...hi there !
I received these the other day , and was interested to hear your thoughts / experiences of how they go .
And also , your thinking behind the angle they are at , what it would perform like / how it would affect the way the board rides ?
( I hope to try them out soon ! ...)
cheers !
ben , west oz
the leading edge , and inside curve , view ....
trailing edge view
I had a few sets of them mate…
Hope they go well... foils look like could do with some work.
Whats the idea behind the curved fin? And do you think you could get a similar effect by putting some plastic fins in the oven then bending them around something? Then you’d have a good foil to work with?
I’d like to refer to them as ‘I was smoking a pipe’ fins (when I thought them up!!).
ha classic mate !
" Whats the idea behind the curved fin?"
yeah , that's what I'M asking , hope 'pipe fins' will respond ?
... also , it would be nice if greg webber would reply here maybe , as I have a set of his [thinner foiled, and curving OUTWARD fcs 'G-CRV 'fins , as opposed to THESE ones ....which curve inward ??!!]
I surfed the 'pipe' ones this morning ....
tomorrow i'll surf the crv's , for a comparison ...
cheers !
ben
so , due to the smaller swell , THIS was what I trialled them in this morning . The weather/ surf beaten 'cooloola' ... it's 9'4 x 22" x 3" . In this photo , it has the Shapers Australia 6.5" back fin [thanks , 'Beerfan' !!]
waves ....
waist to occassional chest high 'bombs' . nice offshore , okay banks [and , thankfully, minimal crowd at 5.45 to 7am ! yewww !]
20 caught
15 lefts
5 rights
the paddle out felt different , with the fins pointing toward the stringer ! [I am used to the feel of the crv webbers , at least 50% of which point outwards , towards the rail !]
the first takeoff , on a chest high fairly sucky left , I was glad i grabbed the rail and crouched . The fins held in ok [ maybe the bigger back fin was a good idea though !!]
I only muffed ONE wave today , for a change ! ...went over the handlebars on a late decision turnaround , double -paddle drop. It woulda happened with ANY fin , i was too far forward [didn't have time to slide the body back quick enough to prevent the pearl ...at least marty got a laugh out of it , anyway !]
i didn't get enough length of ride / speed up to get them humming on any waves [yet.]
my thoughts so far are ...
with 9'4 of rail , small waves , and a biggish back fin , it was a little difficult to tell what was doing what , in terms of hold and projection . i'd probably need to swap out the back fin for a smaller thruster [or trailer] finbox fin , to feel what the sideys were doing , more !
also , with bigger waves , putting them in either the 6'6 walden [thruster setup] , or the 6'11" bullitt , again as a thruster , with a thruster-sized back fin , would help me figure the 'halfpipes' performance / effect better , I feel !
... to be continued .....
'pipe fins' .... ARE you around , please ?
like I said earlier , I'm keen to hear your thoughts and experiences with these fins ?
cheers !
ben
I have some fins like your pipe fins bought 3 sets off of eBay for $12.00 In the photos you will see I have done some modification. I now need to work on the base so they will fin into a FCS compatible system.
good on ya , Artz !!
let us know how they go when finished eh mate ?
cheers !
ben
This might just be the motivation I need to finish those fins
Kia ora,Hi .Sorry I had not been here untill now.
I started to make fins to save myself money,and then others saw me riding on them and wanted to try some.
Then before I knew lots of people were coming around asking for same of the fin I had been making.Now there are over two hundred people riding these fins .I have even worked out how to make US box fins of any shape .
The fin curve has been set for the average surfer and is not any pipe size .
The leading edge is 50/50 to givemore hold and if they had been grind down from the outside of the fin ,that with the curve inwards makes the board lift lots as if skimming across the water.
I have made sets that have a 50/50 leading edge that then goes to 100 from the outside to the tip.These side fins 50/50/100 with one of my split fins give a hover craft kind of feeling as you ride ,some people like them.
I am also making set’s tpo fit the futures box system now adding to the fcs type I make.
If there is anything eles please just post
thanks for the reply ....
I guess what I am interested in is...
what do you FEEL...
taking off ,
bottom turning ,
trimming ,
and in the tube ,
...and ....
particularly , going backhand , in terms of your experience , of HOW the fins ride ?
And , what types of waves do you feel they are best suited to ?
cheers !
ben
kia ora,I make curved side fins aswell as flate ones .If you want to see more look for Pipe Fins on facebook.
We all surf our own style of surfing and so for me this is how these curved side fins feel and work.
On my very first wave it felt like it was easyer to take off (one less paddle),then when I turned at the bottom I didny notice much difference .As the board started going up the face side on I thourght I was going to get pitched from the lip ,But then the board was just siting up higher on the face then normal in trim .
When turning it takes less effort so I dont have to push as hard.
When in the tube the boards lock into the face with more hold meaning I can sit right at the back up high ,but if its a realy sucky tube I am off the wall as things get too sucky and it slides out.
Many people surf better on thier backhand and so do I,the fins are great for top to bottom backhand surfing or just trimming.Things just feel more natrual to me and I dont have to think about things as much when riding.
The fins ride real smooth and turn fast and tight.I think its because the inside fin hold more as the outside fin let go on the turns,plus the flex.
I have used them on lot of different waves from small hardly breaking to three times over head,from sucky to fat.
when the section gets fat the fins get me past that part to the reform .Or when the wave are full and fat the fins feel like I get more power from whats on offer.
So for me I am happy with how they go and would go out in any wave with the curved side fins without any worries about how they will go on the day.
Other people who have been surfing alot longer then me ,tell me they wont be going back to the older flat style of side fins.
I hope this has helped you all out,thanks
Cheers for that , 'pipey' !
do you have a lot of different curves in them ?
do you make ones that curve outwards more , as in , towards the rails more ?
and do you have thinnner foiled ones ?
do you find it easy material to work with , when foiling ?? [i have refoiled a few polycarbonate fins from time to time , and had a few ..er...'melting ' issues . ]
yes , i WILL check out your facebook page ..cheers !
the good thing is ...no fibreglassing needed , eh !
ben
Kia ora again.I have made other curves on some fins depending on where they are going to be used.I also make flate side fins but all of the side fins that I make have no cant at all,any cant comes from the plugs on the side as in fcs plugs.I dont have any thinner ones and I dont foil them much at all.I just shape the front to cut through the water (50/50 or 50/50/100) on the leading edge and then a bit of a foil effect at the back of the fins.The pipe comes flat sided so I have keept the Pipe fins flat on both sides.After getting lot of feedback telling me that my fins seem to make the boards go faster.I have thourght about it and now think that a unfoild fin may get more energy from the water.I could explan why so if you want.
thanks
yep , what IS a 'unifoiled' fin , for starters ?
i've not heard that expression before ...
....one foil ? where ? how ?
and
DOES the 'pipe' melt a bit , as you foil it ?
when you 'foil' it a bit , are you using a grinder ? a sander ? ...or ... HAND foiling [with a rasp , or file ?]
thanks for the replies
ben
I Work the PVC in a way so as not to get thing that hot .
The fin in the pictures is and early pipe wher I have polished it.I now put a finish to the surface I call “The mako shark skin finish”.
As the fin move througth the water ,It is ment to coat the fin surface with air to try and get less drag.
Sorry for any bad spelling.
Kia ora ,the curve on the fins also get the energy from the wave as it lifts ,flat fins dont.Curved fins tap into the same energy dophins and seals use to surf ,the power found in and under the water not on the water.
