speed, but may even spin out when applying a good amount of pressure at high speed. If the fin flexes, it’ll hold the water a bit longer before releasing it. If it has good memory(fiberglass) it will flex back quick which gives you that squirty feeling through turns. On these fins, a bit further back with the tab, will help you maintain a good amount of flex. Not too much, but a decent amount. A fiberglass fin with the tab at the front edge would be extremely stiff, and maybe not the best thing for everyday surfing. You also would get all your adjustment backwards, and none forwards.
Lokbox Boys,
I tried RTM 2 years ago and found it to be lacking in most areas, some $20,000.00 dollars later
and it’s been shelved as most RTM technology is designed for large volumes of resin, i.e. boat building
I had to place in the system a LINE RESTICTOR and the pump was staved of air plus cat mix was all over the place. Small volume work as small as 70 mill’s of resin was just to finicky. Go to surfermag.com and look in the photo area to see some of my work. Under finfektion fins
Regards Rod