meanwhile …
in the 9 or so hours till I go surfing ,
does anyone have any questions , comments , or fin setup suggestions , please ?
cheers and [early] ‘night !’
ben
All my fins are glass ons, so no FCS plugs, but maybe I’ll drop a box into my foam board.
-Laying up a fiberglass fin panel sounds fun, itchy, but fun.
Cheers.
hi Austin ! it’s fun till the foiling …THEN the dust flies , and the itch potentially begins !
okay …
today
I learnt two things , at least : -
-
I do not like a flexy polycarbonate back fin.
-
always check your fcs tabs on homemade fins . [Especially when foiling the fin panel , I will now leave the tabs to be cut out AFTER I have completed the foiling of the fin]
After four waves on the setup shown below , I commented to ‘Zap’ that “on my last left , the board was turning all over the shop , when I went to pigdog”. Flipping the board over , I [luckily ] discovered that one of my checkered fabric inlay fibreglass G6 's had worked itself loose , and was [fortunately] holding itself in by the front tab ! [This , combined with the ‘mushy flex’ in the polycarbonate back fin, would explain the loose squirrely feeling , I figured !]
Nontheless , after that , I still got a couple of random rights , and a really fun left , ALL the way to the beach , which I made my wave in , before the fin could fall out.
Today the onshore blew in just as we left , at 8.30am . [The early bird catches the worm !]
And we had it to ourseles too, at least …as they had forecasted strong onshore / sideshores [n-nw’erly] from midnight last night .
anyway …
this was today’s fin setup , used in light [5 knots nor-nor’east] chest high fatish waves.
okay , I rode the above setup in southerly [sideshore] affected ribcage high waves today.
got lip-launched on three right handers , flogged on two late takeoff lefthanders , caught one straighthander [just for YOU, Oldy !] and… just as I was about to break the prawn over my head , Richie Collins style ,
I fluked a right which held up , which I managed to get in two turns on , before it closed out , and I proned out into the beach . (STOKED !! )
There were a few good things from today, anyway …
-
I got up early , and got in the water . [THAT’S always GOOD !]
-
NO crowds [I WONDER WHY ?? hehe]
-
it turned into a nice, sunny , all day offshore day
-
I remembered to tighten my side fins’ screws this time .
It’s looking good , wind-wise , for the rest of the week , too…here’s the charts [as we are on the west coast , arrows pointing to the left = OFFshore winds ]
http://seabreeze.com.au/graphs/wa.asp
cheers !
ben
all going well , I hope to patch up “Mr. Bazzo” tomorrow , and maybe take it out for a surf on thursday [the day after tomorrow , here …it’s 8.40pm tuesday night here in wozzieland now …]
test site …
waist to occassionally chest high sets , howling offshores to 20+ knots at times .
test board …“bushfire fish”
test setup …" ‘P.T.’ / B.T. inspired …"
[ THIS was Peter Townend’s fish setup , which I was keen to try .]
And , of course , Bill Thrailkill’s similar “widowmaker” 70s fin system setup , I posted on the widowmaker thread for him , a while ago , now …
today’s setup …
okay , impressions of the ride , now …
interesting …[very INTERESTING !] to feel it turning off the two back fins , at times slidy like a twin feel feel [especially with the wide tail ] , but combined with the deep back fin , enough hold through turns , to prevent it spinning out .
My last wave was my most memorable . Caught in the lip , I didn’t have time to stand , so kneeboarded to the bottom ( an “airdrop” , of sorts . )
Expected to lose speed and get swatted by the lip , but somehow [?maybe lower centre of gravity , and being further forward on the board than I would have been standing ?] , the board drove around the whitewater and up into the pocket section , for a snap-type turn . Surprised myself , for sure , it happened so FAST !! [It felt GREAT …almost like a REAL turn !!!]
…you should have seen my mate Alec’s face , as he was paddling up the wave !! …priceless !! [he KNOWS I am NOT a kneeboarder!]
four lefts [in the shoulder , almost pushing head high range !] that I managed to be “in the spot” for [without drop ins , for a change!] each allowed three off the tops , and a really smooth feeling backhand cutty .
The turning radius of this setup , is really tight .
With the back fin forward a ways , it feels slidey , yet as long as good back foot pressure is applied , it HOLDS through the turn !
…I would LOVE to let my mate ‘big daz’ loose on this board and setup , I reckon he would cut SIIIICK !! [ Daz , where ARE you ?]
“zap” / “sandgroper” / eno …maybe next surf [?friday? …IF there is any swell left ? ] it would be good to watch you get a few on this board . ["Lavz’ , too …you interested , mate ?]
Get well soon , Pascal , so YOU too, hopefully can “test pilot” it !
cheers
ben
…and soon , by all accounts , young ‘Josh’ may even be able to ride it , eh ? “yewww !!!” …now , wouldn’t THAT be something ?!
Okay , so a change of pace for tomorrow …howling offshores have made the swell drop right off tonight , so for tomorrow ,
the 7’ single fin ,
with THIS fin …
…it’s 5 3/4" base x 8 1/2" depth x 2 3/8" rake , at 7 5/8" up from the tail tip …
ben
It took too long, but because there were waves, something special in Holland,
So I was out there testing…
First setup I tryed.(McKee) 5"rail and 3,5"symetrical rear fins.
This one feels like a crossbreed between a thruster and a quad.
It has part of the hold of a quad and still feels drivy like a thruster.
It felt best in windswell, good to ride from rail to rail and not so squirrely,
especially when it gets overhead and you have to go straight to outrun breakers.
I can’t compare this one with the setup with a little fin in the center, no box…
But it feels even better on this kind of board.
Second setup.(real quad?) Same fins.
Much more hold when trimming and on takeoff.
It’s possible to take off and stay high in the face without the fins breaking out,
especially when the waves have more power.
Real skaty feeling in bottomturn and topturns, holds a very tight radius.
Misses some drive in waves with less power.
Starts wobbling between left and right fins when you go in a straight line.
Third setup.(6 fin) Same fins with 2.5"asymetrical behind.
Even more hold and more stability going straight.
Harder to realy push around, needs more back foot pressure.
More stable in the bottom turn.
Next step: new fins, fishkeels, different sizes rear fins, straighter and bigger front fins,…
Any other suggestions?
Soul
Next swell coming soon…
I’d like see the same set up with white center and green side fins but with the side fins moved up. I guess I’m thinking that that would be the closest to the bonzer set up that I’m interested in.
thanks a lot , Soul !
that’s GREAT stuff, mate …I LOVE hearing how other people’s fin setups are working for them , thanks for taking the time to photograph them , ride them , and report back here !
I always wondered how THAT kind of a 6 finner would go , too !
Any other setups you trial , please feel free to report them here eh ?
"Any other suggestions? "
would you consider putting in one or two more plugs in the stringer , just ahead of the fishtail’s apex [aka the notorious “buttcrack” ],
[like this] …
… just so you can have 2+1 , thruster , 5 finner , and ? maybe ? even a single fin option [if you used 3 fcs plugs ?]
cheers
ben
Quote:
I’d like see the same set up with white center and green side fins but with the side fins moved up. I guess I’m thinking that that would be the closest to the bonzer set up that I’m interested in.
THANKS , Jeff, for contributing … (I started this thread at your request , after all ! heh)
Yes , funny you should mention that ! enough ., THIS setup you mentioned , the bonzer3 one , is so far my FAVOURITE setup out of ALL the ones I have tried , both in the ‘prawn’ , AND the ‘bushy’ fish !
I found it gives good hold and good drive off the bottom , and felt GREAT in a few forehand cutties I have done !(The first ever semi-decent grab-rail cuttie I did , on a small spring day a few years back , was on this precise setup. My mate who I sprayed was surprised by the speed through the turn [so was I , I must add !] )
Backand feels good off the bottom especially , with this setup .
I was inspired by a shot off Dick Van Straalen’s website to give this a go . I had originally intended to use them as part of a bonzer5 set , but I found I preferred the bonzer3 setup using these !
cheers
ben
the 7’ single fin ,
with THIS fin …
…it’s 5 3/4" base x 8 1/2" depth x 2 3/8" rake , at 7 5/8" up from the tail tip … "
YUKKKKKK !!!
Sorry , guys , but …
fin …too thin , too flexy ,
board …too flat , thick , narrow nosed , and tailed , for the waves …(nice knee to the very rare chest high "bomb " [!], with shape)
10-25 knot offshores [!], 10 degrees air temperature [50 degrees F] .
Well, the fin flexed , alright ! … when I didn’t want it to .
I blew three good rights in a row , straight off the bat after paddling out…
On a left , on the backhand bottom turn , it did something weird [or was it backwash , maybe ?] and ‘skipped’ a bit .
I learnt a few things today .
In smaller waves ,
-
a wider tailed single fin [as Lee has said] would have floated / glided better
-
the waves would have been a LOT more fun on my mal , were it not broken
-
after a ten month break of riding this board , I was a bit out of touch with riding it , and adjusting to its …er…"idiosynchrocies “. More nose and tail rocker [actually , probably more OVER ALL rocker !] , thinner rails , wider nose and tail , and I may have been ‘set’ for today’s waves ! Maybe 6” shorter , too … a 6’6 egg type thing , perhaps , would have given me more fun.
-
the importance of bringing other fin/s to the beach [plan b]
I am glad to report ,
when I went in to the beach , and swapped this fin for the thicker , heavier [but more foiled ] polycarbonate 5 3/4" x 7 1/2 " fin , and moved that forward in the box a little from where the thinner wood one had been ,
I got three fun lefts I made , and one fun right , and came in a “happy camper” [if a little cold !]
…so , never underestimate what changing (and moving ) fin/s can do !
oh yeah , and …
- I was glad I was wearing a hood , too ! … it helped me outstay everyone , and as a result , I got quite a few empty waves , in the 2 hours I was out there …
…so never underestimate the protection of good rubber !
It’s still offshore now [3.20pm thursday] , as I type this ! [hopefully , with tomorrow forecast to be howling offshore again , I’m hoping that there “may” still be something rideable left over ?! …“we shall see”…]
cheers !
ben
so, after a week of some pretty crappy weather , and onshores [interspersed with a couple of COLD [for perth] offshore smaller mornings],
today was head high , and bigger . (With crowds , needless to say. )
Surfed THIS setup on the prawn today…
But there were not too many waves with shape out there early today, unfortunately. So , I ended up just mainly chatting with “Sandgroper” , while we waited for something approaching rideable ?
[…Of COURSE, City’s must have been FIRING this morning eh lavz ? … or , did you hit the Cottesloe area reefs , instead ? …I’d think , on the early low tide , the Artificial Reef “may” even have had a [semi-rideable] wave , eh ?]
W-e-l-l…
I got FLOGGED quite a few times , paddling out [no channels].
And , I reckon I need to make a matching [possibly , even a little DEEPER ] back finbox fin , as , in headhigh and bigger , this polycarb fin you see in these photos has flex that is a bit too mushy / unpredictable for my liking. [The backwash waves were not helping any , either, mind you !]
So, hopefully tomorrow , or maybe on Friday , the swell / shape / banks [?] may have settled down …the first few hours after days of onshores are always a bit “morning sicknessy” , here …
cheers
ben
I rode this one …
…in chest high , fairly fast lefts and rights
It felt skatey … I wasn’t sure I could really feel that “back fin” much .
I got a few fast right handers where it flew down the line
fun fun fun !
I’ll whack something nearly the size of a “GS” sized back fin in there next time , I think …just to compare the difference …[those two back SIDE fins in these shots are the f.c.s. “GS” template , by the way]
How big is the back fin in that set up? It looks gig. Also the runners look more like a bonzer5 than a bonzer 3. Your feedback sort of confirms my desire to go the bonzer route.
g’day Jeff !
back white polycarbonate fin = 5 1/2" base x 7 1/2" depth , 2 1/2" rake
Okay …today’s setup , now …
test conditions…
Mostly chest to head-high , with the ocassional bigger set. With a light [5knots] onshore , some weed , and a smidgeon of north to south drift . I surfed it three hours after high tide .
I was glad I didn’t trial the intended winged keel ['star fin '] setup today , as the weed may have been a problem…
Well… paddling , takeoffs , and bottom turns felt positive .
It held in really well in one bumpy left [backhand] .
Sitting on the board , it felt a bit tail-heavy .
After one duckdive , it did a weird thing …it tombstoned tail first [!] . I’ve never had THAT happen before !
The other thing was ,
the legrope kept getting caught between the five fins and in the "butt crack " , more than it ever has with a thruster , or even the four fin , setup.
I caught a couple of lefts kneeling on it , too [late drops] … just for a comparison .
This will be fun to ride on an offshore day , I’m thinking [heck , what boards aren’t , eh ?!]
I was glad I put in the slightly larger [4 1/2" base x 4 1/4 " depth , 2 1/2" rake] back fin this time , as it needed to be a bit further overhanging the back of the box , and giving a bit more hold , possibly , than the other [3" base x 3 1/2" depth , 1" rake ‘GS’ ] template back fin I WAS going to use , till I saw the surf.
I would like to repeat this setup with 5 fibreglass fins , instead of just TWO of them being fibreglass , and the other three polycarbonates.
ben
on one dredgy left yesterday , I felt the five fins hold in EXTREMELY well in the pocket …none of the usual wide tailed “squirelly” feeling on THAT wave …the board just FLEW .
S-T-O-K-E-D !!
And I saw poor Shane [‘kiricore’] do an unintentional duckdive barrel roll on his hws thick fish , paddling out . The waves , for their size , SURE packed a PUNCH .
ben
I rode the bushfire fish with four fibreglass fins today .
In waist high , sideshore waves , to start with.
With Fatbaslardass’s mate , Tim , riding the 7’ single fin .
On my first wave , a right , I felt the absence of the fifth fin , and the presence of the stiffer fibreglass fins . It felt really nice and drivey off the bottom and top.
Soon , however , the onshore did the usual 20+ knots blow , and it was all over for the day [summer wind patterns already ??!!]
Hopefully tomorrow , wednesday , and thursday are looking the goods for offshores with swell, and I will get it out there again as a quad and give it a better test run …here’s hoping !
… to be continued …
ben
Thanks for the update Chip. Awhile back you said the bonzer set up was your favorite. Is that still the case? After trying the 5 fin (ala Griffin). I’m still leaning towards making a Bonzer5 my next project. What I hear is smooth, drivey turns and that’s what I’m looking for.
hi Jeff !
I was just thinking of that the other day , it’s good timing that you ask !
I really like the bonzer3 setup , for the ‘single fin with stablilisers’ feeling .
I really like the 5 fin setup for the stability and hold and drive.
I also really like the four fin , for the looseness. In smaller waves.
so…
…I guess I now have a few favourites , eh ?
I probably need to ride it a bit more , set up as a thruster , and a single fin , for a comparison.
But I get the feeling that with our summer patterns upon us soon, the mal snap fix will become a priority , and further fin testing , at least on the small ‘bushy’ , may be put on hold for a while ? [See what transpires over the next few months eh ?].
…Although , of course , riding it in knee high waves occassionally , with smaller [or a less number of] fins is still a possibility I’ll try , no doubt !
.... ? to be continued ? ......
cheers
ben