My second board is ready to be glassed, its been sitting around for a while because I dont really have the money to buy glass and all right now, witch has given me time to look at it and just ponder on things. Its a regular 6’8", square tail thruster kind of deal, and I was wondering, how would it handle if I were to make it a single fin? How much fin would something like that need? Is that common at all or just a bad idea or what? Any input appreciated
Thanks,
Rob
My second board is ready to be glassed, its been sitting around for a while because I dont really have the money to buy glass and all right now, witch has given me time to look at it and just ponder on things. Its a regular 6'8", square tail thruster kind of deal, and I was wondering, how would it handle if I were to make it a single fin? How much fin would something like that need? Is that common at all or just a bad idea or what? Any input appreciatedThanks,
Rob
The amount of fin it would require would depend on the tail thickness (width 12" up from the tail). For under 14 inch tails, something in the range of 7.5" depth fin will be enough. If it is wider than that, you need more fin.
Boards of that size that are shaped for thrusters, but fitted with a single, can front-end spin out on larger waves. If you are someplace where overhead is a rarity, this is probably not a concern. If not, check the board. If its wide point is further back than 3 inches front of center, and its rear rocker is greater than 1 3/4", then you may have a problem with a single. You can “ride around it”, but it is still a pain. Just make it a thruster, as planned. Note: these are my “best guesses” based on the last five or so single fin boards I’ve had made, or retrofitted from thrusters to singles. Front end spin out happens. If the rail line is particularly straight, I think it will help prevent spin-out also.
There is a reason thruster hulls are different from single fin hulls. Once you put more than one fin in the rear, the relations change, and you can move the wide point back, and increase the rocker, quite a bit more. Probably standard for a 6’8" is wide point back 3 inches, and rear rocker 2 3/8" or so.
FOR SURE…you can ride any shape with any fin configuration!
Your’s depends on tail width, where WP, what’s WP.
Somewhere around a 8" fin if you surf mellow on mellow waves.
For big surf, you might need up to 11" fin or side biters, or big side fins.
Surfing a single fin, you have to bank the board, to turn. As opposed to multi fins, with the exception of Bonzer, where you can turn by banking, but also by pivoting off your rear foot and kicking out your front foot, leading a swivel turn in the process.
I’ll chime in here as a current single fin rider. Back in the day, say in the 70’s, when we wanted to sideslip, we found that a fin shorter than about 7-1/2 inches would slip when we really wanted, and hold most of the time otherwise. Unless it was steep/hollow.
I had a 14" round tail a few/three years ago, 15" nose, 22" wide, and fairly thick, that with a 8" fin would spin out like crazy on backside turns. Damn thing let me down more than once on shoulder high waves. Frontside it held almost all the time. Never could sideslip much with that fin, nor did I try.
Believe what you’ll need is at least 8 inches deep to be reliable, but it depends on your waves. Under shoulder high you’ll be okay, I think, with a fin about 8" deep. If you get steep or bigger waves you’ll need more fin.
Put a decent box in it and try out one or two fins and all the variations. You’ll eventually find what you like, even if you end up puting in some side fins, if you are into them.