KIT33R said...Are slotted fins still around? They were very successful on windsurfers a few years back in preventing cavitation.
That's quite a lot of years back now. I think the main reason slot fins prevented spin-out was that they had so much drag you never went fast enough to spin out. Better foiling and materials made them redundant by about 1990 when the high aspect G10 revolution stole the show.
At 4 fins per board, a truly top shelf fin set will cost as much as a race board. There still seems not to be a mass production technique that can compete with the performance of hand-foiled G10.
My prediction: kite raceboards will continue to get wider and will move to the efficiency of a single fin similar to windsurfing formula boards. They will be increasingly difficult to sail and the province of a few dedicated and wealthy tech-heads. They will soon out-perform all other course racing sail-craft in anything over 7 knots. Tube kites will emerge with more streamlined leading edges but twin-skin foils will produce the ultimate in lift-drag ratios and upwind angles.
