thanks HEAPS , 'RDM' !!

[chipfins61]

[and 'solosurfer' , cheyne horan , ben lexcen , probox larry !]

Rowan , your finboxed 'spitfire fin' arrived today , thanks very much . I think you sold yourself short there mate , it looks good and works well !  cheers !

I had a three hour test run on it .

 

They were ony tiny waves today .....

 

 

 

so,  I used it just by itself ...  with that amount of area , I don't think I'll use it with sideys , well not for  a while , anyway !

 

'P-Co' here  [Ross , the owner / boss of 'Longboards Scarborough' ] , liked the look of it , too , by the way , Rowan !

 

I must say , straight off , that I MUCH prefer it to the "winged keel" box fin I have ...much less drag  [the fin, not me, that is] , more responsive backhand [I got two lefts , all the rest were rights !] ...and ...it felt really nicely "anchored" on the few waves where I WAS able to get up near the nose  !

 

  I will be riding this again !

 

So , would you mind telling me a bit about HOW you made it , please ?

 

  wood core ?

 

  how much cloth ?

 

epoxy resin ?

 

how did you make the base ?  mould it , or cloth build-up layers ?

 

you did a nice job mate , cheers !

 

I hope I can get it going fast , I want to get it to hum , but it may not , eh ?  have you had it humming at bells , winki , or the island ? what's the biggest [surf] you used it in, and the biggest board ?  did you use it with side fins, or mainly as a single ?

 

  sorry to ask so many questions...i'm just interested in hearing YOUR experiences with it , and if you have made other versions [?smaller / narrower?  / bigger / wider?] of it ...

 

here is yours , underneath a  'similar' fin template ,  which I retrieved from a council collection / garbage throwout , a year or two ago now . It came off a very beaten up,  old windsurfer , which I had to drag home [it was bloody HEAVY!]  , in order to grind the fin off , unfortunately ! [if i can figure a way to either mould a new base [will it attach , epoxy to polycarbonate , I wonder ?] it would be fun to 'fin box ' this ...otherwise [if they are strong enough plugs ??] , then maybe I'll just make it a 'Proboxed'  base , eh ?!

 

 CHEERS !

  ben

[beerfan]

Ben, are you keen to try a wavegrinder? If so i'll send it to you. Interesting fin!

[beerfan]

Ben, are you keen to try a wavegrinder? If so i'll send it to you. Interesting fin!

[RDM]

No problems Ben - I’m stoked that it’s being put to use and enjoyed on the other side of the country.

I made this one before I bought the real thing off Solosurfer (thanks Noel) and haven’t used this one since. You are very kind to describe the finish as anything other than ugly - it is functional though and that’s the main thing.

To make it I just laid up a fibreglass panel about 6mm thick to begin with. Then I stuck a wood panel on either side, foiled it and then put another couple of layers of fibreglass over each entire side to bring the base up to required 9mm thickness to fit the box - if that makes any sense. The actual fin is probably closer to 12mm thick at the thickest part of its foil I think. It’s epoxy from memory and I’ve made no other versions.

I have used it as a single at overhead Bells and Woolamai beach breaks. And with side bites (widow maker style - leading edge of fin set level with the trailing edges of the front fins) in double overhead Bells. It’s been used in my 6’4" double ender.

As a single I think it suits hollow waves that have a nicely defined trough (something Bells doesn’t have) really well. It’s very fast and works well set right back in the box and is definitely more stable than you would expect.

With the side bites it handled Bells at a decent size with no problems whatsoever and felt like it would have handled more - it never once felt anything but fast, anchored and predictable in this set up.

Cheers

Rohan

 

[chipfins61]

[quote="$1"]

Ben, are you keen to try a wavegrinder? If so i'll send it to you. Interesting fin!

[/quote]

 

SURE !

 

ummm... what IS it ? [as long as it's not drugs, in the shape of a fin? ]....

[chipfins61]

thanks heaps  for all of your  feedback , Rohan !

".....With the side bites it handled Bells at a decent size with no problems whatsoever and felt like it would have handled more - it never once felt anything but fast, anchored and predictable in this set up." 

   what side bites did you mainly use with it ?

 

 Also, how did it feel backhand , at Woolamai ? [my nephew's home break]

 

   cheers !

 

  ben

[RDM]

Side bites were pretty much full size thruster fins.

From memory backhand felt good off the bottom and down the line, but like any single fin a bit limited in how it came off the top.

[chipfins61]

Yep , 'Spitfire' is a good name , it FLEW today !! ...tiny waves again , on a coupla rights , again ...

 

.....I did a little speed crouch in the middle of the board ...the thing just TOOK OFF, Rowan , I'm LOVING  the feel !

 

  cheers !

 

  ben

 

...to be continued ...

[chipfins61]

the setup...

[fins]

Thanks heaps for dropping around ,  on the weekend  , Rohan !

 

…S T O K E D  , mate !

 

cheers !

 

 Ben

 

[fins]

… BAMBOO !

 

  NICE job , Rohan , THANKS HEAPS  !

 

  … to be continued … [ ? maybe on Herb’s  ’ SHOW US YOUR SKATEBOARDS ’ thread , once it is being ridden ? ]

 

cheers !

 ben

 

[fins]