So I’ve recently started messing around with the fins on my longboard. I’ve surfed it with a 10" heritage fin for almost a year and felt the urge to change things up. I rode my buddies noserider that had a different fin than mine and LOVED the way it turned, so I figured a change of fin was in order.
I already had a 9.5" Greenough 4a center fin which I rode last week and liked. It seemed like the board was more stable in my turns and I was drawing cleaner lines. I dropped in on one wave and looked ahead of me to see a grom inches away from my board - I hit the tail and did a 90 degree turn to avoid him. I was pretty happy with that turn overall. Of course, it’s always easier to do radical manevuers when you’re about to hit someone/somthing. The first time I ever did a cutback was because a guy dropped in on me and turned his board right into mine, haha.
But, I was looking at getting a Velzy Noserider fin - it seems to have a good template with a little more volume than the Greenough. What do you guys think of those fins? For reference, I’m riding a 9’4" classic noserider - single concave in the nose, double concave through the middle, and vee out the tail with a slightly larger rocker than a standard noseriding board. I think have a 19" nose, 23" center, and 16" tail, 3" thick but those numbers might be wrong. I’m just going off the top of my head. I’m looking for a fin that’ll give me a little more “snap” out of my turns while still being stable on the nose.
johnny...The Velzy NR is my favorite center fin for single-fin noseriders. I tried the TA Heritage, TA Slick and FU Miss Lucy, and all provide good hold when on the nose. However, the VNR, with its narrower width, turns quicker (relatively, of course) and seems to have less drag. Only problem is it doesn't come any shorter than 9.5". I recently cut an 9.5 VNR down to 8.25 for a customer who wanted it for an 8-6 mini-noserider I shaped him. Fin works great! I think a 7.5" version would make a great center-fin in a 2+1 set-up.
I like the 9.5 TA Wayne Rich "Classic" or "Power" for "Hi-Perf" LB single-fins, where you're surfing more off the tail and getting the occasional sneaker-five. Moderate base with narrow tip is the ticket in my book. However, narrow-tipped fins tend to break loose with the rider fully committed on the nose. So, it really depends on your riding style. Your board sounds more like a HP longboard (except for the wide tail) so a more uprght fin like the VNR may be contrindicated. The TA California Classic (aka Farberow Flex in the flexier version) is a great all-around single-fin LB fin.
Regarding flex-fin "snap", I have to agree with Bill T and others who believe flex fins create drag. I think the apparent "snap" is really a release from the drag created by the fins distortion under load. As the fin distorts while turning, drag is greated which is directly proportional to the amount of force applied to the turn. Once the board stops turning, the fin "relaxes" back to its pre-load shape, drag is reduced accompanied by the apparent sensation of "snap". The ideal fin would maintain speed or increase speed (somehow?) through a turn.
Hmm. I don’t know if I can say mine is a high performance board at all - It could just be that I’m coming off of riding a 9’0" high performance comp board that used to be owned by Taylor Jensen. Any board other than that isn’t high performance. I certainly consider mine to be more of a noserider shape with some added flair. Maybe I’m wrong about that. It’s a very similar shape to my friends G&S blunt NR just with a more rounded nose and a tad bit less width. I like what you described in the Velzy Noserider fin, that does sound like what I’m looking for. I’ll look into the California Classic though! Thanks for all the suggestions.
Also, I just looked on the True Ames site - they offer a 9" version now! I think if I get it I’ll grab that one since I have a 9.5" and a 10" already. Also, less fin should mean less drag and snappier turns right?
Edit: I just did some googling around…anyone ridden one of the velzy split or v fins? I’m not gonna drop $125 on one of them right now, but they look interesting at least. The way he describes how he works sounds magical, but one can neve know! Obviously, they never really caught on to well…
Herb Spitzer is riding a board, with just such a fin right now.
[/quote]
Any way you could let us know what fin? It sounds like something that would be magic!
[/quote]
Not yet ready to go public with it. The fin (foil) seems to capture (exploit) more of the waves energy than the ''normal fin foil'' that we are all accustomed to. Herb reports that it ''feels like the gas peddle is down, even in the flats.''