MORE snaps ?!

General Discussion
1

no, not photos , or forehand cutties … but… fins [again?!]

Walk down the beach , see two people in the water getting nice little glassy righthand tubes .

Put board on sand , wax deck , hear a cracking sound , look down as board sinks into the sand . [Censor a few expletives for the polite family people here on the forum. ]

Run all the way back home , take plastic "*&# fin out of other board , screw in , run back down to beach …20 minute lull and seven guys on the one peak on the whole beach.

Anyway…

I’m thinking …polyester fin + epoxy bases with milled fibre and cloth = unequal strength / weak spot , where fin’s base meets tab and the moulded epoxy base .

Solutions ?

Laying up an epoxy resined fin , for the epoxy resined moulded base ?

Polyester resined fin with a polyester resined , milled fibre and , possibly , multiple layers of cloth , base ? [Dave Blakestah , is that what you do / did ?]

PlusOneShaper , Bert, Doc , Paul , Finfection , Halcyon,Blakestah , other fin makers …any suggestions / tips , please ?

ben

this is now the 6th moulded base fin I have had break BEFORE I even hit the water . ho hum [“grrrrr” even , maybe!].

But, on the ‘positive’ side of things … I guess at least I didn’t lose the fins to the ocean floor !

2

Which fin was that, can you scan what’s left of it so we can have a look…

3

“where’s the photo…” hehe [that’s become my catchcry, thanks to one Ambered Hawaiian !]

oakily , doakily neighbourino…

“all because yoo aaaasked for it …” [to quote Julius Sumner Miller]

Now, I just hope THIS carbon fibre one holds together , mate !

4

That fin from memory didn’t have any glass in the base, we’ve fixed that now by putting glass into all the bases now.

Another way we could strengthen the bond would be to drill a row of 1/4" holes along the base and thread some fin rope through the holes before setting them in the base with the glass.

We’ll try that one next time eh…

383×527 29.2 KB

5

Get as much of the solid fin layup in the base as you can. Fabric in the tip connecting to fabric in the bottom of the base.

If the wood ones are breaking then you could think about grinding some of the wood away and replacing it with layers of glass, also over the whole fin.

6

funny enough , the wood ones are the only ones that HAVEN’T broken yet .

I guess the resin soaks into and bonds better with the cloth and wood ?

ben

http://www.photohouston.com/Cowboys/cowboys.html [yeehaa …with thanks to CF and the village people !]