very first Displacement Hull. Suggestions on fins.

Very first post here! Love to read all the discussions and learn from everyone here. Anyway, I traded in my Solid 8’ “funboard” for a 6’8" Anderson-Bojorquez pescado but need recommendations on the type of fin I should buy for it. I got it finless and  I really want to ride it asap , hope you guys can reply quickly so I can take this baby out tomorrow. Never ridden a hull before so I have no idea what it will feel like but would love to get guided in the right direction.


The board in that pic has Future boxes, so any fin purchases will need that base in order to fit.  

 

FT-1 template;   4.8"b x 5.15"t.  it’s a twin fin template and the set normally comes with a small 3.5" center fin to add stability.  You might as well get the “thermotech” version - they’re the white molded plastic ones.  They’re less expensive than the fiberglass or techno fins but should work just fine for you at what appears to be this stage of your progression.  

 

Bigger fin out at the rail puts more energy there so you should end up with a pretty lively ride.  

Oh, and stop wrapping your leash around the tail.  That “trains” the leash to coil, which is something you don’t want.  

Thank you Gdaddy!, I just called my local surf shop and they have  the thermotech fins in stock. Told them to hold them for me til tomorrow. I am so stocked! This is an older picture of the board that the person I traded with sent me. It does not have the leash currently on but yes, I will not wrap the leash around the tail. Thank you for responding so quickly. I have two HP boards, (Arrow/Jed Noll 9’2 and A Hobie 9’) The shortest board I have ridden in my two years surfing is a 7’6 Neptune/Nor Cal min-mal. How difficult will this transition be tomorrow? I dont have high expectations but any suggestions will help. I just want to enjoy my time out and have fun surfing. JC 

Suggestions?    It’s mostly just getting more wavecount under your belt.    You’ll figure it out over time.  

 

I think the big trick when surfing designs that are new to you is to try to adapt your style to the board’s strengths rather than attempt to bend the board to your will.  Find out what the board likes to do and work on that.  Guys who want to surf every board they own in exactly the same way tend to be unhappy with a large percentage of their purchases.   

Hello gdaddy,  I am 5’10, 175lbs I was reading a review for some fins recommended for a board similiar to mine. http://www.foamez.com/future-fin-set-am2-3-thermotech-p-889.html  Will these work better since I am a larger type surfer? 

 

In reference to the fins, it’s your board.  You should do what you want.  

For info, the FT1/McNab template has a fin area of almostt 20 square inches whereas the large Al Merrick / AM2 is in the 16 SqIn range, so they’re not at all similar to each other.   Future used to make a bigger twin but I don’t think the FEN is available any more.  

The plastic fins aren’t expensive.  You could try both of them and see the difference for yourself.  

Never have ridden a hull w/ 3 fins, only singles, but they all much preferred flexy glass fin for sure!

i suggests calling scott at Aqua tech aka Anderson surfboards. Ask him what they recommend for fins. I can’t recall what fins Steve used in the original board made by Liddle. 

 

Matt, thank you so much for the recommendations. I went ahead and left him a message but for the meantime I took Gdaddy’s recommendation and went with the FT-1 fin template. I had a very hard time trying to turn the board and only managed to catch one wave. I did enjoy myself but after 45 minutes I decide to switch to my longboard. This was the shortest board I have ridden and I don’t think I positioned myself correctly on the wave. My pop-up was hideous and was having a hardtime finding my “sweet spot” but I was not discouraged at all. I surf at Lindamar/Pacifica, a beach break, will the board not work for me?

Best “cross training” for making a hull work I ever found was riding a slalom type snowboard on groomers. Like this~

 

https://swaylocks7stage.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/Men+Parallel+Giant+Slalom+FIS+Snowboarding+0d1Xqs1zSI-l.jpg

man, it would be a dream to have slopes in my area to practice on. I live in San Francisco, so getting out to ski is very rare. Would a skateboard help?

Skate board likely yes but I think for that, one of those big wheeled, all terrain kind that have lot of traction so you can really " simulate the drive off the edges" style. I used to live about 20 minutes down the road from a smaller place in CO and used that as a surf substitute for 5 years! 20-30 mph alternating nearly dragging you hip and your face really scratches a certain itch, lots of G-forces load and release, no paddle out and if you fall, you just get up and keep going. Only thing was when I finally got back to the beach my paddling power was gone gone gone.