Have any of you seen or surfed the new future systems fin setup … the one with the two bent outer fins and a small “hatchet-like” hooked center fin? Wondering what this is all about, and if any of you have the skinny. I’m thinking more lift involved. (Tom@Daum…Where you beez?)! Thanks in advance!..T.
i was talking about Future’s new “suspension board” technology with one of the “known” pro shapers (here in Santa Cruz) yesterday. apparently, Future’s on to something that’s gonna change everything we know about fin dynamics. he’s got the system on one of his boards and was basically salivating all over it. i can’t wait to try it. looks funky though, two big carbon fiber stringers shooting off the center box and connecting with the side boxes. i guess it creates an I-beam that somehow makes ya go faster. interesting. kirk
Trust me ! ! ! It’s the fins not the “suspension blank.” Futures’ “vector foil” is an extension of their already very efficient foils found on their custom glass and “black tip” fins. (The same foils are on their “plastic” fins, but the material isn’t nearly as responsive to the dynamic forces placed on a fin when surfing.) The “stock” Futures foils are effecient because they maximize laminar flow, have minimum drag, and maximum lift. There are no flat or unfoiled areas on the “low pressure” outside surfaces of the rail fins or either side of the trailing fins. The vector foil takes these already very effecient foils and adds a new dimension to the inside or “high pressure” side of the rail fins. This foil follows the principles of the “undercambered” foil found on the wings of low speed aircraft such as “gliders” or “sailplanes.” Weight and unweight your board’s rails or put a little pressure on your rails and fins and the lift generated and transfered is remarkable.
A little excerpt from the Surfer Design forum. This blurb is from someone who has experimented with this set up: “Suspension” is a marketing name…And it is a band aid as well…and a glassers nightmare(we placed 3 sets and two of the boards required repairs before leaving the shop)Evidently its two fold in theory. Firstly, the fins, that feature the radical scoop on the inside face…and an even more radical version that actually bends out half way up the foil and then scoops in. Hard to describe actually. The fins undoubtly creat more torque(actually ripping out of the bottom of boards)…wether that equals the speed bursts that Yeomans is freaking on,I dont know yet, but the tearing out created the need for the “suspension”. The second part is the inlays,they are 1" deep and connect the 3 boxs in a V form. two slices of carbon sheets routed into the bottom. these are then covered by a paper thin sheet of carbon fabric “think sushi rolls” to create a T patern of strength. This not only holds the boxs in under the added stress, but also (wether the designers meant to or not) makes the Tail of the board much stiffer(especially torsion wise)… mayhemb3
Good point about the risk of the boxes failing or ripping out of the boards. A surfboard with a well designed and executed glassing schedule is an essential part of a quality custom surfboard. The “suspension” solution proposed by Futures for their “vector foil fins” fins gets the job done, but other “glasser friendly” solutions can be / are more than adequete. The previous post was to emphasize that the speed, acceleration, power, and other properties provided are a result of the design and foil of the fins.
The future system is a spin off of california fin systems. This fin system was designed some 22 years ago! Interesting that they would call it “future” when very little has changed from the original design, with the exception that the box I now see is not built near as strong as it’s predecessor. “Bandaids” and other tricks with the glassing are necessary to keep the boxes from moving around in the board. Stiff tail, or Flex tail? What should people think?