Noodle- I just read your response to my fin question (Ive been gone for a while)- What cant and toe-in should I give the fins when I reset them? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Busted! Well then, here’s the reason for my lack of experience with most tri fin setups, DRAG! I like side bites, but not giant thrusters like Ian’s, especially how most builders mount them with 1/4" toe in and 5 degrees of cant. I don’t know how these extemely draggy tri fin setups became accepted as “normal” in the surfboard industry. To me they’re slow. They ALL surf just like Ian describes, screwey! After trying a few thruster setups, I started cutting them down where they were mounted, like John Mellor describes. The one which I remounted, I did so to reset the cant and toe-in to reasonable dimensions. That’s when my boards and my surfing took off. My side bites max out at 3.5", although I’m sure bigger surfers could use bigger thrusters. I still think that 11.5" forward thrusters bunch the fins too tight, even if the whole industry is doing it. Surfing is supposed to be fun, not some trial to see who can overcome their equipment… just my opinion
Noodle->>> I just read your response to my fin question (Ive been gone for a while)- > What cant and toe-in should I give the fins when I reset them?>>> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Busted!>>> Well then, here’s the reason for my lack of experience with most tri fin > setups, DRAG! I like side bites, but not giant thrusters like Ian’s, > especially how most builders mount them with 1/4" toe in and 5 > degrees of cant.>>> I don’t know how these extemely draggy tri fin setups became accepted as > “normal” in the surfboard industry. To me they’re slow. They ALL > surf just like Ian describes, screwey! After trying a few thruster setups, > I started cutting them down where they were mounted, like John Mellor > describes. The one which I remounted, I did so to reset the cant and > toe-in to reasonable dimensions. That’s when my boards and my surfing took > off.>>> My side bites max out at 3.5", although I’m sure bigger surfers could > use bigger thrusters. I still think that 11.5" forward thrusters > bunch the fins too tight, even if the whole industry is doing it. Surfing > is supposed to be fun, not some trial to see who can overcome their > equipment… just my opinion I like my thrusters toed in about 1/8" each, back-to-front. The inside thruster sides should point two or three feet in front of the board’s nose. After reducing toe-in, cant isn’t nearly so critical. Between 2.5 and 4 degrees will do for a speedy board. Just don’t get arrested for using British measurements
Sponsored contest riders have to pull off successive radical tricks to score with judges. The trick is to put muscled up full-time surfers on draggy thruster. So then every fun surfer on the beach wants draggy thrusters. Board makers feed their stoke by calling thrusters “fast”. Nothing is farther from the truth, but board makers can’t sell boards by calling them “draggy”. All you shredder dudes remember, Ian asked.