Fin positions

[derbyshire surfer]

Hi all,

getting on great with my 7'6 flying carpet, but I only get to surf about every two weeks.

My question is: The guy who shaped my board said to try different fin postitions. It has a large centre fin and two sidebiters, I took the sidebiters off in the week but it felt a bit unstable when sitting on etc. Seemed to go fine on take off, got down the line no prblem with just the centre fin, is it better to have the centre fin further forward or more towards the tail? Do you think in your expereinces it's better to ride with all 3 fins or just the centre fin?

Is it worth investing in a larger longboard fin? Just for fun could a board like this be ridden with just the sidebiters? Would try all the above but don't get to surf that much so generally just use all three fins with the the centre fin in the middle of the box.

Cheers for any advice

p.s if it helps it's 7'6" x 22.75" wide 3" thick with a 15" tail and 18" nose.

[Hang11]

Fins are a mystery. I've got a quiver of the things, and love playing around with them, and they can make so much difference to the way a board goes and then that all depends on the waves, board and how you are surfing, there's just so many variables, size, number, shape, flex, position, it gets confusing.

But generally, moving the centre fin back will make the board more drivey through turns, but harder to turn, further forward gives you a bit of sideways movement in the tail without needing to stick it on a rail so much.

You kind of need to keep the same fin area between a single or 2 + 1 setup, so a bigger single fin would be worth trying if you take the side bites out, but then a small single fin will slow it down in trim, but loosen it up.

The size of the fin area also depends on the width of the tail - more width = more fin area

But to be honest, it's best just to try loads of different fin setups, sizes, shapes, positioning, and see what you like.

Also, think about the flex of the fin, especially the centre - it can make loads of difference to the way a board goes - I love using a thin flexible in the tip, swept back fin on a longboard, makes it really snappy coming out of turns as it releases. But then big barn door fins are fun in small waves, because you can really push off them in a turn.

D

[kitesurfer]

Also bigger than what? What size centre fin are you already using? You mention already that it is large!


KS

[tomcat360]

On smaller days I like taking out the center fin and then sliding out the tail--mucho fun!!!

It also teaches you how to be very exact with your weight on the rail so you don't slide it out, unless you want to!

[Driftingalong]

In your case I would probably leave the side bites in. If you take them out, then you would probably need a different center fin.

In short...
Move the fin back toward tail...more stable, harder to turn.
Move the fin forward toward nose...less stable (looser), easier to turn.

Since you've been surfing with it in the middle, try moving it all the way back for awhile. Then move it all the way forward for awhile. If you forget what it felt like in the middle put back in the middle for awhile.
What did you like about each position. What didn't you like. Adjust accordingly. Maybe you'll want to try it half way back.
This will probably be most beneficial if you can surf similar sized waves in similar conditions. And "for awhile" can depend on how many waves you're riding.

Then you may realize that you want to change the position depending on the wave size. Such as...toward the back on bigger waves and toward the front on smaller waves...

[derbyshire surfer]

Cheers for advice everyone....looking forward to getting 'back out', maybe wednesday swell depending.

[northswell]

Friday looks the day East side. Might be over late Thurs and early Friday if the spectrals stay the same. Early days yet but there will be a wave.