Since Rohan [ ‘RDM’ , are his initials] is one of several here who is experiencing difficulties posting photos on the ‘new’ 'Swaylock’s , here are some photos he has sent me .
As we now live in the same state , I am hoping to visit him some time soon , and will hopefully have a few panels and fins to give him . He has visited me a few times here , since I moved interstate in April last year.
He and his friend Dave make some nice stuff , so it has been great to be able to catch up easily now [ where I previously lived , was 2000 miles away from them ! ]
Here are some fins , that he recently made …
They’re shown here , in an EPS board he made a while ago , now …
Interesting looking board RDM. I’m interested in getting your feedback on the installation of the S-plugs. I’ve done one quad set with them and found them quite labour intensive. On the flipside, they’re still in the board…
Nice looking fins by the way (that’s fins, not Fins, although I’m sure you’re a hansome devil too Ben). Marine ply?
I will ask Rohan about the ’ S Plugs ’ for you [and , if it was marine ply he used in the fins , too ? ] Perhaps he will visit this thread [ I emailed him a ‘link’] , and answer .
I hope to photograph some of his other boards , when I catch up with him next .
I first met him in Toorak , about maybe ? 3 years or so ago ?
I also have a paulownia fin [a single , box fin] that he gave me a few years ago …
Well, Cass …as you know , it is **late **here now , so I will try to remember to get a shot or two of it tomorrow . And I guess I need to template , cut out , foil , and glass the thin pieces of paulownia he gave me , last time he visited me here
I’ve emailed a couple of full length photos of the board (taken in 2012 I think) as well as some other wooden single fins.
Sorry about the foiling Hans. It’s not actually as bad as it looks in those images. The plywood used was only 1.5mm thick so some of the graduation doesn’t show up too well. It’s also seems a bit distorted as the fins have some designed twist in them. They are twisted about the vertical axis so the tips run parallel witrh the stringer rather than having toe in like the base.
Hey Cass. I didn’t find the S-plug installation too bad. I’m fairly lo tech though and don’t build many boards. I just have a small jig template made from MDF to rout the holes, stick the plugs on the fin, drop the whole lot in with a tiny touch of 5 minute epoxy on the bottom of the plugs. Once the epoxy has set I remove the fins and pour the resin. I usually dremel some of the foam out around inside the hole as well to create a bit of an undercut under the bottom lamination. As I alluded to before, I am just a hobbyist when it comes to all of this and do what seems sensible to me (or use what advice I find on Swaylocks here) and am not particularly fussy in terms of the appearance of what I make - function is beauty in my little world.
I just want to give constructive critisism. I was talking about the thickness at the back tab, if you compare with commercial fins, most of the time the finbase at the back tab is thinner than the tab itself.
No doubt that your fins will work great, but the next set will be better
Thanks Hans. I’m always happy to hear contsructive criticism and appreciate your candour. The tab relationship is a bit misleading as the fins are thick (about 8 or 9mm rather than the standard 7mm). The tabs in the image were only 5mm thick too, rather than the standard 6mm - as I haven’t built them up to the correct thickness yet.
Have just checked your software out and it looks good. Lots of hard work there my friend. I will certainly look at trying to build my next fin templates and foiling using it.
The next one[s] will be made shorter , with a wider , kicked tail , for off the lips and tighter radius turns … so it will be more like surfing , then !
A modified ‘mini simmons’ …now more like a kneeboard.
Rohan’s modified digital camera…so a ‘reversing ring’ adaptor can be screwed into the front of his existing SLR lenses , effectively creating a macro lens . Good stuff !
… a couple of the results…
( This would be a nice setup , for instance , for closeup photos of fins )
