Anyone have any experience with this fin. Thinking about the 8" for my 9’ longboard. Has a fairly wide base. Looks like it would allow for a nice/loose,skatey kind of feel.
I have a 9.5"/10" (I forget) on my 10’ traditional LB. I like it. It looks cool. Has a nice spring out of turns. Wish the tab was in the back rather than the front.
I have a 9" I use for single fin eggs and a 9’0 longboard. It’s great on the longboard if the waves have some power to them, but it’s no good in mushy slop. Snaps real nice out of the bottom turn on an overhead wave…
is it made from iron?
Iron? Huh?
took a 10" one and turned it into a 9"g4 fin.works unreal-the spring/flex you get out of those 52 layers of 4 oz. is sweet!
What size board are you using for that fin?
an 8’8" hull bottomed semi-gun shaped by Paul Gross.I think it(and the fin) are in the archives.
Matt, Is the rusty flex the best choice for these hulls over 8’6"? And the L-Flex or Stage 4 for hulls 7’8 and under? I was also curious if you’ve ridden any hulls between the 7’8 and 8’6 range. Does that size range work as well as the shorter & longer range? Thanks!! -GH
ghunt- i personally don’t like the rusty flex as it is-foil nor template.what is great about them is they have 52 layers of 4oz. which gives it really nice flex properties.i gave PG a 10" one and he turned it into a 9’ stage 4, with a thicker, blunt edge leading foil as opposed to the thin, sharp leading foil that they have.i have used that fin in a 9’ roundtail, 7’8" v-bottom and now in the rocket 88 mentioned above.it’s a fin that has a lot of power and though relatively small in stature and area, it holds in and works on bigger/longer boards, as well as shorter hulls.generally we have found that the l-flex 9" or a stage 4 9" works in just about any hull application from 7’ on up.on my mid 7’ range v-bottms i found the greenough wide based fin(a-la velo)(4a maybe?)at 9.75"to be the ticket.
ghunt- PG and Liddle have made some really magic hulls at 8’6" and 8’8".i believe proneman has an 8’8" roundtail hull (known as dr. kervorkian) that is probably the fastest board i have ridden.PG has been using that rocker and hull on all 8’8" he makes.it’s a rippin’ combo that works for the mid 8 footers.
Ah yes, I have heard of the kervorkian model. I’m hoping to order something from PG this fall, and am now considering length. The rest (curves, tail, width, etc., etc.) I’ll leave up to him. I have some Stage 4s, foiled by PG with the blunt round trailing edge as you mentioned. He tells me it’s a tricky combination but quite effective.
kervorkian-from 1st gear to 4th gear -INSTANTLY!!!
Ghunt, Have you used any of Greg Liddle’s fins. Not the True Ames version but his custom volan fins. I have a Greg Liddle Island template in 7’8" with the side biters and 8.5" center fin. They seem to work very well surfed toward the front of the fin boxes.
No, but I’d like to. His have a little more flex, right?
I believe they do. Very delicate fins so I keep them out of the sun and cover them individually.
I’ve collected a few of those true ames fin cozies, handy little buggers!
i have several of liddle’s fins, which are bitchin’.cost is $50.00 each.(from Greg)
Matt - I have 3 of the Liddle flexies and notice they all have a pretty thin foil with the front third of the foil being sharp as opposed to the thicker blunt edge you mention PG doing. I know it’s all relative to board, wave size/shape, etc but in your opinion, how would you compare the Liddle vs the PG leading edge?
John- i tnink in generaal the sharp thin fins are faster in a straight line, and you can “feel” them a bit more.the blunt, thicker fins seem to turn easier and maintain a consistent speed thru the turn.because of this foil you don’t “feel” the fin as much, hich is neither good nor bad just different.what i mean by feel is the fin loading up just before it blasts you out of a turn. you are right about different aspects of board design requiring different fin/foils.although Greg and Paul’s stubbies may look identical they are not.subtle variations in rails and hull placementare the difference, and Greg’s work best with his thin fin-a completely tuned in combination.any other fin in it will work but not as good nor will it feel the same.Paul’s hull works best with the thicker, blunt edege fin, which is also a very tuned in combo.