make a small 'Star' fin?

I have always been intrigued by Cheynes’ Star Fin. I picture the effects of the board on rail with the “Y” dug in and try to envision the water flow and the effects of the flow on the ‘feel’ of the board. What do you guys think of a thruster set up but the trailing fin constructed as a small Horan type star fin? Picture a basic glass-on that has that ‘Y’ (for lack of a better description) config at the top of the fin. How would that affect the ride? I haven’t made any fins yet, but I am toying with the idea of making just such a small ‘Star’ Fin for a thruster set-up. I think that an FCS type install would be the best route for testing. I welcome your comments. Magoo

Strange you mention the small star fin. Just the other day I was driving home from the beach and saw a guy with pink Y-shaped trailing fin on his thruster. The board looked pretty new so I’m guessing that someone else has been doing some experimenting too.

Strange you mention the small star fin. Just the other day I was driving > home from the beach and saw a guy with pink Y-shaped trailing fin on his > thruster. The board looked pretty new so I’m guessing that someone else > has been doing some experimenting too. Where is home Ajl? I’m in SoCal. Magoo

The use of a ‘Star’ fin as a trailer in a thruster set up was not uncommon in Australia during the mid 1980s.(Post Australia II’s America’s Cup victory). I borrowed a friends board to try it a few times, 6’2’’ thruster squash with the Star fin in a adjustable Box. Now this is over 15 years ago but I seem to remember that it went well the first time I rode it in clean chest high waves but that later sessions in choppy conditions it didn’t go so well, though the defficiency may have been more in the rider. I also recollect seeing Terry Fitzgerald riding a shortboard with a 2+1 configeration with a Star fin that he ripped on until getting caught on the seaweed in the North Narra Shorie. Another similar approach from the same period was the Geoge Downing’s bulb keel, this looked some what like a small torpedo mounted onthe tip of the center fin, I saw Hawaiian Marshall Crum ride an asymetrical 1+1 with this set up and he put it to really good use. All in all an interesting area to experiment with and I look forward to seeing how it works out for you. Narra

I’m in Hawaii. The board I saw wasn’t a 2+1. All 3 fins were the same size. The trailer fin just had little wings sticking out of the bottom. The bright, flourecent color of the trailing fin reminded me of something from the 80’s. Maybe it was recycled from another board???

the new surfer mag has an interesting article about the maui guys doing lots of experiments with hydrofoil boards and fins. rush randle said he took such a fin a few years ago to a bunch of fin companies and they all laughed at him, now they’re all calling back.

I’m in Hawaii. The board I saw wasn’t a 2+1. All 3 fins were the same > size. The trailer fin just had little wings sticking out of the bottom. > The bright, flourecent color of the trailing fin reminded me of something > from the 80’s. Maybe it was recycled from another board??? I’ve seen Ben Aipa using that fin that youre talking about in conjunction with the curved FCS fins. From talking with him, he is really stoked on the curved fins, didnt say much about the winged fin. I made a small star fin for a thruster set up some 15 years ago and I really couldnt feel any difference in the way the board handled. The board was a 7’6" mini tanker by the way.