Suck it and see!!!.....

quote:

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Originally posted by monkey

Do Bigger fins make it easier to go upwind when the current is extremely strong??

What are the pros and cons??

Big fins for better grip in strong winds and chop
while small fins = more skatey??

How do you know when fins are too big?

DOes it affect POP?

Cheers

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You know when your fins are too big when......
You're fanging full bore towards the beach; you attempt a carving heel gybe but you can't switch....
You can't break the fucn 'tail' free...
It feels like your riding on railway tracks and there's no getting off....
They're magnetic tracks with glue on them...
and the beach is rushing at you at 100 kph

That's when you boost your favorite air transition, throw in the obligatory kite-loop and kite away,
to live another day.

Regards,
slave.

I went finless after I knocked all but one of the fins off my redline, once i'd gotten used to the feel I took them off my other board also. I never used to believe it, but fins are next to useless if your riding flat water or chop - you'll get better upwind without em. you might want fins on a wave though

smaller the better, thinking of pissing off both toe side, down to one anyway, only time i like bigger fins is at cable ski park so i can have big carving sessions.

A big thing about going finless is the shape of your rail... if it's sharp you will be able to hold down LOTS of edge... if it's round you'll get pulled off your edge and/or slip downwind a LOT easier.

The board mentioned by Tony is a big Stonker Mongrel 167 (AKA the Bloody Mongrel)... finless it's a light wind dream (esp' with a 20m Naish X2). The option is a big floaty surfboard with big fins, and big fins don't go well in shallow water. The mongrel holds a good solid edge, even in stronger winds.

Another common board, the Stonker 157, has rounded surfboard style rails and needs fins. Whether in surf or flat water this board needs 2.5 inch fins or less... whatever your comfortable with. You can't hold an edge for long with out them. Any bigger than 2.5 inch fins and I wouldnt be able to turn it at all, that stuck on traintracks feeling... I think your size, weight, and strength would be the deciding factor of how big a fin can be, whilst the ability to hold an edge is the decider for how small a fin can be.

just out of interest what size exactly are you guys using, on my old board ive got 30mm, which i love, and my new Cardboard 130 has 40mm, which i will try tommorow (come on wind gods!!) do you think i will notice the difference, sure ill find out, but im doing a big downwinder and dont want to spend three hours cursing the extra 10mm. So what is a small fin?

monkey,

Just noticed today that one of my heelside edge fins has fallen off. Was an awesome chance to try both fins and finless in exactly the same conditions. Not too sure what i'm going to do, but i definitely liked skimming over the seaweed a lot better.

I would just put whatever you want on one side of your board and leave the other normal. It gives you direct feedback straight away.

James