I’ve installed a few fin boxes. I thought I had it down good…Wait…I’ve installed more than just a few…
Everything I know about fin boxes has been learned from Swaylocks or from doing it on my own. I cut through the deck more than once…Whoops!.. My first few were done free hand with a Roto Zip tool. Now I have a home made plywood jig ,and old Craftsman router ,some clamps and a router bit with a bearing. I also know that if you want to install a Fins Unlimited 10.5 Channel that you need at least one inch depth for the Channel to sit in.
Anyone with install links please post.
Here’s the story
A friend of a friend drops off a board when I’m not home. He wants a fin box installed. OK no problem. So I take some measurements and say “No Way”. The tail is very thin and we only have 5/8" where the box needs to be installed. I call the guy and leave a message. I talk to some Swaylocks friends ,everybody says TOO THIN ! I cut and sand down a box to see what we can do…
So the board owner says ,What if you add a couple layers of glass to the bottom?
Well I added 6 layers of 6oz and two layers of 4oz to the bottom. The board had a Vee bottom so I just modified the shape that was there. I was able to install the box but had to do quite a bit of sanding. In the end everything worked out great. Lots of extra work!!!
Looking for tricks or suggestions …How do you install a box in a board with a thin tail ???