Replacements for FCS AM2

General Discussion
1

i’ve got a parmenter 6’3" malolo with the AM2’s it came with. It works great…BUT. I’m tired of loosing fins on the reef or ending up with that little hole punched in my board right behind the back of the fin. I know the easy solution would be not hitting reef, but that can’t always be helped.

So I’d like to switch out the FCS plugs with Futures Boxes. Is this a silly idea? And if not too crazy, then how much a difference would it make to use fins as different as they are. Assuming the Merricks from Futures would be a similar to the outline from FCS, the depth, surface area, and bases are different.

How much of a difference would this make to an average joe surfer like myself?

Here’s the info I got from the two web sites…

fcs am-2

4.55" side base 116mm

4.52" side depth 115mm

4.55" Center base 116mm

4.52" center depth 115mm

surface area 13.72" 8852mm

Futures AM1

Height: 4.563 in – 11.6 cm?

Base: 4.50 in – 114 cm?

Area: 14.84 in² – 95.74 cm²

Any comments on this fin scenario would be great. Please, no comments needed on Parmenter’s opinions, change of heart, writings, political views, shapes, SUB’s, or the cobra factory.

2

Futures has AM2’s. Buy them.

3

thanks, thought about that but the AM2 is a bit bigger than the AM2 from FCS…

futures specs for the AM2

Height: 4.79 in – 12.2 cm

Base: 4.70 in – 119 cm

Area: 16.16 in² – 104.26 cm²

4

They should be the same size since they are from the same template. If you are a big guy then they should work. They worked for me at 6’3 and 210#.

5

I doubt Average Joe surfer would be able to tell the difference. Granted there is a slight difference in dimensions but they’re just numbers. Unless you were really dialed in to that board in a very specific range of waves, they’d probably both work OK.

If I were you I’d get either set of side fins and then try to obtain at least two center fins - the one that came with the side fins, one a bit bigger and maybe one smaller.

My experience is that the center fin size and position makes a more noticeable difference.

If you are going to install new boxes, you might look into one of the brands that allows fore and aft positioning changes. That would give you the most fine tuning capability yet.

6

Howzit jc9, If you continue to hit reefs after changing to Future fins then you will really be sorry since they are harder to repair than FCS. FCS may not be the best system but it is probably the easiest to repair.Aloha,Kokua

7

i guess when it comes down to it, the damage doesn’t happen that often. But I was just bummed on the most recent occurrence.

Just tired of buying fins and patching that little puncture after relatively minor bumps.

Never thought about having to fix the whole box though. Good point.