Converting a horrible Delta fin into a Fangy style fin

2 months ago
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Imax1
Imax1
QLD
4971 posts
QLD, 4971 posts
28 May 2026 6:22pm
With much sadness we can’t buy much loved Fangy fins anymore . This is a possible DIY alternative. I started with a 30 cm Delta and reshaped the outline. Built up the bottom flange with glass filled resin. Built up thickness with Q,cell resin. Hand shaped with flapper wheel and finished with orbital sander. Leading and trailing edges are the original G10 fin material. Will cover in a layer of Basalt twill ,(easier to drape than carbon fibre ),to protect the softer sides.


Tardy
Tardy
QLD
5358 posts
QLD, 5358 posts
28 May 2026 8:06pm
The All New ...DeltaMax .👍👅
Meh
Meh
NSW
73 posts
Meh Meh
NSW, 73 posts
28 May 2026 8:52pm
What's the angle?
Imax1
Imax1
QLD
4971 posts
QLD, 4971 posts
29 May 2026 8:06am
Meh said..
What's the angle?


45 deg. It’s for big sails , shallow water ,not heavy weed.
decrepit
decrepit
WA
12900 posts
WA, 12900 posts
29 May 2026 9:33am
Nicely done mate, that will be a huge improvement. Just adding a flange to the delta's made them heaps better.
Imax1
Imax1
QLD
4971 posts
QLD, 4971 posts
30 May 2026 9:46am
Basalt cover with black resin for a sensual look.




Imax1
Imax1
QLD
4971 posts
QLD, 4971 posts
31 May 2026 11:02am
Smoothed over with Qcell. Hot coated. Possibly another hot coat after a light sand.
Does anyone know what the best performing wet and dry finish should be ? I believe a sexy gloss is not the best.






decrepit
decrepit
WA
12900 posts
WA, 12900 posts
31 May 2026 2:24pm
various thoughts on that, depends who you listen to. I think it depends on the R number. and how smooth the foil.

A good boundary layer helps the flow stay in contact, and the theory is it's a water on water friction.
The boundary layer is created by slight friction on the surface, starts water tumbling over itself.

A polished surface can give laminar flow, so no turbulence, and any foil irregularities can cause separation and stalling.

the slower the speed the rougher the wet and dry. higher speeds benefit from finer wet and dry. a rule of thumb for us is anything between 400 and 1000.

However Fangy's latest experiment was straight out of the 3D printer with no smoothing and he said it went surprisingly well.

Personally I haven't noticed any difference.
Imax1
Imax1
QLD
4971 posts
QLD, 4971 posts
31 May 2026 5:03pm
So ???
600?
I remember the same topic on board finish , and it ended up a sh.t show.
Some speed boards were polished and some purposefully kinda rough ,400 grit.
I had the belief is to go as fine as to not have the water beed .
But fins is a different black art , or is it ?
decrepit
decrepit
WA
12900 posts
WA, 12900 posts
31 May 2026 5:59pm
No same argument, laminar flow or boundary layer.

I forget the name of the guy, but he did some tests, with dinghys, towed 2 behind him and found the polished boat had less drag than the wet and dry one, but that was at a very slow speed.
I've no idea really, as you say it's a **** fight, people on both sides of the fence believing there argument is better.

My boards finished with 600 go well enough
elmo
elmo
WA
8901 posts
WA, 8901 posts
31 May 2026 7:07pm
My new fins I recently made I originally sanded them with 1000, they worked alright.... till they didn't.

The fin would cavitate then I'd almost come to a stop so it would reattach.

Re sanded with 400 and all was good for the red and furry
Imax1
Imax1
QLD
4971 posts
QLD, 4971 posts
1 Jun 2026 7:28am
Imax1 said..

Imax1 said..
Ok 400 it is. 🤔 Thats the finish I give my boards. It’s a big fin for grip not so much speed. I suppose there could be difference in finishes of being fast and slippery apposed to grippy. But then a slower grippier fin could end up faster because you can push off it more with confidence. Cranking upwind or bearing off , must act differently on a fin. My head hurts.

ps, I have a beautiful carbon Curtice fin which is a shiny piece of art. It’s horrible. Like Elmo’s shiny fins , it violently spins out and I have to virtually stop to get it to regrip.









Tardy
Tardy
QLD
5358 posts
QLD, 5358 posts
1 Jun 2026 8:09am
on my new Tabou manta .bottom side .front part is gloss ,as its not in the water anyway once on the plane ,rear from half way is sanded ,looks and feels more like 400 grit ,
well it makes a noise when you run your hand on it .might even be 200 😀.looks like a water test is in the near future .I know in West oz ,weed does not stick to sanded weed fins ,
My friends fins where gloss - ish and collecting weed ,mine was sanded and not collecting ..I regular sand mine ...a quick sand to theirs and no weed build up .Does this mean sanded surfaces are more slippery .I don't know .but the test suggest it .
decrepit
decrepit
WA
12900 posts
WA, 12900 posts
1 Jun 2026 8:47am
This is all good info, and makes sense.
Sanded fins induce a boundary layer, consisting of small rotations in the water next to the fin, (turbulence)
I guess these keep weed away from the surface of the fin.
The turbulence also travels around curves mu better than a laminar flow associated with polished fins.
Too much pressure, angle of attack on a polished fin will produce separation of the flow from the fin, this will drag air down and kill lift.

So conclusion from this thread is, a sanded fin is much more user friendly than a polished one.
Any difference in speed is undetermined.
Imax1
Imax1
QLD
4971 posts
QLD, 4971 posts
16 Jul 2026 2:46pm
So very happy. First outing on 7.8m gear ,gusty. Almost 29 kts. Heaps of lift from a short fin. Extra grippy for big sails ,nothing will spin out this bad boy. Nice comfy ride too. It will crack 30 ,but not a lot more. I could feel the drag from the 1" wide fin when I was getting close to top speed. It didn't do anything strange. Long live Fangy style fins.
Imax1
Imax1
QLD
4971 posts
QLD, 4971 posts
19 Jul 2026 11:33am



Three more deltas to be reborn.



Imax1
Imax1
QLD
4971 posts
QLD, 4971 posts
26 Jul 2026 4:36pm
Finish glazed. Just need 400 grit.




vosadrian
vosadrian
NSW
469 posts
NSW, 469 posts
27 Jul 2026 10:53am
How bad are MUF Delta fins. I have one (19cm) and have only sailed it before at Budgewoi (Isonoic 97 and 6.2/7.2). I find I really struggle on it because I am used to have a solid feel of a good slalom fin. I can't put much weight on the back foot unless I am really powered up, so I find myself not really enjoying my sailing except the big gusts. How much of this is just shallow water sailing with any shallow weed fin, and how much is the quality the Delta fin? Would my experience improve with a better fin?
sboardcrazy
sboardcrazy
NSW
8372 posts
NSW, 8372 posts
27 Jul 2026 11:12am
vosadrian said..
How bad are MUF Delta fins. I have one (19cm) and have only sailed it before at Budgewoi (Isonoic 97 and 6.2/7.2). I find I really struggle on it because I am used to have a solid feel of a good slalom fin. I can't put much weight on the back foot unless I am really powered up, so I find myself not really enjoying my sailing except the big gusts. How much of this is just shallow water sailing with any shallow weed fin, and how much is the quality the Delta fin? Would my experience improve with a better fin?


I like to be able to push on a fin.I hate MUF deltas . Atomic nuclear weeds are great but I go 2cm longer than recommended. Crank upwind and stick like glue even across the channel.
That's a bit of a downer at Budgy as I use a 22cm in my 90ltre which can be too deep in the flats.
I have been using a custom 16.5cm Pepe in the 95 but I have to be careful not to load it till up to speed.
Love my FFs although they aren't that fast.
Other people love the MUF and atm they are probably faster and better in the thick weed. A friend said he had sanded his so it wasn't as thick at the rear edge and it seemed to help spinout etc.

decrepit
decrepit
WA
12900 posts
WA, 12900 posts
27 Jul 2026 12:07pm
MUF Deltas, go better with Fangy fillets,
vosadrian
vosadrian
NSW
469 posts
NSW, 469 posts
28 Jul 2026 8:59am
I have an Atomic (I think nuclear) weed in 22cm (I just got recently) I look forward to using, but have not been able to get out on it yet. I thought it would only be good for the big gear (100L board and 7.2), but I'll give it a go with whatever I use next time.

I'll also check out the Fangy fillet mentioned. Any links to info on this?
decrepit
decrepit
WA
12900 posts
WA, 12900 posts
28 Jul 2026 12:50pm
vosadrian said..
I'll also check out the Fangy fillet mentioned. Any links to info on this?


There probably is, but it would be getting old now and hard to find, I'll have a quick look and see what I can find.
decrepit
decrepit
WA
12900 posts
WA, 12900 posts
28 Jul 2026 12:56pm
Wasn't too hard, check here.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Gps/Filleting-a-delta?page=1
Imax1
Imax1
QLD
4971 posts
QLD, 4971 posts
28 Jul 2026 8:21pm
Add a cutout and ever better.
MobZ
MobZ
NSW
550 posts
NSW, 550 posts
28 Jul 2026 9:18pm
vosadrian said..
How bad are MUF Delta fins. I have one (19cm) and have only sailed it before at Budgewoi


I’ve got a 19 muf I use at budgy. It goes ok in narrow tail boards. Biggest problem I have with it is fitting to the board nice enough to avoid weed moustache (weed catching under front edge where it meets board).
So this fillet idea is great. I’d love to do this to it.
I also have a Fangy 18 that goes good. It’s just all smiles fitting that. Set and forget, it’s never catching weed.
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