I agree that flex is super important. In general, I like the feel of fiberglass over composite or carbon fiber, and like solid fiberglass over foam core fins… That’s why I’m a big Rainbow Fins fan.
I don’t want to stiffen up the ride, but I don’t want the fin to catch too much water on turns. I think that’s what I don’t like about my setup now… Simply too much fin area.
Chip said a taller, more vertical fin might work, and that would give me less total fin area, more flex, and a bit smaller base… all of which sound like what I need.
So I went ahead and ordered the MR TFX with the trailer. Check out the www.surffcs.com website to see what we’re talking about.
Dear NJ,
I saw that fin on the site after 30 minutes, looks like an interesting fin, I should go out and get it to try it. I miss info on the secrets like the profile. From the colorlines it seems the base has a relative flatter profile than the tip, but on the base the angle of attack is larger then on the tip because of flex.The profile is full in the rear what gives more resistance in the water because two flows bumping together. I designed my own profile derived from my windsurfing fins, made for power and control. Chopping with a sander in a lump of glass and epoxy,and changing the profile after tests. . My fins are foamcore, carbon outside with glassprotection around. It’s britle, but by reenforcing the foamcore it is possible to make a fin superlight, while with the reenforcements it is possible to get a flex that is independent of the outline of the fin, by sticking in fibers from top to bottom it is possible to get a flex from front to back only, just like the wing of a bird does, losing power without pushing the board up out of the water. Ilove carbon because the energy you put in it bending all comes back, like a spring, but it comes back without oscilations(flapping). Glass and wood eat up much of the bending energy,so the fin doesn’t load up like a sping, so it gives less energy back after a turn. I don,t like the FCS carbonseries TF1 because the fin is too stiff. Mayby I’m a bit foolish, but without a good shop around I have to do things myself, so I made my molds and foundout one mold can make so many different fins, only by changing the materials. The funniest thing that happened to me was a broken fin bumping to my foot,me thinking I was attacked by a fish, but no, they float on the water.
Let me know what you think of the MR TFX, I’m very interested,
Enjoy Soul
The FCS Carbon fins are the only ones I’ve seen and felt. They’re too stiff for me, too. And at least with a solid fiberglass fin, you can grind away at it and thin it out in the tip, narrow the width, round the edges… without damaging the material…
I’ll let you know what I think of the MRs when the come in and I get a good session in.
Thanks for your input… very informative…
here’s the ride in question…
here’s a setup that has worked very well for me… prior to adding the dinky trailer fin, this mutant fish (6’6" x 16" x 22" x 17") really only worked up to about head high. Now it will handle drops up to about 1.5 OH without spinning out on the steep faces. I think of it like putting wider tires on a fast car… still the same speed all around but you can hit the corners just a bit faster without crashing. Your mileage may vary.
Quote:
Is it the base or the depth of the fin that makes the larger fins harder to turn?
hi again NJ !
…based on my experiments , it seems to be for me anyway , it’s the longer base .
hope that helps mate .
ben
THAT’s what I wanted to see… thanks, brother.
Now what I really need from you is to strike a line perpendicular to the stringer connecting the back edge of the rear side fin plugs, then measure along the stringer from that line to the front edge of the front trailer fin plug. That will help me figure out the placement for the trailer plugs I’m going to put in.
Thanks again, man.
Hi NJ, I hope this helps you. good luck . Graham.
