just looking for some advice on fins for my 10’ classic nose rider. I have a new 10’ 50/50 rail nose rider and I’m looking for a fin that will give me the most maneuverability in dumpy south Florida beach break. I’m currently running a rainbow cut away 10", but would like something that would loosen up the board a bit. any recommendations would be welcomed. I’m looking at a GT pivot fin, is that a good idea? I’m new to longboards and need advice. Any comments on fin placement would be appreciated as well. Thanks!
Already on a rainbow cutaway (Wingnut?), and looking for looser ride on a classic noserider, huh? On my 9’8" yater spoon, I use a 9" squirrel cutaway (from longboard house) most of the time. On my 9’0", I used to ride a 8" wingnut cutaway in small waves. I find the squirrel to turn just as well as the wingnut ever did, plus it holds while on the nose much more reliably (sometimes better than it ought to).
You said that you’re new to longboards… If you’ve gone from light shortboards to a heavy 10’ classic noserider, you’re not going to find a fin that loosens the board up to what you’re used to. Learn how to control the beast: step back to turn (drop knee, if you want to do it right). You’ve got a long board, learn to use all of it. Walk the plank.
When I want my 10’4" 28# Velzy to loosen up, I ride it with a 9" Farberow Flex from True Ames. When I want it stable, I use the 10" version of the same fin. Depends on the faces of the waves - carveable= 9", mushy or big= 10".
If you want to loosen that board up try a Cheyne Horan winged keel. I also like the wingnut fin for that purpose. I put one on my 10’ Steve Forstall longboard and it worked great. The keel is not good if you surf in kelp. Check my site solosurfer.com. There are other surfers here who have tried them on longboards.
If you want to loosen that board up try a Cheyne Horan winged keel. I also like the wingnut fin for that purpose. I put one on my 10’ Steve Forstall longboard and it worked great. The keel is not good if you surf in kelp. Check my site solosurfer.com. There are other surfers here who have tried them on longboards.
i use cheyne’s winged keel to loosen up my boards. the ride is great and a lot of fun, but i’ve noticed that it drags more than my other fins and the board doesn’t paddle as fast or catch waves as easily (but that shouldn’t be much of an issue an a 10-footer).
I have an 11ft. pintail that needed some serious loosening up. I tried several fins including a Fins Unlimited 9" cutaway which worked pretty good. But then I tried out a GT 9" Manta and THAT was the fin. Completely changed the performance for the better: much looser.
And, as stated, move it all the way forward in the finbox. That will help even if you do nothing else. Doug
I have also noticed that drag on certain longboards when I am using the fin. It is because of the rocker. It does not do that with less rocker. Also the fin works when you are standing on the tail turing and when you move forward the drag helps with nose time. Another good fin is Mccoy’s straight tip gullwing. That works good on longboards and is about 8.5’’ At the knuckle bend of the fin.
Here is a report from a friend who I made the fin attached for. It’s 8’5". I’ll let the quote do the talking. The board is a whooper it’s about 9’7"x25" with an ample nose and tail.
Quote:
whiteside calms the savage beast
Hi Rich
The Whiteside made the leaf into a new animal.
No more slipping,waaaay better on the nose.I could ride at near stationary speeds,waiting for tiny,sub knee high wave to re-form.The cutbacks I was getting on bigger waves showed me that the Whiteside blows away the waveset copy I made,and anything else I own.Fits like a glove.
jeff
Close quote
Often a smaller fin works better on a large board because single fin board with considerable volume tend to have a lot of inertia and want to hold their line with the rail.
Fins with too much base area for this type of board interfers with performance IHMO.
On my 10’1" noserider, I just switched from a 10" kanoa dahlin pro model to George Greenoughs 10.5" flex fin. WORLD OF DIFFERENCE! Speed, control and maneuverability can’t be beat. My 9.5" cutaway was close but something was still missing. The Josh Farberow works great on my 9’10" with hard downturned rails but not on the 10’1" noserider. My point is: experiment as much as you can. Don’t settle with something because it feels “ok”. Beg, borrow (but don’t steal) from your friends until you find the right one.