I just shaped my first board and it’s a 5’1" mini simmons. I picked up Futures K2 fins and i’m trying to figure out a good general fin placement. Going to go one inch from the rail but because the fin is raked it’s a liitle tricky as far as how far forward the fin and fin box should. Thinking the tip should be an inch forward of the tail or so. Does anyone have any advice on this?
Hey bro, I have found the sweet spot to be 1-3 inches off the tail and about one inch from the rail.
Here is a quick video quiude:
link to the original video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMYa9GmGAes
Hey I reckon use Fcs or plugs that you can move your fins forward or back, my first one I put the keels at 1" off the tail to the trailing edge but found it way too stiff .
I then added a plug and moved them forward to around 3 inches off the tail and i could turn the board much easier straight away. I think around 3-4" inches is good but depends on the tail outline and shape etc…
Hey thank you for the responses. Unfortunately i’m kinda committed to the Futures since i bought them already, but the question on fin placement is different form the video, though informative because the fins i have are raked, much like the Rasta fins. Maybe those are not the right fins but…so if i do go with the ones i bought should i place the back end or tip of the fins an inch or so from the tail. Anyone have any advice? Thanks all.
3.5" - 4" from tailblock. 1.25" - 1.5" from the rail. No toe, no cant, parallel to stringer. Double-foil keels work best.
.02 from a backyarder - The method in your video has me scratching my head but I guess it gets you where you’re going … Measuring with most of one arm of the carpenter’s square hanging off the end of the board kind of defeats the purpose of using a square (1:15 - 1:40). IMO (assuming your stringer is straight and your outline is symmetrical) you’d save time and be a lot more accurate with a home made or purchased shaper’s square with zero on center.
Wow yeah just watched that! Do not use your freshly shaped blank as a scrapbook:)
Get a shapers square and just mark a dot at the trailing edge and one at the leading edge. Measure the fin base and mark a couple of dots on the stringer if you have to then project out of the stringer using a shapers square. Normally i like to scratch the fin marks out on the stringer with a sharp blade.
Thanks Scott Kennedy, that sounds like a good plan, 4" puts the tip of the fin about a 1/2" from the tail which seems reasonable. I’m having it glassed, know how glassers handle a tale concave with Futures fin boxes if you want a no cant set up?
Blish,
If you bought the K2 keels they dont look like they have as much rake as you are describing. If I were you I draw a straight line down from the raked tip of the fin and treat that like the base of the fin (treating it like a keel w/ a cutaway). If you have those fins too far back the board will be tracky and stiff…unless you want that. Tail width at 12" and tailblock width and shape are important here too; got a photo?
As for futures and concaves…writing what you want on your order form or talking with your glasser should solve that problem.
Interesting feedback all around…
Main thing I would add: don’t be afraid to try T1 design if running futures. They’re a more traditional oversized, non-keel, fin that work well in twin set-ups.
The only parallel in FCS to the T1 is the MR-TX model, and they don’t feel the same as T1.
I made a Mini-Sim variation with Probox (FCS compatible), that had a pulled-in “arc” tail with a 90 degree swallow cut-out, and tried the FK2 FCS and everything else I could get my hands on and found custom T1s to be the best result – way better and more lively than FK2 keels.
I did a quad set-up – can’t remember which right now – but the custom T1 template translated to FCS in the back boxes was way the best. That board goes way too fast in overhead waves, and is hard to turn when going that fast, so I put a nubster in a forward-placed center box when I want to try to surf that board in powerful overhead waves.
Just my own experience.
Ah (just to add, editing post): the problem with the quad set-up was that it was too slow. Like many before me when I tried to run various quad sets, the Mini-Sim variation just felt slow, slower than the design deserved to go, and twins seemed the only way to go for this board, given the boxes’ positions. With the T1s in the back boxes, copied by Rainbow for FCS, a good balance of speed/response was reached. I found the quad set (slightly less than 1/4" cant on the fronts) to be unpleasantly draggy, no matter what combo I tried. It’s possible that a quad set might work well in bigger, faster swell where the twin set-up is too fast; just have not really tested that yet with that board. Also: personally, as far as keels, I’ve liked the “Sea Shepherd” futures more than any of the FCS I tried (on any boards); personally if I was going to try and commit to a keel/twin set-up, I’d work around planning to run those rather than any FCS or other Futures models.