My dad gave me his favorite fin a few years back, a Greenough 9.0" 4A.
A few days ago I surfed some 3-4ft barreling reef break in San Diego. I rode my 9’2" Takayama LJ Richards model (normally a 2+1 setup,
the guy I bought it from chopped off the side fins).
With this board and my 4A, I can
usually get to the bottom of the wave and pump back up for a little
speed. However, This time around–since I left my regular board and 4A
fin with my dad–I had to put a different fin in. In place of the 4A
(which I swap between boards usually) was a 10" Rainbow Wingnut Longrake.
With this fin, I felt that the tail was stiff and doggy–instead of
dropping to the bottom and pumping back up into the pocket, I had to
trim to keep up with the wave (like a noserider).
My question is this: How did changing fins affect the ride so much?
The fins seemed fairly similar–granted the Wingnut is a little bigger,
thicker, and stiffer.
If you’ve got any helpful links or articles on fins, please post them. Although I’ve been searching, I haven’t found anything with a real concrete answer. THANKS.