Fins also called skegs are the engine under water, boards are the engine on the water and the sail over the water. Fins are a key element in the entire equation that were ignored in the early days of the longboard. They used to have a U.S. box connection where the placement of the fin was slightly adjustable. Those connections are also called Chinook or A-box. Now most fins go into the tuttle or power box one way and one position.
There are giant formula fins like in this image. Rarely have I seen such flex or asymmetry on land...Other fin types are free-ride, slalom/free-race, weed, wave, bump n jump and freestyle. Perhaps I missed some ? What sets types apart ? The obvious factor is length and is often cited as the measuring stick. Fins or foils as I like to call em have MUCH more character than that !! There are factors such as width {top and base}, area, thickness, rake (angle of attack) and material (carbon, G10, etc) which affects flex and stiffness. Just recently discovered that Fanatic boards use GFK fins. What's that? Craig Gerntenbach of Fanatic informs me these are just "moulded polyester fins, with good twist characteristics". Length and shape together make up the type of fin more than anything quickly visible.
What are the fin "parts" really called ? check here: http://www.vmgblades.com/learn/fin-parts/
Oh yeah! They come in ALL shapes n sizes.
In the past people changed sails to change things up. Now people are realizing the fin is just as important. Personally have one fin for each sail. Cannot be bothered having more than one weed fin, but this may become a factor when I get into the smaller sail sizes...
Surprisingly the 7 or 8 degree angle or rake on the race 53 and the slalom 40 do not seem that different !! The weed fin seems to have a rake of about 40 degrees. Some are advertised at 45 degrees for extreme weeds.
In 2011 I lost my Select 47 cm weed fin in the local river. This had to be partly my fault for not tightening the one screw enough and the river for being low, causing me to hit rocks . Early 2012 I purchased a new Makani Hahalua 43 cm weed fin - pictured here:
This weed fin is supposed to be good for sails from 7.0 m² to 8-oh. Helmut has a True Ames weed fin of 43 cm which is good for 6-oh to 7-oh. The Makani fin has a larger chord than the True Ames. I also call this the width since we measure the depth at 90 degrees to the base/board. The Makani is actually of a longer chord/wider than the lost longer Select weed fin by half a cm !!! The rake or angle looks about the same between those two(2) weed fins.
The longer Select weed fin was purchased to cover sails from 8-oh to 10-oh on the 79 cm wide short board. With time I have decided to use the Fanatic Ultra CAT in lighter winds with 8-oh and 10-oh. The 79 cm board will only be used with 7-oh to 8-oh.
Even though it is winter, I HAD to try the fin on my 160 liter / 79 cm AHD FastForward short board:
Since I am NOT planning to use the 10-oh on the short boards, perhaps I should sell this fin ?? Will try! SOLD it in 2012 after I purchased a BIC Techno Formula with which I use a True Ames Santa Barbara/SB 58 cm weed fin and a Select Race 66 cm fin with the MS-2 8-oh and TR-4 10-oh respectively.
Forgot to analyze the MFC 42 cm fin that came with the Fanatic BEE. I exchanged it for the 48 cm Select Freeblade before even trying the MFC. The other fellow {MAX} purchased a Hawk and was used to a more powerful MFC fin - I am used to Select fins ... Here I put the 40 cm on top of the 48 cm and what I found interesting is: the TE/trailing edge is the same and NOT the LE/leading edge. See the photo:
Our goal is to make the worlds best fins for racing and ensure that they are available at reasonable cost and in a reasonable time frame. Its important to us to encourage new and junior racers to participate in formula and slalom racing.
Check Waterhound for the latest news on the success of the BB and other F4 Fins in the San Francisco Racing Fleet
WHY WE/they ARE DIFFERENT
WHY OUR FINS ARE DIFFERENT
An F4 Fin utilizes an advanced composite layup that provides a softer feel, enabling greater control in a wider range of conditions. Our advanced composite design produces a consistent, responsive and longer-lasting fin with soft lateral and stiff torsional flex as compared to other formula fins. We have found that this softer feel, combined with a bullet-proof layup, gives you a fin with the optimal speed and control which makes the rest of your kit work more effortlessly. Call us prejudiced, but we've seen it all too often: racers spend too much on boards and sails, and treat the fin as an afterthought, when the fin can be the single most important component in a racer's arsenal. It's why some professional racers hold onto and baby "special" fins even as they move from one board or sail sponsor to another.
OUR MISSION
Our goal is to make the worlds best fins for racing and ensure that they are available at reasonable cost and in a reasonable time frame. We believe that this is important for the the sport and for the enjoyment of all competitors. One of our primary goals to to support junior racers. We believe that making the right fins and equipment available to juniors will help toincrease the total level of participation and overall interest in our sport. "
What are the fin "parts" really called ? check here: http://www.vmgblades.com/learn/fin-parts/
Oh yeah! They come in ALL shapes n sizes.
The most bizarre is the hydrofoil.
See in this video, just how much fins actually "flex" while in the water:
Just as sails have ideal wind ranges, so do fins... In other words it is important to match board, sail and fin for the conditions and the type of sailing one is about to do. I call this aligning the engines :-)
Lately wave sailors have been using boards with two (2) and even four (4) fins. So, once again we are off to new horizons :-) Locally I have NOT seen any dual or quad fin setups and personally know just enuff about the single fin. Suggest you look elsewhere if u r lookin 4 info on dual or quad fins - sorry mate. However, here is an interesting discussion on quad setups by Keith Teboul:
Last year, 2010, the water was extraordinarily low here and as such, there were many board and fin repairs in the area. My fins took a beating and I like to try n fix my stuff myself. Fin repair happens in the off-season, but this was the first year where a light sanding was NOT enough. After searching the web and writing on a few forums, I tried and like Marine-Tex. Bit of a pain to apply and one must discover the trick of sanding it wet. This makes me wonder, will it be susceptible to damage when wet ? :-) time will tell...
Personally have a long 53 straight up race stiff fin for my 10-oh sail. The 47 weed fin does well for the 8.5 and gets used for the 10-oh as well. A 40 cm slalom fin is my ticket to fun with my 7-oh. Fin suppliers now have charts for sailors to choose fins. Nowadays board width is a factor in fin selection as well. My personal fin favorites are Select Fins - they are known to whistle at high speeds - just sand one side of the back edge of the fin. Custom Fins exist that are very specialized -- like the Black Projects Fins which has specs like 40, 45 or 50 knots !!!! Wolfgang Lessacher makes world renowned fins and will ship. Check http://www.designlessacher.com Unfortunately molds were sold to StarBoard, some madame ran the show and now it seems defunct.
In the past people changed sails to change things up. Now people are realizing the fin is just as important. Personally have one fin for each sail. Cannot be bothered having more than one weed fin, but this may become a factor when I get into the smaller sail sizes...
Here's a picture from the WindSurf Magazine of July 2002 giving a fin overview. As you can see, there are lots of shapes and sizes, all with their special purpose and special function(s)...
Believe the following chart was taken from the Select Hydrofoils website showing relationship between board width, fin sizes and sail sizes:
For my 80 cm wide board the following formula seems to work me to get fin sizing -- Fin Length = 8 times the sail size minus 16 :)
Here's a couple of pics showing the "rake" on the fins, straight up n down 53 cm race vs 47 cm weed vs 40 cm slalom:
Surprisingly the 7 or 8 degree angle or rake on the race 53 and the slalom 40 do not seem that different !! The weed fin seems to have a rake of about 40 degrees. Some are advertised at 45 degrees for extreme weeds.
In 2011 I lost my Select 47 cm weed fin in the local river. This had to be partly my fault for not tightening the one screw enough and the river for being low, causing me to hit rocks . Early 2012 I purchased a new Makani Hahalua 43 cm weed fin - pictured here:
This weed fin is supposed to be good for sails from 7.0 m² to 8-oh. Helmut has a True Ames weed fin of 43 cm which is good for 6-oh to 7-oh. The Makani fin has a larger chord than the True Ames. I also call this the width since we measure the depth at 90 degrees to the base/board. The Makani is actually of a longer chord/wider than the lost longer Select weed fin by half a cm !!! The rake or angle looks about the same between those two(2) weed fins.
The longer Select weed fin was purchased to cover sails from 8-oh to 10-oh on the 79 cm wide short board. With time I have decided to use the Fanatic Ultra CAT in lighter winds with 8-oh and 10-oh. The 79 cm board will only be used with 7-oh to 8-oh.
Even though it is winter, I HAD to try the fin on my 160 liter / 79 cm AHD FastForward short board:
Now my fin quiver is as follows:
40 cm Select Slalom fin with sails 7-oh and down,
43 cm Makani Hahalua weed fin for 7-oh and 8-oh,
48 cm Select Freeblade fin for 8-oh and
53 cm Select SuperFast race fin for the 79 cm board and 10-oh race sail.
Since I am NOT planning to use the 10-oh on the short boards, perhaps I should sell this fin ?? Will try! SOLD it in 2012 after I purchased a BIC Techno Formula with which I use a True Ames Santa Barbara/SB 58 cm weed fin and a Select Race 66 cm fin with the MS-2 8-oh and TR-4 10-oh respectively.
The weed fin was selected based on the 79 cm wide AHD. Also plan to use it on the 63 cm wide Fanatic BEE 124. Ideally that combo should be with a 38 or even 33 cm weed fin. However, since I do not need the weed fin all summer longer, hardly ever sail the BEE and have NO $$$, this setup will do :-)
Forgot to analyze the MFC 42 cm fin that came with the Fanatic BEE. I exchanged it for the 48 cm Select Freeblade before even trying the MFC. The other fellow {MAX} purchased a Hawk and was used to a more powerful MFC fin - I am used to Select fins ... Here I put the 40 cm on top of the 48 cm and what I found interesting is: the TE/trailing edge is the same and NOT the LE/leading edge. See the photo:
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| {tail end is at the left} |
Just found an article in the July 2006 Windsurf Magazine with Gonzalo Costa Hoevel. He calls choosing fins a 3 step system. Step one is about board analysis. Ironically he says to put planing fins on the faster boards and faster fins on the early planing boards. He says the early planers have straighter outlines and need fast fins with some rake, small tip area and less flex or more stiff. The faster boards are "rounder" and he suggests power fins or early planers. These fins have less rake/angle (more straight up n down), more area in the tip and softer flex. The video of the fin above and the formula bent fin for me seem to exhibit a lot of flex. Step two for Gonzalo is assessing your goal and step three is knowing your fins. He says the softer fin gives more "kick" or "lift". Upright means planing AND upwind control - like a keel. The profile or thickness plays a factor as well. He states "A fin with a thicker foil gives you more power, upwind angle, but sacrifices top speed. A thinner foil gives you better top speed, butt in lighter winds you lose early planing and upwind angle. A fin that has the thickest point of its foil forward creates a smoother, more controlled riding sensation. Moving the foil back gives you more speed, but it's a more technical-riding fin - especially when going upwind." He also mentions that people overlook area of a fin and compares this to only analyzing sails based on luff length !! Here is a video that covers some areas regarding windsurf fin physics. They actually are saying that at over 40 knots pressures cause water to boil at room temperature !!
Fins are usually made with hi-tech components and are precise pieces of equipment. As such, they do NOT give them away. I have about one fin per sail and they are about $200 each. Some people also have overlap since they may require weed fin(s). Used fins are closer to $100 each and can easily be repaired with Marine-Tex. Just remember to sand wet. Here's a good link with everything you wanted to know about fins, butt were afraid 2 ask:
Wrote to Roger Jackson of Starboard about undersizing fins and this is what he said:
Hi Joe,
You are underfinned if when you reach top speed and "push" laterally across the top of the fin it lets go and spins out.
My personal "rule of thumb" for fin length is the fin has to be greater than 1/2 the board width or OFO width.
The wider the board and the greater the footstrap off set, the more the 1/2 board width applies.
On a Futura or other freeride board with inboard and outboard footstrap positions, you can generally run a smaller fin (perhaps < 1/2 the OFO width) with the footstraps in the closer to centered positions.
The smaller fin (or underfinned) also depends alot on sail size and overall board speed.
I have really tiny (<25 cm) speed fins that are great if you can head off wind and get them up to > 25 knots board speed.
At 30 knots + board speed they are solid as a rock, but if you have conditions where you can't get them up to speed, you can push them loose any time you like if your speed is < what it takes for these tiny fins to "hook up" and stay hooked up.
Hope this helps,
Roger
You are underfinned if when you reach top speed and "push" laterally across the top of the fin it lets go and spins out.
My personal "rule of thumb" for fin length is the fin has to be greater than 1/2 the board width or OFO width.
The wider the board and the greater the footstrap off set, the more the 1/2 board width applies.
On a Futura or other freeride board with inboard and outboard footstrap positions, you can generally run a smaller fin (perhaps < 1/2 the OFO width) with the footstraps in the closer to centered positions.
The smaller fin (or underfinned) also depends alot on sail size and overall board speed.
I have really tiny (<25 cm) speed fins that are great if you can head off wind and get them up to > 25 knots board speed.
At 30 knots + board speed they are solid as a rock, but if you have conditions where you can't get them up to speed, you can push them loose any time you like if your speed is < what it takes for these tiny fins to "hook up" and stay hooked up.
Hope this helps,
Roger
What are F4 fins?
http://www.f4fins.com/f4company.htm
FINS DEVELOPED BY RACERS FOR RACERS"F4 Fins was started by avid formula windsurfing racers in the San Francisco Bay because good racing fins had become either too expensive or unobtainable. The wind and water conditions, as well as the experienced racing fleet in the San Francisco Bay, provide the ideal proving grounds for developing the next generation racing fins. With help from Boogie of C3 on the design and manufacturing, combined with daily testing in the Bay waters, refinements can be quickly incorporated, resulting in an improved and constantly evolving product. After nearly a three years of effort, F4 fins are proving to be the winner's choice.
http://www.f4fins.com/f4company.htm
FINS DEVELOPED BY RACERS FOR RACERS"F4 Fins was started by avid formula windsurfing racers in the San Francisco Bay because good racing fins had become either too expensive or unobtainable. The wind and water conditions, as well as the experienced racing fleet in the San Francisco Bay, provide the ideal proving grounds for developing the next generation racing fins. With help from Boogie of C3 on the design and manufacturing, combined with daily testing in the Bay waters, refinements can be quickly incorporated, resulting in an improved and constantly evolving product. After nearly a three years of effort, F4 fins are proving to be the winner's choice.
Our goal is to make the worlds best fins for racing and ensure that they are available at reasonable cost and in a reasonable time frame. Its important to us to encourage new and junior racers to participate in formula and slalom racing.
Check Waterhound for the latest news on the success of the BB and other F4 Fins in the San Francisco Racing Fleet
WHY WE/they ARE DIFFERENT
We are racers just like you who simply want the best fins at a reasonable price in a reasonable time. The key to our success is the local racers who are sailing and testing EVERY day during our season, from early March to late October. This allows us to deliver a fin that is build with the combined knowledge and feedback from one of the most competitive fleets in the world.
WHY OUR FINS ARE DIFFERENT
An F4 Fin utilizes an advanced composite layup that provides a softer feel, enabling greater control in a wider range of conditions. Our advanced composite design produces a consistent, responsive and longer-lasting fin with soft lateral and stiff torsional flex as compared to other formula fins. We have found that this softer feel, combined with a bullet-proof layup, gives you a fin with the optimal speed and control which makes the rest of your kit work more effortlessly. Call us prejudiced, but we've seen it all too often: racers spend too much on boards and sails, and treat the fin as an afterthought, when the fin can be the single most important component in a racer's arsenal. It's why some professional racers hold onto and baby "special" fins even as they move from one board or sail sponsor to another.
OUR MISSION
Our goal is to make the worlds best fins for racing and ensure that they are available at reasonable cost and in a reasonable time frame. We believe that this is important for the the sport and for the enjoyment of all competitors. One of our primary goals to to support junior racers. We believe that making the right fins and equipment available to juniors will help toincrease the total level of participation and overall interest in our sport. "
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