Single fin

Hi, I fancy making a single fin shortboard this summer. I want to try and incorporate some thruster inspired features rather than stick strictly to the tradition. I was thinking traditional outline (6’5" x 20 x 2.5 x 14.5 x 12.5 (1 ft off nose/tail)) wide point ~5" forward. I was thinking nose rocker ~5", tail rocker 1 1/2" and thruster rails (50:50 to sharp turned down rails 18" off the tail). Any suggestions would be appreciated, I’m planning on taking it to Indo so it will be used in semi hollow surf at least. How close does a modern retro inspired single fin get to a thruster, should i thin the nose and tail to that of a similar length thruster, or keep them thicker. I’m pretty new to board building so I’m going to avoid fancy bottom contours and just put a slight vee in the tail. How does this sound? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot

Make it a bonzer!

Rup,

Keep the nose (and the board) a little thicker. Increase the tail rocker to 2’‘, and do not use a Vee in the tail. The board you’ve described sounds very well matched to what you want to do. If it was me, I’d narrow the nose to 13’‘. or 13 1/2’‘, and reduce the nose rocker by an inch. But that’s just me. Speed is your ally, and salvation. As to the fin setup, yes on the single. Weight IS NOT a concern, in really juiced up waves, so use a Fins Unlimited 10 1/2 inch box, as the adjustability of fin position is vital to the ‘‘fine tuning’’ of the board. Fin choice is wide open. I’d be looking to use a 7 1/2’’ to 8’’ fin, again, just me.

Hi Bill,

When you say no V on the tail area, I am guessing this may have to do with spin-outs? Is this correct? do you give any bottom contours on singles or keep em flat?

Thanks

Thanks for your input. Would you exclude the v so as to make it faster? were the rocker dimensions flatter than that in early single fins? I was thinking that it would be better to have more rocker rather than a flatter board in hollow waves or is this what you mean by increasing the tail rocker? Just gotta get through these exams no then I can start shaping!

Cheers!

Dave,

No Vee, to improve speed. Better planeing. Slight increase in rocker to improve turning, as a Vee would, without the compromise in speed. As to bottom contour, I use a very slight arc, so slight it looks flat to the casual eye.

…and …

please ,

can you post photos of the finished board and let us know how it went ? cheers !

my brother Simon will be in indo from july to september or so , so maybe you might surf with him at some stage [he sometimes takes a singley with him , as well as his thrusters and bonzers …]

cheers

ben

Yeh, will do. It won’t be done until august though as I’m still at uni for the time being. I was in Perth Easter 07 for the surf carnival. Nice place, pumping surf on Rottenest too!

Finally got round to building it and finished 2 days before i leave for indonesia! I’m happy with the result although it was far from what I intended! Due to me not being able to cut straight it ended up at 6’4" and 19 1/4" wide. Rocker dimensions are pretty much as Bill Thrailkill suggested. As my first attempt with a cutlap and pigment it is far from tidy, but looks good at a distance!

looks good,

rocker looks heavily biased to the front?

What fin are you going to use? CJB what?

I have similar board myself that i haven’t got out on yet and can;t decide on a fin to use.

Enjoy and let us know how she goes.

Yeh, not that that was intentional, it’s my first time trying to fiddle with rockers! It’s from a 6’ 8" fish blank that had a very flat mid section so i had to increase it by quite a lot as i took the length away. Thats a 7" CJB fin, my mate and i will take a range of shapes and sizes, see how they go. It has a 10" fin box too for maximum adjustibility.

Bill,

have always thought a little lite V helped with rail to rail transitions. And for the past 15 years, have incorprated with shallow rear concaves as well, to straighten out the rocker for more speed.

Could you provide some additional feedback on your thoughts on flat bottoms and how you tweak the rocker to maximize their effectiveness? And how applied if idferently to big wave/small wave boards?