Twin fins as go-to boards

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Yuke Hunt
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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by Yuke Hunt » Sat Dec 03, 2016 11:25 am

I posted this some time back. Its a study on the difference between layered fibreglass and Injection moulded composite fins. Interesting reading if you have the time and inclination.

http://www.ewp.rpi.edu/hartford/~ernest ... Report.pdf
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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by Davros » Sat Dec 03, 2016 12:36 pm

Womble wrote:I posted this some time back. Its a study on the difference between layered fibreglass and Injection moulded composite fins. Interesting reading if you have the time and inclination.

http://www.ewp.rpi.edu/hartford/~ernest ... Report.pdf
Read it, thanks. Has the author been assassinated by FCS or Futures?

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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by Straighthanded » Sat Dec 03, 2016 1:24 pm

Fins - fcuk me what a marketing shit storm! $120+ for a set of fins. Remember when they came with a board! Now they are a 20% increase on the sticker price before you can get the board wet!

I was talking to a guy who was involved in one those cheap FCS knock off type companies and he said they were waiting for the first company to create knock offs of FCS 2 fins - cause once one company has fought the copyright law the rest of them just dive in.

Like anything you give the consumer too much choice and they will forever believe they need the next best thing.

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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by alakaboo » Sat Dec 03, 2016 1:42 pm

If people paid a decent price for boards they'd still get fins for free.
You want a handshape for $600 you have to pony up for the accessories.

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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by Straighthanded » Sat Dec 03, 2016 1:49 pm

alakaboo wrote:If people paid a decent price for boards they'd still get fins for free.
You want a handshape for $600 you have to pony up for the accessories.
True enough. Thinking more the $900 off the rack situation. (And my 20% would then be off - oops).

Still since when is something that is necessary for the function of the board an "accessory"?

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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by Beerfan » Sat Dec 03, 2016 2:08 pm

How many sets of fins do you need though really?. Only use greenough for singles and 2+1, the surfinz quad, and have pc7 thruster, for when I'll never know



And then there's the 10" dolphin just in case for the 9'2", and the twinnies, and the..... Etc!

Don't need half of them really haha

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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by Beanpole » Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:29 pm

When I got my recentish quad I just took the Al Merrick ones off the fishcuit and stuck them on thinking Id probably buy another set later. Occasionally look for something but they seem to go great. The big fins are very sharp. I remember when I first started using the fishcuit I cut my feet up pretty well a couple of times.
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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by Davros » Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:33 pm

Straighthanded wrote:
alakaboo wrote:If people paid a decent price for boards they'd still get fins for free.
You want a handshape for $600 you have to pony up for the accessories.
True enough. Thinking more the $900 off the rack situation. (And my 20% would then be off - oops).

Still since when is something that is necessary for the function of the board an "accessory"?
I agree, I think boards should be 1200-1300 dollars

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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by Cranked » Sat Dec 03, 2016 10:20 pm

Davros wrote:
Womble wrote:I posted this some time back. Its a study on the difference between layered fibreglass and Injection moulded composite fins. Interesting reading if you have the time and inclination.

http://www.ewp.rpi.edu/hartford/~ernest ... Report.pdf
Read it, thanks. Has the author been assassinated by FCS or Futures?
Great article Womble. Conclusion was that there was very little difference, which is what I've always thought.

One thing though, I only surf reefs and the moulded fins handle contact with the reef much better than glass fins.

And another thing, a lot of glass fins have knife thin trailing edges which are just an accident waiting to happen. I always sand them down, but some are so fine that it doesn't make much difference.
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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by Cranked » Sat Dec 03, 2016 10:33 pm

I also have a set of those black Futures fins that seem to be made out of some sort of ceramic material, man they are stiff. They clunk together like they are made out of some weird metal.

They have a hatchet rear, concave inside foil, and a sudden change in cant about half way up the fins. Great set of fins, super loose but with great hold. A little down on drive though.
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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by black duck » Sun Dec 04, 2016 12:12 am

Fcukin fins. You guys. Jesus.
I would bet a blind test would prove a set of $30 plastic fins would be as good as any fin you knobs rave on about.
All the refinement you talk about is a crock, a placebo, a belief that bears no relation to the actual performance.
Unless you're all pro surfers???
But like Wombleden says, it's fully sick.
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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by jimmy » Sun Dec 04, 2016 12:55 am

I hate the concept of fin wankery and always used to use plastic fins supplied with my boards. However I used a set of fibreglass ones and my life changed for the better. They had more bite and response off the bottom. Good fins make a difference.

http://www.jimbanksurf.com/blog
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Actually, that’s interesting. Take note, beanpole

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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by Beerfan » Sun Dec 04, 2016 8:55 am

black duck wrote:Fcukin fins. You guys. Jesus.
I would bet a blind test would prove a set of $30 plastic fins would be as good as any fin you knobs rave on about.
All the refinement you talk about is a crock, a placebo, a belief that bears no relation to the actual performance.
Unless you're all pro surfers???
But like Wombleden says, it's fully sick.
I'm not going to argue there mate. I like stiff fins but if the shape is similar I wouldn't pick them.

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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by Davros » Sun Dec 04, 2016 9:11 am

I have these bamoo based fins that I hated as they felt like dough until I put them on a subnosed rocket with a giant single concave that was lightening, I had a set of Nat Youngs on it prior and it was just way to fast and skatey for me, the bamboo set gave me more control. So I guess, yeh, bit of trial and error.

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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by alakaboo » Sun Dec 04, 2016 9:33 am

Cranked wrote:Great set of fins, super loose but with great hold. A little down on drive though.
What does that mean? What is hold?
They have a short base, and are fairly upright?

Duck you may not notice the difference from the material but if you change the template to better match the board or your style you will definitely notice. So it may not be the material, just that the new ones are more likely to be glass.

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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by Beanpole » Sun Dec 04, 2016 12:58 pm

Single fins I reckon I have a handle on as far as differences go.
Thrusters: not really,
quads: way too complicated.
I'm not up for spending the amount of money needed to find a set that works unless the current ones are total crap.
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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by Davros » Sun Dec 04, 2016 1:04 pm

Singles, flex tips for mid lengths. That's my knowledge boundary

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Re: Twin fins as go-to boards

Post by Cranked » Sun Dec 04, 2016 1:50 pm

alakaboo wrote:
Cranked wrote:Great set of fins, super loose but with great hold. A little down on drive though.
What does that mean? What is hold?
They have a short base, and are fairly upright?
By "loose" I mean easier to:
1. initiate a turn
2. change the arc of a turn
3. stop the turn and change rails

By "hold" I mean the water adheres to the fins, laminar flow does not fail causing spin out.

A twin fin is loose but does not have good hold. You can make a thruster looser by using smaller fins but you'll lose drive and hold.

These fins enable looseness with good drive and hold. I'm pretty sure any reasonable surfer would agree if he tried them.

How is it done? The hatchet rear means that, when compared to a dolphin profile fin, there is a lot more fin area in the water when the board is on the rail. Also the leading edge has a radius of about a quarter of an inch which promotes laminar adhesion at much greater angles of attack.

The sudden change in the cant of the front fins means that the top half of the fin sits deeper and more vertically in the water when on a rail and thus provides more resistence to rear foot pressure and at the same time is easier to pivot around.

I've been using these fins for about 10 years. If I want to change a boards performance to be looser but with good hold and reasonable drive I put them in.

Initially I saw them for sale, $150 down to $75. I thought they looked really stupid, but I googled and found out they were designed by one of the really great fin makers (whose name I forget atm), so I went back and bought them. I liked them so much I bought a second set about a year or so later as they were pretty rare.
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