How much difference paddling a twin keel and a single??

General Discussion
1

Due to a recent addition to our family, baxter jeremy ( it’s a boy! ), my surfing time is much more limited than it was, i now surf 1-2 times a month, comapred to 1-2 a week, and will probably be like that for a while. The other day i had a surf on my twin keel, and man, i could feel the effect of not surfing for a few weeks. Anyway, im making a single fin, and im wondering, if a single fin has no cant, and no toe, would it create less drag, and therefore paddle easier??. My twin keel is 6’2’’ x 16n x 22+3’’ x 16t x 3’‘, and my single will be 6’5’’ x 14’‘n x 20.5’‘Midway x 15’‘t x 3’'.

The keels on my fish are 5’’ x 7’’ fibreglass, and have 1/4’’ toe, and slight cant. Any ideas would be much appreciated. In the meantime, i’ll be saving ever so slowly for a 7’ nugget and a starfin!!

2

Wouldnt be a noticible diffrense…That single will paddle easier because its bigger…

3

people say that, no side bites = less drag. i dont think you can feel it though. I can’t. rocker and volume are much more feelable.

4

Congratulations! That’s great news! As for drag, a single will have less drag, and something like a starfin has less still, and I think you’ll notice it. Even playing with different single fins, I’ve noticed huge variation in drag, and as you say, no cant or toe to cause drag, just fin shape and foil.

For example, going from this (one of my all-time favorite fins):

to either a starfin or one of these:

I felt a huge difference on my 11 foot x 25.5" wide longboard. That thing has so much wetted surface, I didn’t expect any difference when paddling, but it was dramatic. The added length and thinner midpoint ought to help speed you up too. Good luck!

–BCo

5

Thanks for the replies guys, some interesting thoughts. Can’t wait to try it out. Starfin’s/ winged keels are only 45 bucks, so i might give one a go in it as well.

EDIT, Eric, do you think an extra 3’’ length will make a difference in paddling? been thinkin about it since i replied.

6

Just in case you didn’t read it somewhere else, even though the starfin go really well, they catch everything they run over, seaweed, legropes, etc. Pain in the arse.

7

They do catch stuff. Very true. I found wearing a knee-leash minimized problems with it getting caught on the fin (or on kelp, a big problem here).

Another downside, the star-fin will cause immense drag if you have a lot of tail rocker. Something to keep in mind.

8

from a long-time confirmed single fin rider, I’ll say this about multi-fin boards… they’re a lot easier to paddle over shallow reef situations, though since multi-fin boards are frequently smaller

, they sink more and this negates some of the potential advantage.

9

Twins tend to rotate side-to-side a lot more than thrusters or singles…they DO paddle poorly. The rear center fin helps negate this and keeps you on track.

A small price to pay, however, for the advantages of the twin once you stand…