I surf Twin fins, but I am looking at a steve lis type fish for my next board becuase I want to generate more speed. I was just wondering if putting wings or flyers on the rails will eliminate the tracking problem that I hear fish tend to have while still allowing me to do rail to rail surfing. This is an example from G&S Australia and is probably the exact board I am looking at buying. http://www.gordonandsmith.com.au/Surfboards/Shortboards/Vintage_Series/Twin_Fin_Fish/twin_fin_fish.html
www.gordonandsmith.com don’t know where yer postin from- this is the link in the U.S.(above)- give them a call- they produce fishes of all kinds. including the one you are looking at.- good luck[smile]
tracking is caused by having the fin set in straight. ‘Toe-In’ or having the fins angled in toward the nose of the board corrected ‘tracking’.
thanks for the info guys. I guess I could have G&S build that board here instead of having it be sent from their shaping hq in Australia. I though that the definition of a fish was that it had the wide point near the top, parallel fins, and a big swallow tail. My current MR esque twin fin has toe in fins and they make it ride slow and kinda squirly.
Fishes went through quite a bit before the Thruster took over. You had the Clyde Beatty rocket fish which essentially was a MR Twin with a Fish Tail. And lots of people shaping everything in between and over the limits. My definition of a fish is a twin finned board with a fish tail, preferably with a wide point forward and bitey(not shallow) fish tail. Just as a thruster is a trifin with any tail or outline configuaration. --It doesnt have to be any more complicated.
The quad set up and modern rocker and concave also eliminated tracking as you call it or sticking.
No!! specifically toe-in eliminated tracking. ‘cant’ helps a board surf better on turns, all your hold is still there while turning. A quad with no toe-in on the fins would track as would a twin.
The "tracky " Lis Fish with no toe in keel finsWAS and ISthe best and fastest kneeboard ever.The kneeriding 25-30 yrs ago was and is better than any kneeriding since.All done on a no toe-in keelfin 5ft 5inch fish .They blew the doors off any kneeboard or “fish” since. No comparison.
Ken Small has spoken the true words of The Kneeboarding Gospel. The Lis Fish was unquestionably the fastest and best kneeboard of its kind ever. There is no comparison. Stateside kneeboarding 25-30 years ago was, and is, better than any kneeriding since. There are reasons why kneeboarding experienced its fleeting golden era: George Greenough and his exotic flexible spoons and Stevie Lis’ with his incredible Fish. Both men were marked by surfing genius, exceptionally talented, genetic throw-aheads, one seamlessly following the other. They were like brilliant shooting stars. The first and the last chapters of a short story which has been stuck in epilogue mode for 3 long decades. Kneeboarding`s Spring and Summer passed away long ago. The dynamic power of Steve Lis’ Original Fish endures while kneeboarding has faded to less than a ghost of its former glory. “Mediocrity has brought the demise of many great empires, history makes that resoundingly clear. Unfortunately KneeBoarding in the USA has chosen to follow along the same path. Jason Foster’s article in the Surfer’s journal a few years back hinted that it was in it’s death throws, where Rex Huffman stated it is an extinct life form that couldn’t pass the rigors of survival.” “Historically, surfing is extremely well documented down to the buttons and ties. Progressive innovations are the things which have curried legends and inspiration. Greenough opened a huge door and Lis made sure it wasn’t going to slam shut. These initial designs were refined and refined again in different ways, in different countries. Since turning the reins over to the standup industry, the past twenty years have seen shapers refining these early concepts to make their equipment more efficient. However to the observant, these latest designs are mere cosmetics on old theories. Confirming once again that there really is nothing new under the sun… Just cold leftovers. So in this light KneeBoarding, especially in California, has failed to live up to it’s heritage. Instead it has gotten in line like the three blind mice going down a well trodden and all too familiar circular path of redundancy.” “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” http://www.subculturalicons.com/KBUSA.html 