this board has been tested in all kind of possible conditions here in the gulf coast. 2 experienced surfers recomended me to put sidebites in it. i asked them: what for? one told me “because they look cool” the other one says that sidebites will help in taking the wave earlier and hang in the face of the wave. is this true? (i thought the second was a rail issue). i like the single fin look, and can’t imagine the board as a tri-fin, but also would like to make the experiment. put some kind of semi-permanent fins to see how it works and then remove’em. waht do you think? any advice will be welcome. Jack.
Side bites are added to a longboard to add lift and manuverability in the boards rump, just like a tri fin does with a shorter board. If you combine this with the proper bottom contour some long boards can really be loose, and pumped like a trifin. Your problem doesn’t have anything to do with fin placement, or number of fins. Your opportunity is / was with rail shape, rocker, bottom contour and building material. Your board is exceptionally beautiful, but round soft rails, low entry & exit rocker, combined with the natural weight of wood & fiberglass is going to make it a more subtle surfing beast. You can stick fins all over the place, all it’s going to do is create more drag, and yes, possibily some lift.
All my buddies call sidebites on Longboards, training wheels. My advice would be to surf it as is, and learn the little quirks in it and then turn them into advantages. I bet that board once trimmed goes like a bat out of hell. Next time if you want a wood look and a board that rips, check out Bert B creations.
I’m usually a proponent of twins, tris, and quads.
But your classic board, with classic rocker, would not be helped by adding side biters, as you really can’t increase turning quickness without adding tail rocker and maybe hips. You have what you have, a classic cruiser funboard with a nice sized fin. Besides, adding side bites would require you to trim that classic swept sabre fin!
i wouldnt butcher it ,that board will work in the right waves , it has sentimental value already …i agree with hicksy … build another one …
im a fan of 3 fins , but the whole package has to be designed around the concept of a thruster so the rails, rocker, outline , and host of other variables runs a common theme …
single fins work to , but they work better in combination with certain other contours …
you could do some sort of fin system , but at first glance the general shape of that board and the package youve created looks fine in combination with a single fin …
Of course that board has a sentimental value, it’s my first board, and I built it to learn to surf on it. Since i have no experience with other boards i asked 2 friends to surf it and give me their impressions, which I mentioned above. I love the look of single fins, but they made me think about put more fins on it. thanks for your comments and impressions about my board. i will keep it single fin. Jack.