Larry,
Are you familiar with how Joe Blair of Joe Blair Surfboards in Solana Beach places his fins (thrusters and quads) a lot farther forward than most? What do you think about that?
What is the reason you decided to make Probox a post-glass system as opposed to pre-glass like all the rest?
I know you don’t like the FlexPad and you own Power Pad (I think), but for someone on a budget, what do you think about the Ferro 8" yellow Medium sanding pad?
Thanks.
Larry I will be getting a new ride some time this summer my touring board will most likly be a Riviera Voyager 12 foot. My current board for touring is a cheap displacement hull that does not track well at all. The Voyager is much better. My long range goal is to join a group that does multi day trips with camping gear in the Everglades. </
Larry, could you please discuss the advantages of a flex fin vs. a stiff fin, and what applications one might be preferred over the other.
I’ve used Pro Box on quite a few boards. I like the convenience of the inserts to change the cant of the fin.I have also retro fitted another system with the Pro Box and you would never know the board had any different system in it. I have only used PU foam and have never had any failures to date. If anyone has pics of a failure I would be curious to check it out. Thanks.
I really like the Probox system. I still have more boxes and hope to never have the problem of them breaking loose again. In the mean time, I just fix them and add a layer of cloth (like a deck or tail patch) over them. I’m laying a small patch over the boxes on all my boards these days, even the long center boxes.
All my boards uses FCS or probox type side fins. An 8’ fun gun with 4 proboxes and long center box is the recipe for a one board quiver for the older guy. You could change the fin set endlessly and be riding what seems like a different of board every time.
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Larry I will be getting a new ride some time this summer my touring board will most likly be a Riviera Voyager 12 foot. My current board for touring is a cheap displacement hull that does not track well at all. The Voyager is much better. My long range goal is to join a group that does multi day trips with camping gear in the Everglades.
Artz, In the Riviera we have a fin called the Voyager which is a composite version of this Gladiator Elite.
Also paddling long range, adding a Allison Ventral Front fin is a must for stability and ease of paddling long distance.
Sharkcountry, Here’s a Probox done in a EPS board without a Fiber glass sock. I will answer your’s and gdaddy’s question alittle more in deapth later today with some pics.
I will come back to you later today my friend. Need to get some work done at the fin factory early part of today.
hi Larry !
what is your favourite fin setup at [if there is one?] your favourite wave ?
and , why ?
cheers
ben
and ,
WHAT do you feel with be the next major breakthrough in fin design[s] , in the future ?
cheers
ben
I was wondering if I could pick your brain a bit, Mr. Allison.
I purchased one of your 9in pivot flex fins with the intention of using it on my 7’4 Mitsven egg. I wanted a wide base fin with a good amount of flex in the middle and tip. Would you recommend foiling it down or going with a completely different fin? And if possible, is there anyone in the Santa Cruz area you would recommend?
Thanks.
call me at 310-530-1383 and I will take care of you my friend!
call me at 310-530-1383 and I will take care of you my friend!
OK I am back, had a big order go to Oz for Surf and Standup Racing deadlines to meet last week. Back to finish the question Flang or Not for Gdaddy, sharkcountry and Magentawave. Lets do a little history first so you guys get it, which I am sure some of you do because you are pretty sharp. Let’s see who gets this right! The question I am going to ask you guys is: WHY and When did a Flang come into play in the surfboard world? I am talking Flang and not Glass over! Ok my friends share in!
Lets take a journey back to late 70’s with G&S Star Syetem fins which we were contracted to make their fiber glass fins for them at that time. Here is a Twin fin board with the fin boxes installed after the lamination along with another board made in 1979 with plastic Twins.
Coming into the early 80’s California Finsystem came out. Boards like Wave Tool used this system alot for bigger Twins.
Then in the late 80’s Freestyle finsystem. Again install after lamination. First Screwless fin concept!
Then coming into 1991 or 1992 what is now called Future Finsystems came about.
You guys know where I am going with this I think, should answer some questions. But I will explain more in tech!
Ok I will move around alittle and answer some comments about flex before I go back and talk more about installs of Fin Boxes.
phebus, I will take 3 industries that I know and do, Surfing, Windsurfing and Standup Paddling and explain flex to no flex.
Starting with Surfing. Looking at the Greg Liddle fin, you will see a black line that I drew on the side of the fin which shows what we call the Spine of a fin (Chore thickness). The proper way of a flex fin to work is not to flex down pass the top third section of any fin plan shape. If the fin flexs greater than the third of the plan shape then the board becomes the dominate factor and loss of project and control of the board is the end result. Another thing that is important in a flex fin is that the foil (Spine) is not flat so your fin will twist flex(S-Flex) for projection when coming out of your turn. If your fin has a flat foil which laterally flexs then your board has lack of projection and NO drive out of the turn. Greg Liddle talks about this on his website. Flex of a fin will also change by structure make up. When you lay up a fin panel with a 4 or 5 oz lay-up which is common for overseas production due to the fact that a CNC foil process is used it needs a denser lay-up to cut (foil) the fin. Because the cutting end of the CNC machine will take chunks out of the fin with a larger weave like 7 1/2 oz or 8 oz lay-up. The larger weave is what gives you the best Spine and S Flex which is what we do along with being lighter than a dense lay-up which has more of a lateral flex softer along with a heavier feel. Another Structure make up is the composite fin with honey cone core and carbon. These fins are nice in look but poor in drive and strenght, just another way of making a fin with all the buzz words and charging you the end user alot of money for a Egg Shell Fin. A regular fin of this same plan shape with no flex will make the board slower in response but work better in bigger surf with more water movement for down the line drive.
Now we will talk about the Flex of the Ninja Windsurf Fin I designed in 1987. In windsurfing where you are traveling at higher speeds, you want a solid bottom end support of your fin for projection and hold along with a slight tip release to keep the fin engaged with the water. If the Windsurfing Fin is stiff then you will create to much lift at high speeds disengaging from the water with no warning and loose control of your board in simple term.
Now we will go to one of my newest designs in the Standup World called the Stealth Ninja. In the Standup world tip flex is like a pressure release value. What I mean by that is that the release is part of glide and speed feel in a Standup World. If your fin laterally flexs pass the tip or top third part of the fin, you will loose stabilty along with forward projection. A stiff fin in the standup world will cause your board to have a governor feel or the feeling of toeing something along with lack of forward projection. Not to get confused with weight of a fin in water which companies talk about that I think is a big joke, because who can feel the difference of a couple of ozs in water LOL!
