I have an eps five fin bonzer that I’m not totally thrilled with. A while back, I had a local shaper make one. He’d never done one before. I brought him some photos and info that I found on swaylock’s, but I didn’t do quite enough homework. We got the placement a little off (too far forward - board was stiff).
We decided to take the lokbox side boxes out and re-place them a little further back. After taking the boxes out, a bit of foam was cut out and inserted in the gap that was left; boxes were rerouted. This time, we put the boxes too far back (board lacks that extra bonzer speed - works okay, but not the magic board I was looking for).
I’ve since done more research and have found the proper placements for the fins (on swaylocks in several places - why didn’t I see it before?).
So, should I just leave the board the way it is, accepting it for the useable but in no way magic board it is, and resolve to get it right the next time?
Or, should I have the shaper take the boxes out again and put them in the right place. My concerns: 1. compromising the structural integrity of the board and the fins themselves by re-moving and re-placing. 2. annoying the shaper.
I got the board for use in good, hollow head high to head and a half surf. Living in south florida, the conditions rarely warrant giving this board consideration, but I’m taking a trip in a couple of months and might decide to take this board if the forecast looks good.
There aren’t any leakage issues etc. if you do a good job on the repair. The issues are added weight in the tail and as you have stated; getting them in the wrong place a second time. Forgetta about it and start over. Whoever you sell the board to will probably think it’s “magic” anyway. Lowel
forget it . you already killed it .the tail is weak now and the money and time you are spending you could all ready have a new one built. GET A NEW ONE ! sorry , soulmanet@yahoo.com ET
I have an eps five fin bonzer that I’m not totally thrilled with. A while back, I had a local shaper make one. He’d never done one before. I brought him some photos and info that I found on swaylock’s, but I didn’t do quite enough homework. We got the placement a little off (too far forward - board was stiff).
We decided to take the lokbox side boxes out and re-place them a little further back. After taking the boxes out, a bit of foam was cut out and inserted in the gap that was left; boxes were rerouted. This time, we put the boxes too far back (board lacks that extra bonzer speed - works okay, but not the magic board I was looking for).
I’ve since done more research and have found the proper placements for the fins (on swaylocks in several places - why didn’t I see it before?).
So, should I just leave the board the way it is, accepting it for the useable but in no way magic board it is, and resolve to get it right the next time?
Or, should I have the shaper take the boxes out again and put them in the right place. My concerns: 1. compromising the structural integrity of the board and the fins themselves by re-moving and re-placing. 2. annoying the shaper.
I got the board for use in good, hollow head high to head and a half surf. Living in south florida, the conditions rarely warrant giving this board consideration, but I’m taking a trip in a couple of months and might decide to take this board if the forecast looks good.
Fredman, You can retro fit into another box without leaks if done right like McDing states. Here is a board that was a Tri Fin with Futures and I turned it into a 5 Fins with Proboxes. First thing I did was fill the Future Boxes with foam then glassed over the Future Boxes. This gave me a flat surface to start with. Next I marked the area where I wanted to place the ProBoxes, because this guy wanted the board to ride with the original Tri Fin set-up where his Future’s were. But then the owner of this board wanted to see what the same board would ride like as a Quad or Twinzer. Plus retro fits like this also gives me good data on fin placements with multiple possiblies without guessing later when the question someone asks me what if. I can come pretty close to answering the question correctly by doing these retro changes. But since you already did the change once, I would have to agree with Soulmanet that another retro in your board would be beyond the point of any good return. Make notes and do a new board! Good luck. Mahalo,Larry
thanks to all for the replies. I figured this would be the problem.
I’ve had some success using the board as a 2 plus 1 with the bonzer center fin or a flex fin and the rear set of the bonzers, I’ll just ride it as is until I can justify spending the money on a new board.
As for selling the board… I can try, but I have a feeling it won’t sell too well given that it’s a virtually unused design in these parts and because it looks a bit less than gorgeous with the rerouted boxes and all.
Don’t the Lokbox bonzer fins have some fore and aft adjustment? So you probably set them all the way to the front already. Why not try trimming off some of the Lokbox tab so you can slide it forward further? You might find that a 1/4" is enough to improve the way the board feels. I’m sure this is not recommended by Lokbox because it compromises the strength of the fin. But it sure is simpler, cheaper and easier than ripping out the boxes again. If the new fin position works, then you know what to build on the next board. If one of the Lokbox runners snaps off, well, then delete this post!
