[IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp114/pridmore73/swinger88andMP3010.jpg[/IMG]
this an MP3 glassed in volan..was 6'2" x 21" x 2 5/8"
Im starting to get the hang of my single and really enjoy riding it. Just keep surfing it, and you'll start to see what it likes. Nailing a bottom turn on a single feels great!
Nice work mark as usual.
Thanks beerfan…
Single fins are the fastest things i’ve ever ridden and the waves shape really dictates what you’ll be doing on the boards.
Seems like one of those ‘easy to learn, difficult to master’ kinda deals but its definitely fun…
wkumagai
I’m no expert on single fin boards, but it is what I started surfing on back in the day(later 70s) for me. Looking @ the board you have I personally think a slightly longer than average and slightly raked fin might be a good choice on that board? Dunno, but you prob need some added length for holding power, and some curve if you like nice round turns?otoh, a straiter profile fin is more suitef for longer drawn out turns. My suggestion to you is for you to try several types you think you’d like! Also, the wider the tail- the longer the fin you’ll need. Why? Spin outs will happen of the fin is too short.so ask urself what type of surfing you want to do, then get the fin that suits that type of surfing. I myself had a average width tail on my single fin, so I had a more standard upright fin with average rake. And with the box fin I found in smaller surf I put my fin all the way up! And board would turn on a dime. But for average 3-4 foot surf I set her in the middle. On bigger surf she’s all the way oin the back! Dunno why some peeps outhere think single fins aren’t loose! Lol. Not referring to anyone here- just sayin.
In a nutshell: more curvy fins are better for round turns, less curvy is more drawn out turns. I would stay away from real short fins-being your taail there is pretty wide and it would cause major spin outs. Lol. And yes I do remember all of that sh*t! Lmao. That’s when reno abalirra broke out a knee board bi fin set-up…and yes! That bout near the time twin fins came out. And I tried a 6’2 fish taik twin fin for the first time! And it started a trend on tipping the rail over heavily…lol
Thanks a lot. I’ll be sure to try the more raked fins. What is the average width of a single fin’s tail area? i thought the 'egg’ier boards were for smaller days and the really straight, pulled tails were for the meaty days. Which is why i opted for the wider tail. I dont know anything about singles so if anyone minds explaining shape and function… it’d be helpful.
wkumagai
I made a 5'10 single fin pumpkin seed type shape a while back. If I remember correctly, the tail is around 15" maybe a hair wider. It works great in small to medium size surf. I added a little vee in the tail to help aid in rail to rail transition, but it also has slight concave set within the vee. I can't really tell you an "average" width like you were asking, but the wider you go, the more "rail to rail" design elements you will want to incorporate such as convex bottom contours or low volume rails to help aid in rail to rail transitions. Spin out is also something to consider, and it was probably already discussed. If you go with a wider tail single fin shortboard, I'd probably put a deeper "flex" fin on it to avoid spin out, but still keep it "loose".
I'm sure someone on here can give you better info, but I hope this helps, and good luck.
Go down to South Shore Surf on Ward Ave. They have all kinds of single fins.
I’d get a Greenough Stage 4a about 8", or a Brewer style fin about 7.5" That should hold the board in and allow you to turn hard.
For me the key to making a hard turn on the single is to make sure you really bury the tail. So get your back foot on the back of the board and push hard. The other thing is we always moved around. You step back to turn, then move forward to carry the speed you get out of the turn, then step back to turn again, and do this over and over. You get up on the nose to get more speed going when you’re trimming, then get back to the tail to turn. Watch some of the older movies like Morning of the Earth and you’ll see that.
A narrower tail with straighter lines would let you stick it hard on the turns, but the wider rounder tail will need more finess.
Now after saying all that, I am currently converting several of my shorter single fins to quads. I think that the evolution of boards has also changed how we can ride, and multi-fin boards are popular for a reason, they work better in performance waves. I found that adding the 2 + 1 setup on my 5-10 stubbie board allowed me to have a lot more control in overhead waves. Then I tried using a thruster setup instead of the 2 + 1 and it really brought the board alive. One short single I have, is based on what I read about MP was doing on his boards, and it has really thin rails. Lots of crowning on the deck to get them really thin. I found that it helped the board hold, and I like the way it rides.
I’ll keep the boards I have that are over 7’ as singles, but the shorter boards from 6’ 6" down to 5 something will have at least 3 boxes for more options. Kind of like owning a car, the old ones are cool and have style, but if want to drive hard, a new sports car will always be quicker and much better in the corners.
In the 60’s and 70’s, we’d drop into the wave, head straight down and
nail the bottom turn hard. Then at the top, you slice the top turn more
than jam the board into the wave. But the rockers and outlines we had probably
dictated the way we surfed. Today’s boards all have the wide point closer to the middle or lower and they have wider tails.
I would think the average with tail for a single fin would be around 13-14.5" wide…
You are correct in that wider tails would be more suited for smaller surf, and narrower for juice.
You’ll like a somewhat longer fin than average with a nice roundish rake on your board I think. Try it and let me know what you think.
Not sure how tall you are, weight etc? But I myself at the time was about 5’8" tall and thin @ 150 lbs and was riding a 6’10" single fin with a box fin set-up. Tail width looked about 14-or 14.5" wide, nose about 13.5" I think or slightly wider? Worked well with a single winged swallow man! I had zero prob layin a rail over also…I do recommend on ur next shape to narrow out the tail area a bit more to 14-14.5", go with your mid-point no more than 21", but pref around 19.5" to 20" for sm to mid size wave action and you’ll notice much more performance than the eggier shapes. Don’t get me wrong-eggier shapes are fun! I borrowed a old willian dennis board I think out of ventura cali-which was loose and fun!
If I recall, it had a convex bottom, domed deck, thin rails and wide round tail. Nose was round and blund-kinda eggy… Fun as all hell to ride though! Dunno if it had any vee in tail? Looked more like convex continued… But it had a nice even balanced rocker; low entry to mid rocker, low tail rocker to mid rocker all blended in! It was a fun board. But try a more standard single fin shape and I guarantee you-that you’ll notice how much funner surfing a single can be. Definitely consider carving in a single wing set-up on any tail shape you desire! And put the winger up higher than 10" atleast and you’ll notice how it helps in the turns. Go with a more standard profile fin on this type of board though. Hope this helps.
If you like ‘eggy’ shaped boards, I think 14-15" tail width is going to be about right if the center is about 21" wide or so…keep the nose nice and blunt-prob around 15.5"+. I might be a sliver off, but it will be close enough and will work sweet!bout 15 yrs ago I had one shaped similar, but my nose was 15", tail 14", middle about 20.5"…single concave under front foot and nose, all the way back to tail-with a little vee out the back due to the concave…board funcioned well in med surf, but was not what I’d recommend for smaller surf-although it will work. For smaller surf-go with a more standard shortboard outline; narrower nose, relatively parallel middle section and average tail bout 14"-14.5" and I think you should have a lot more fun in the single fin model.
That said, I’ll shape one myself! Lol.
I’ll go with an old aipa stinger shape… Maybe about 6’5" x 20.5" wide, big old wingers about 15-16" up from the tail block…shallow straight cut swallow tail-maybe 2.5"- 3" deep… Big box fin as well. I think I’ll go with a nice flat bottom and give it vee from tail to about the wingers…so you can actually feel a “V"with your hands! Keep in mind you can run ur vees anywere from the end of tail to well above your fins prob around no more than 1/3 way up the board though. Most single fins I notice have the vee shaped in 15-18” up the tip of tail block… Play with it and find out where you like your vee.
Go with a nice flat or domed deck, but flat being a bit more stable feeling…good short board size singles can be from 5’9- 7’4" or so…some even bigger for huge surf. The biggest single fin I ever rode was an 8’ footer +! Damn fun though! Lol
thank you all for all the info… never thought that my first post would follow into a string of advice.
so for that thank you all very much…
I will look into the 7.5-8" fins with a little more rake since everyone has recommended it. Can’t wait to ride it in some clean, solid 3 foot days.
thank you all for all the info… never thought that my first post would follow into a string of advice.
so for that thank you all very much…
I will look into the 7.5-8" fins with a little more rake since everyone has recommended it. Can’t wait to ride it in some clean, solid 3 foot days.
Sir- I did a google on surfboard design fundamentals and found quite a wealth of info man! So try a google or yahoo search and take notes- I did! And its helping. Keep in mind most shortboard rockers, foils are similar… So don’t let tris and twins throw off ur shaping ideas. Why? Cos fins just add traction… I like the tris and twins, but may do a rp single with a winger-we will see. Good luck on next board man!