7'7 retro single fin

[jaffa1949]

Could slightly over finned for a 7'7" but definitely worth the experiment . Let us know how it goes. Post your fun results

[Big H]

Could slightly over finned for a 7'7" but definitely worth the experiment . Let us know how it goes. Post your fun results

Hugo, I want to hear your results as well....never mind the poor conditions; get out there and surf that beauty!

I keep changing; 9" fin was too much for what I was surfing in....tried an 8" with a wider base today and did not slide out but the waves were not powerful a frames like the other day....crumbly onshore lumpy bumpy choppy slop more like it though it was head high slop....this board is making me pay more attention to technique....I was sliding out in part because I was not setting the rail properly....attention to detail and the last few days I've been going back over basics....I feel like this board is easier and harder at the same time if that makes sense, but it's definitely making me pay attention to technique and I'm sure I'll be the better for it.

....and it goes in everything!!!

[benjl]

but I don't like the fat tail of the board... and so fat front skinny tail is likely to be my next experiment! .[/i]

So basically time to get a big Hypto Krypto? Perhaps a 6'8 torq? Saying that, my 7'2 torq felt gigantic and like a tanker yesterday after riding my 5'8 vader recently.

Big H, how do single fins ride compared with thrusters? Hold, pivot, speed?

[Big H]

Check this out Benji....

http://www.surfermag.com/blogs/design-f ... 6tjV6FW.97


This guy talks about modern hybrids being like classic designs at the 8:46 mark...

I've been watching youtube and reading articles trying to figure out the differences myself so I can surf the board better....like I mentioned, first time out I was sliding the tail out non stop....I'm understanding now it was not the power of the surf but the lines I was taking....can't ride it like a thruster or quad which is what I've been on pretty much exclusively for the last month and a half....so I'm wrapping my head around the ideas intellectually and it's starting to come out in the surf but what they say is spot on in that in good waves you have to drop down and make a bottom turn and that turn needs to be good with good body position....knock that out and the wave opens up, but you can't do a quick stutter top turn pump on jump up like on a thruster or quad....tail goes right out....been humming lately while in the water, rhythm of music seems to help my flow.....

...hold and pivot? Different....like the vid says you have to go with the wave rather than where you want to go, turns are drawn out and you can't cheat as easily; have to draw clean lines.....

Speed? What do you think a flat rockered 7' board that's 3+" thick with only one fin creating drag is going to do when given an open face to run down?

[oldmansurfer]

Yeah BigH guys used to get clobbered by the lip all the time with single fins......but I hear that that still happens with multiple fin boards at the same breaks. I used to do the side slipping bottom turn to keep from getting clobbered by the lip. It took me more than a couple years to get over the reflex of trying to sideslip the takeoff. Now I do an ankle turn at the top so I don't get into the trough and get hit by the lip. Interesting video BigH thanks for posting

[waikikikichan]

Reminds me of the trend in mountain biking. No suspension no gears. Just a rigid frame and fork with only a single speed. Riders are getting back to the basics and learning how to ride. Not just using 6 inches of full suspension travel to roll over anything. Single fins really help you learn where to be and what to do. If not it will let you know.

[benjl]

"So radical mann"

Can't imagine they would be much fun on a heavy close out beach break with walls of whitewash!

[Big H]

"So radical mann"

Can't imagine they would be much fun on a heavy close out beach break with walls of whitewash!

Hah....would take more than a magic board to make those conditions fun.

4-6ft faces yesterday, 5-7ft today (5.5ft swell at 15sec)....looking forward to having some decent size today. Actually, a funny thing about the whitewash....on this board with the weight it is similar to a longboard in terms of ramming speed inertia, only that the nose is pointed so punching through whitewash and crumbling waves is actually not that big a deal as long as you keep paddling.

[benjl]

You my friend need to try a FireWire Vader! I think you'd love one. I can guarantee that it looks as out of place in the line up as a 70's single fin

[Big H]

Maybe a Vader would make the 5-7ft beach break closeout with walls of whitewater that you managed to jinx me with that I faced this afternoon more fun than it was.

[Naeco78]

...hold and pivot? Different....like the vid says you have to go with the wave rather than where you want to go, turns are drawn out and you can't cheat as easily; have to draw clean lines.....

Speed? What do you think a flat rockered 7' board that's 3+" thick with only one fin creating drag is going to do when given an open face to run down?

Thanks for all the great info in this thread. It answered lots of the questions I've been thinking about since I picked up a Vintage single fin recently. I'm hoping to learn how to surf more connected with the flow of the wave. Sounds like the single fin might be exactly what I've been looking for.

I'm still restoring the board at this point and hoping to have it all set for spring. Looks like someone tried to use Marine Epoxy to make some repairs back in the day. Hopefully I can restore it enough to not distract from the original airbrush work. Has a little bit of 70's nostalgia to it . Here's a look..