[firstly , thanks heaps to a visiting Canadian staying here in the flats for fixing my computer , out of service since christmas eve …]
Here are the next set of fins to test , courtesy of Simon’s Christmas / birthday present to me …thanks very much , Simon !
I’ve always wanted to try a set of the curved Webber fcs side fins , and a mini winged keel / ?“red tip”? / ?“star fin?”-type fin [this one was made by ‘multi fins’ in 1984 , it says on the fin …interesting , eh ?]
in the “bushfire fish” …
and , in the “prawn” …
to be continued .... [ ie : when there are big enough waves to give it a good workout ]
cheers !
ben
G8 to hear from u all the best to u and family for the new year 07.
Looking at the photo's of the fish[bushie] the FCS plug on the left side closest to the nose looks like you have added extra resin to that plug did it crack with the fish fins you got or am I seeing things.
um no , the plug didn’t pull out …just my sh***y install, i’m afraid ! but , being epoxy , with milled fibre , it so far seems strong as !! [i have used my three tabbed keels no worries .]
oh ,
if you mean on the prawn ??
oops yes , sorry , rod …i DID pull a coupla plugs out of that , and oops i used q-cell for the re-install d’oh …never again
live and learn eh ?
thanks for the new years wishes mate …i hope you are getting some good waves there in umina [isn’t that where drew courtney hails from ?]
so far , this setup has only been ridden for the one surf …ridden in the ‘prawn’ , as a bellyboard [?!], mainly !
it felt fast lying down , but draggy standing up .
it was only ankle to knee high though , so not a real indication .
pascal and eno were both amazed [/ ? amused?] by the setup , I think…
I’m thinking , in a head-high wave with shape , the setup ‘might’ come alive [hopefully , anyway !] and give a better idea of what it really feels like …
"I’m thinking , in a head-high wave with shape , the setup ‘might’ come alive [hopefully , anyway !] and give a better idea of what it really feels like … "
well, yes …it did !!
got to surf it in some quite decent chest high , with the occassional rogue nearly head high set waves , this morning [just got home from a four hour session].
The first bottom turn and cuttie on my first wave [a right] felt really positive , lots of hold and drive .
Also got quite a few lefts where it felt really nice and stable [that’s high tech surf speak] under the lip . flashbacks to the ‘grip’ that my deep double concave single fin had when running high under the lip backhand .
I’d be keen to see how this setup performs in a right hand tube [forehand for me]
It was a fun sesion ,
and …
THANKS very much , Pascal for the early phone call and lift , as i was umming and ahhhing at that stage whether to sleep in [they forecast ONshores , not offshores for today !! …wrong , again !]
Hi Ben, I see that we are on similar planets fin wise at present, tried this one for the first time yesterday, and I’m delighted, it’s a rocket, and feels loose. . . this setup is only 3.5 inches deep ! . . . it holds in fine, loads of lift, very well behaved, feels like surfing on ball bearings, the GPS read 56 kph after the first session and 61 kph after the second.
Now I am going to put one on a wider tailed board, the fins feel so loose that we want to take advantage of it in a looser board.
Stoked !
By the way I’m not surprised that you needed a bit bigger wave for that setup of yours, it’s a tiny amount of lift area you have there, so it needs to get going faster to make noticeable lift. . . hence bigger wave needed.
Lift in the tail with additional drive? Is that possible?
Ever thought about red tips as the side fins and a small trailing fin?
Gonna try it as soon as I get a second 3D.
Now here now is a thread and post and experiment after me own heart. I think horizontal elements in an otherwise normal tail fin could definitely do both, from what I’ve seen about the StarFin
Are you gonna do very slight toe-in or none on those fins, Riddim? Seems like a twin keel fish deal or maybe a Nugget? I could be way off.
chipfish, nice fins. i tried the setup last summer with a lost big guy 6’7 and… faster,good lift and smooth turns in small waves when it got punchier the board begun to spin out and i changed the curved to fcs tc this was my favored set up tc side fins and the trailer wing. when i see the amount of plugs and boxes in your fish i get the impression that i’m not the only “strange guy”
The board I have been riding with this set up is a 2# EPS 6’ thruster with a PVC stringer.
Standard thruster set up, 11 1/4 x 18 1/2 x 14 1/2.
The board is magic and was shaped by Sway’s very own DrewTang.
I have been riding the CRV’s pretty much exclusively for a few years now, love them for all types of surf.
Don’t know what gave me the idea but one day I slipped the red tip in.
My first surf was in kinda weak waves and it felt like my tail came up on a plane even with the small surf.
My top turns felt, and hopefully looked, like I was on a wave twice the size. Real sharp and off the bottom the board was very responsive. I got back up to speed and was setting up my next turn before I realized how fast it had just happened.
I was really impressed with the set up. Unfortunately I came home from a trip a few weeks ago without the fin in my luggage.
Not sure what happened to it. I called the FCS rep here in FL, only to find they were not available. The Surf Expo is coming up this weekend and I hope to be able to pick up a few red tips at their booth.
