Tail thickness for FCS plugs

General Discussion
1

Does anyone happen to know what the minimum thickness the tail foam must be to set FCS plugs? I shaped a new board from an old shortboard with a clark core but had to take off about 3/4" of foam to get to the good stuff. This left me with 3/4" in the tail which seams kinda thin. So before I glass it I just want to know if its even worth it.

2

I think you need an inch… so it’s likely you’re gonna come up short. Go with glass-ons.

3

I think you'll be fine. I'm not holding one in my hand, so don't quote me, but it seems like the Fusions are just a little over 1/2" thick, maybe 5/8ths? At most, 3/4" thick, so figure after adding glass to the deck side, worst case, you'll have the plug sitting on the deck glass. Are you saying the entire tail area is 3/4" thick, or just at the tip?

4

Thanks for getting back to me, I should have clarified that I want to us the X-2 plugs. The foam thickness at the sites of where the rail plugs will be is the 3/4", I marked it out as a 5-fin. I will do the glass-ons if I have to but I prefer the versatility of the fcs plugs. I also planned on adding a tail patch on the underside for strength and to get a bit more thickness.

5

Have you tried installing Fusions? Super easy

6

You need to have a foam “pillar” under your plug, or you’re heel can easily punch the plug right through the bottom of your board.

You need an inch, brother…

7

I’m with Bud on this, but I just measured an FCS fin plug. From the installation tab where it would rest on the glass to the bottom of the plug is 5/8". I think it’ll work with your tail thickness. I’ve put 'em in some pretty thin tails with no problems, however my rails at the lead fins weren’t 3/4" thick (thin!).

8

I have seen posts around saying how easy the fusions are but I was under the impression that they were designed for eps boards. Any how, I’m gonna play it safe and glass-on a quad set. My other boards all have 1"-1 1/2" at the plug settings.

9

I got an official answer from the fcs tech rep. 20mm or 0.79in is the minimum for the center fin and a little thicker for side fins w/ cants more than 4 degrees. This is for the P2/X2 plugs. Looks like I have enough for a thruster but not for the my rear quads in the double concave of my five fin pattern. Oh well, I got to practice measuring out a quad pattern. Thanks for the input everyone.