single fin placement+Nov. 15th workshop

Swied said on the workshop thread,‘When placing a single fin you should lay the fin flat on the board and move it up and down the board until 20-30 % of the fin hangs over the edge.’ I was hoping Bill Thraikill or someone there could elaborate on this guidline some more. Do you line the base of the fin on the fin slot or stringer? Is it 20% of the length of the fin or 20% of the approximate surface area? It sounds like this guidline might provide a good place to start when trying to figure the best location for different fins on the same board. Mike

Stand the fin on the stringer

lay it to on side

align the absolute base of the fin on the stringer

slide the fin for or aft to achieve 25 to 30% of fin length over hanging the rail

Its a good starting point for fin placement

if the fin has an exadurated rake then forward slightly

Mike,

If the fin is glass-on, the base is aligned with the mid-line of the board, and then moved fore/aft, until approx. 25% +/- extends beyond the rail line. If a box fin, you align the base that is above the box, with the center line of the board. With a box fin, after the position is determined, set the box so that fin, in the chosen position, is in the center of the box. This will allow max adjustment fore/aft, to fine tune the board to you taste, feel, style. Once I adopted this method of fin placement, I NEVER had to deal with spinouts again. That was 1960. Does this help?

EDIT: Ken has stated it a little more simply, and perhaps clearer than above.

put the fin on in the wrong place first

then when you change the placement

you can really tell the diffrence when it works sssssooooooooooooooooooooo

much better. the more times you put it in the wrong place

the right place becomes more and more apparent.

…ambrose…

the guy that does it right the first time

has a flat line learning curve

the guy what builds models from a box

reading instructions becomes a good technician.

want to build a board from scratch

so bad that multiple mistakes

are not a deterent>

these who make mistakes

are the residents of the

world capital of a vertical learning curve

a good rule of thumb

assimilate all recomendations

and the do what looks good to your eye

if it doesnt look right it will never look right.

fashion in fin placement

is a good way to date glass on single fins

the honolua guys had em way back in 69

but the wolfman had em further up

for that sunset attitude

gaglia’s fins were indeed shorter

when the wer set way back.

we all can agree

that the fins go really good

when they are on the bottom in the back

of the board,often personal prefrence

will effect the style of riding

as well as the result

of a given fin

placement.

Thanks all. I got it. Too funny, Ambrose. After all these years I’m starting to understand what you write. Mike