fore skins

[mustkillmulloway]

opps...meant four fins :?

i've been trying out this new fin system http://www.4wfs.com

i'm really sold on the system tho i think i have found one draw back

is anyone else riding it? how do you find it?

this fin system will work in anyboard i guess, just posted it in shortys cause it's the system in my new 6'3

this is quote from the site

Need some scientific proof? In a mayor study undertaken by the Department of Engineering at Melbourne University in late 2009 it was conclusively shown that fine tuning toe angles improves both lift and responsiveness by as much as 20%! And that's before the scientists even had a chance to test the effects of splay or lateral adjustment. Why be locked into a board that doesn't offer these benefits?

[alakaboo]

think huie's done a few boards with them. anything but fcs for him...

Shearer might have ridden one? If you can still find him.

Makes sense that it would work, but I'm still figuring out what different templates and materials do, i think my head'd explode if I was trying to think about all the factors at once.

[pridmore]

and you know more than most, alot of surfers dont need to be able to fine tune their fins that much, and they dont know what does what anyway, so its a waste, and overkill on alot of surfers...lots of possibilities for the knowledgeable surfer willing to spend the time and work it all out...but just changing fins in standard plugs doesnt happen for alot of guys, they just surf the board with whats in it...some change and swap but not nearly as many as I would have thought with the ease and options available....good idea just dont think most surfers have the knowledge or would be bothered with it,
wasnt that long ago when fins were glassed in and we just rode it, got used to it and adapted to make it work....dont mean to bag this product, it'd be great if you are into fine tuning your fins as much as possible ......

[Deesee]

Yep Prid's, I never cared much for fins until i started surfing with a bloke (respected shaper), and listened, as well as used some different types, and believe me, i'm a convert into fin technology and like a true nerd, i've been studying up all sorts of info and using different combo's in all conditions. Hopefully this can cut down the number of boards in a quiver as different fin combo's can enhance 1 board for many conditions. I'm only using FCS types BTW.

On my quad, i was using a standard M5 with GX rears (plastic GF ones), and although performing to a respectable standard, after borrowing a mate's K2.1 PC quad set for a session, i was gob smacked int he difference. Speed, hold, turning all improved for me and hitting the lip / pocket was controlled and effortless and way faster - bought a set on the way home that day. Started mixing the K2.1's with with GF's inn all different combo's and still kept coming back to the K2.1 full set for all quad riding sessions.

Now, my thruster shortboard took a bit more time to sort out, but once i found the combo i liked, i'm now frothing on it and have neglected the quad for over a month! I tried all types of templates and constructions (time and dollars consuming), to go with a set up which was already available to me before i started experimenting - K2.1's in the side an either GF (plastic), M5 or M3 in the rear (not the PC or or PG one's). This works for me, my style and the board i ride in mush, walls, and hollow (scored my 2 best barrels ever this summer down south and it sincerely credit experiments with fins for the experience) - my surfing is the best it's ever been. My mates are using different set ups which suit them (thank christ as i could palm off the one's i bought to get some cash back). I'm really into reading other experiences re fins - eye opening.

[alakaboo]

and you know more than most

doubt it!

same as deesee, I only really started to get into it when I got a board from a shaper (Huie) who was keen to try out some new tech and some different templates

only problem now is that I don't get a lot of time to surf, so when I do I don't want to spend the time changing fins. I decided that I try each set 3 times in whatever is around, then try something different. slowly narrowing down the options. Got my good wave set pretty sussed, trying to see how small I can go on the fins when the waves are small.

Haven't ridden thrusters all that much, and all the time I spent learning about single fins and 2+1s doesn't translate all that well to quads.

[mustkillmulloway]

maybe mark...i dunno

but i'm finding moving my fins toe in's has a amazing effect on performance and i haven't even started with cant

i'm a average surfer...but this is a alot fun...and opens up being able ride the same little fish type board in bigger waves just by a bit adjustment in toe

i don't have fork out $$$$ for more fins...i can tune the board into small or big waves with a allen key

we have go for a surf so u can check my newie out....i'm in love

[Cpt.Caveman]

I too am a fin-change addict... I am very picky with my fins and have done a lot of experimenting to understand how changes in the fin template will get the feel that I want in a board.

I would be super keen to try out an adjustable system so that I can fine-tune the cant and toe to get the best lift. I mean different fins have different levels of cant for example, but what if you don't like the feel of that amount of cant but you love the template?

On a side note, I tried a couple of waves of the H3-nexus fins on a typical 6'1" HPS thruster and they were pretty impressive. Hard to tell how different it would have been with different fins, but I couldn't find much wrong with the feel and drive...

[pridmore]

we are all diffent, I tried em in a board and didnt like them, but this board has a bit of tail rocker and a diamond tail too, so it needs a bit more fin, bit more drive, will try em in a normal board...oh no, I cant coz I dont have a normal thruster.....maybe try em as front fins in a quaddy.....I like the way they look and should go well in right board.....NC had a set when we last chatted and he seemed to think they wee ok...but tail rocker was flatter in his sled too.....upright templates and highly tail rockered boards dont suit surfers who want alot of drive and down the line projection.....

[Beerfan]

I love fin swapping. Sometimes i can't pick a difference, but other times, a light will go on. My problem is swapping too much haha, then i get confused!!.


I've used all sorts of fins in this. My fave was MR style twins up front, and tiny one tab fins in the front most plug ( of the original Mckee rear fin plugs ). I did this to try out the "edge" quad vs "Mckee" setup. I dont surf this that much though, i prefer it for good hollow waves, but mostly surf small average beachies. Last week i took it out in some shallow shorebreaks with the original M5 M3 setup in the Mckee positions, went well. I'd still like to try it in some clean hollow waves with front two fin positions, but huiey doesnt take orders!

I think surfing my 5'8'' has helped me to surf a bit more with my backfoot ( no choice, its too short! ), so going back to this board and setup feels easy to get used to.

It's all fun anyway.

[Beerfan]

MKM, my pacman board has no toe at all, and i think this was a mistake, its hard to describe why, and its a very fun board, but i dont think i'd do a board without toe again. I think toe is important, and not just for walking!.

[Cpt.Caveman]

NC had a set when we last chatted and he seemed to think they wee ok...but tail rocker was flatter in his sled too.....upright templates and highly tail rockered boards dont suit surfers who want alot of drive and down the line projection.....

Made me think, its all about complimenting the board in the end isn't it...

Complimenting what the board is offering and getting that balance of pivot and projection...

Bloody fins, so complicated!

[alakaboo]

I think surfing my 5'8'' has helped me to surf a bit more with my backfoot ( no choice, its too short! )

funny, i started surfing shorter boards for exactly the opposite reason. I learnt on longboards and was used to weighting the back foot too much. moving onto flatter, shorter boards made me balance out my stance a bit, meaning i like the boards with more normal rocker much more these days.
hope that made sense...

captain, you seem to take fin obsession to a new level. on a serious note, do you think your enjoyment of surfing suffers? i've often wondered if people who are both good enough and aware enough to be able to feel the difference in slight differences in fin actually enjoy their surfing as much as people like me, who hardly notice anything!

[Cpt.Caveman]

captain, you seem to take fin obsession to a new level. on a serious note, do you think your enjoyment of surfing suffers? i've often wondered if people who are both good enough and aware enough to be able to feel the difference in slight differences in fin actually enjoy their surfing as much as people like me, who hardly notice anything!

I don't think it suffers at all. I love to test out all sorts of things to understand why things work one way and not the other, not just in surfing only.

If I ride a board and think it needs to pivot better, or I need more tail release, or I want to squeeze more drive, I have a very good idea of what fins will do that. It may mean one or two surfs where I'm thinking "this isn't right...I need xyz fin...". The first surf when I get it just right is amazing, like a whole new board all over again with new lines to take around the wave.

[alakaboo]

good answer.

this is my goal:

have a very good idea of what fins will do that

but I'm just starting on this journey.

though you're a good guinea pig, thanks!
my understanding is massively accelerated by discussions with shapers and forums like this.

[alakaboo]

i'm really sold on the system tho i think i have found one draw back

which is?

[matt...]

i change fins too.

i use 3 boards regularly & use 3 types of fins: K2.1, M5 & K3 glass.

i can get 9 different combinations that directly relate to size of wave, drive, manoevrability, strength of swell (or lack of) & surface conditions: choppy, clean, etc.
my surfing benefits from this choice, but in getting to this stage the trial & error was sometimes inconvenient. like trying to drive hard off the bottom of a solid wave with K2.1s in a shortboard, only to find the tail spinning out & faceplanting, then the lip cracking me in the back - must have looked hilarious!

another time in a solid groundswell in may, laying a full rail cutty with the same fins & losing it. wouldn't have happened with the K3s or M5s. the M5s flex feedback, whereas the k3s are for the bigger more solid stuff and just stay firm.

[pridmore]

the journey of learning about fins is a ripper and never ends....I am playing with some new stuff atm, not always what you would expect either, change one variable with a fin and I want to alter something with the shape, or change boards and then I want another set of fins, or maybe just modify the template slightly, or adjust the placement a bit...and maybe a bit more flex...it never ends but what it does is gives you a better knowledge to blend all the bits togather to compliment each other for the desired result......bla bla bla....

[bumfluff]

I'm a helmet if that helps Fong..