need fin placement help for fish(pics added)

General Discussion
1

I just shape a retro fish 6’0 16x21x17x 2.58 what would be the best fin placement for it i have pics posted for you to see the shape. I’m thinking of the mark richards set up with the trailer or just some fcs keel fins. I was guessing 11 inches up with a 1.5 off the rail with 3/8" toe in? 5 degree cant

2

Joshmjosh,

You probably know there is lots of info about fish fin placement in the archives. With your wide tail I would use the keels. I put the rear edge in line with the tip, usually aroud 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches from the rail and line the rear edge up with the top of the butt crack, usually between 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 inches from the tips. Double foiled fins straight up with no toe in and single foils with 1/8 inch toe in and 2-3 dgrees cant. I don’t know about the MR fins. Mike

3

You look alot like your brother lol. If you want it drivey go with Roosters dims. Looser go a bit closer to the rails, single side foils with a bit more cant.

4

I like Rooster’s specs… The only thing I’d think about changing is the distance from crack… I like to go an inch up from the crack on a traditional fish instead of even with it.

I put in FCS single foiled keels on what I thought would be a true “twin fin,” very similar to the MR. Full planshape, lots of volume, and an intermediate swallow - not a shallow good-for-nothing one like you see on a lot of modern short boards, but not a deep retro fish “twin pin” tail, eiither. I did the MR hard tucked edge from tip of nose to tip of tail, too. But after a few sessions, I ended up calling the thing a failure… until realized all it needed was a small trailer. It was way too squirrely and bouncy. It needed some kind of stabilizer. So I put in the third fin and now the thing rips. I towed the keels in to an inch off the nose, with 4 degrees of cant, and set the trailer as far back on the stringer as I could. Now it’s got the drive of a fish and the stability of a thruster. It’s just not as fast overall as a true fish. But man… you can lay a turn down as hard as you can and it will never spin out. It just DRIVES. That’s the beauty of it.