That gap between FCS fins and the board...

Post by **Carpark King** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 8:27 pm

I got FCS on my new stick instead of Futures this time. I love the new K3 fin might i add! Anyways because of my boards concave & rocker etc the fins dont sit flush with the board. There is a gap a few milimetres long at front and back of the base of the fin. Do you reckon this affects perfromance and the flow of water etc??? I know this is a common question..

Post by **Carpark King** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 8:53 pm

maybe 2 mm. Big enough to get a finger nail underneath...

Post by **dUg** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 8:50 am

Easy fixed with a blob of silicone.

Post by **wanto** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 9:34 am

do you have a ruler? 1 mm would be ok, more than that and your fin is probably falling out!

Post by **AlbyAl** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 11:41 am

No - it doesn't really matter: my small-wave boards are the same - not enough of a gap to allow water flow through and change the pressures - so no real performance difference. Where it does start to matter is in bigger waves, (and if you have long-base fins) the part of the fin at the front of the front plug will start to flex more, especially if your gap under the fin is a little wide, and you'll have some wierd cavitation and pressure slips through driving turns.

Post by **robzig** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 12:30 pm

Post by **longbum** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 2:21 pm

they maybe have set the plugs in too shallow.....
Ya don't want to be sanding all your fins.

You probably won't notice anything anyway. Try surfing it first before analysing it, it may be the best board you've ever had.

Post by **phil osofer** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 3:59 pm

I recently put in a set of the new FCS plugs for small side fins in an old Mal.

The new type of plugs have a raised rim with 2 arms that stick out [to stop plug from sinking while resin sets]. Under the ends of the arms are 2 small knobs about 1 1/2 mm, I had to file them down so that the plugs sat flush.
The knobs are the thickness of the filler coat and so are there for when the plugs are resined in before the filler coat.

The tab depth in a FCS plug is 14mm.
When your board was made the plugs were put in after the filler coat and the knobs not filed off, and so 1 1/2 mm has been filed off the actuall plug.
Measure the depth of the plugs tab slot it will be 12 1/2mm.
Solution, do what Salty said , file 1 1/2mm off the fin tabs.

Post by **Carpark King** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 4:33 pm

robzig wrote:Easy fixed. Go back to Future Fins, they are way better.

Yeah i kinda agree. But im a big fan of the new range of fins fcs have brought out, but i prefer the actual futures design better.

I think the fin is down asd far as it can go because its not the middle of the fin that has a gap but the from and back...so i dont know if sanding will do anything..

Post by **crack** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 5:42 pm

The plugs themselves might not be flush with the board,giving you gaps front and back.

Post by **surfin39** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 6:56 pm

saltman wrote:Have you tried sanding off 1mm of the bottom of the tabs - worked for me

as long as you're careful .... file a little off between the plugs ..... so the front and back sit flush with the board ... use a spare to practice on first ...

Post by **Carpark King** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 7:07 pm

I tried sanding them. Didnt make a difference.. Im not going to sand anymore off The gap is 1.5mm. I think its more an aesthetic problem rather than a perfromance probem.

Its just not visually pleasing looking at this sick new board and fins..with a little gap that shouldnt be there haha.

ps the plugs are flush with the board. Im prety sure its the curve of the board...the back fin sits flush...

Post by **mustkillmulloway** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 7:17 pm

theres a clear ding tape u can get off ebay ( off course

)

or u can do wat i do and fully class ( roving's and all

) the fcs in

the gap does create a diff in board performance.......there designid save money in production and as a add on sell

not for ultimate performance

p.s said it b4

glass on are the only true high performace fin u can ask for

Post by **tootr** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 8:29 pm

if the board in question has accentuated rocker and/or concave in the fin area then a straight fin base will not be totally flush.

sanding the tabs alone will not do much. you can mess with sanding parts of the fin base to match, or bodge up a curved fin base with silicon or resin or whatever..

anyway the effect on performance is psychological, your legrope creates more drag so relax !

Post by **Carpark King** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 8:48 pm

tootr wrote:if the board in question has accentuated rocker and/or concave in the fin area then a straight fin base will not be totally flush.

sanding the tabs alone will not do much. you can mess with sanding parts of the fin base to match, or bodge up a curved fin base with silicon or resin or whatever..

anyway the effect on performance is psychological, your legrope creates more drag so relax !

Haha so true. And yeah it is pyschological...but that in itself can effect performance!

Post by **puurri** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 9:01 pm

crack wrote:The plugs themselves might not be flush with the board,giving you gaps front and back.

Your avatar says it all.

Post by **Slowman** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 4:38 pm

I have had the same problem but how's this? 2 boards the same (Webber Afterburner) with 2 sets of fins the same (PG7) so I mixed them from one set to another and found by swapping them around I eliminated the gaps!

I also bought a set of Soar OCMFs for another board and they had a similar problem. Generally they were a rougher finish than FCS fins too. I filed down the tabs a little and the gap was eliminated between the tabs but fore and aft of the tabs they weren't all that square. My solution I just don't look too closely.

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That gap between FCS fins and the board...

That gap between FCS fins and the board...

The gap between Fcs fins and the board

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