Surfing Waves

Ok so i have a 9'6 square tail. Im 6'4 225 lbs and and am starting to walk up the board. Im needing a new fin cause the one that came with the board is a little out of shape from hitting the beach it looks like. What would be a good fin that will hold the tail down and slow the board enough to let me hang yet be there to allow me to cut back and not slug a turn?

Get a 10" hatchet fin.

Oh man, the only time I can noise ride is literally with my nose when I fall flat on my face or my back.

Big H wrote:Get a 10" hatchet fin.

I thought a hatchet is more of a actually hatchet/axe shape?

Mohawk918 wrote:What would be a good fin that will hold the tail down

Try this experiment: hold a fin straight up and down Vertically under the water. If you're not at the beach you can do this in the bath tub with your hand acting as a fin ( fingers pointed down ). Now pull the fin ( or your hand ) straight up quickly. Hardly any resistance yeah ? Now hold the fin on it's side Horizontally ( or hand with palm facing upwards ). Now pull it up quickly. Way more resistance.

The fin DOES NOT hold the tail down. The lip of the wave breaking over the tail, locks it down.

Try many fins, standard, flex, hatchet, nuuhiwa, boomerang, greenough, lot of rake, less rake. Some people like a fat tip, I like a thin tip. See what YOU like and works for YOU and your type of turning and timing.

waikikikichan wrote:

Mohawk918 wrote:What would be a good fin that will hold the tail down

Try this experiment: hold a fin straight up and down Vertically under the water. If you're not at the beach you can do this in the bath tub with your hand acting as a fin ( fingers pointed down ). Now pull the fin ( or your hand ) straight up quickly. Hardly any resistance yeah ? Now hold the fin on it's side Horizontally ( or hand with palm facing upwards ). Now pull it up quickly. Way more resistance.

The fin DOES NOT hold the tail down. The lip of the wave breaking over the tail, locks it down.

Try many fins, standard, flex, hatchet, nuuhiwa, boomerang, greenough, lot of rake, less rake. Some people like a fat tip, I like a thin tip. See what YOU like and works for YOU and your type of turning and timing.

ok i see what your saying. now why do companies claim certain fins they carry hold differently and better for noseriding? I was under the understanding its supposed to slow you down so you can walk up. wrong?

Mohawk918 wrote: now why do companies claim certain fins they carry hold differently and better for noseriding? I was under the understanding its supposed to slow you down so you can walk up. wrong?

The same reason they say their brand of board is easy to catch waves and turns on a dime. The same reason that board is good for the first timer and the seasoned pro. Good in 1 foot mush to 15 feet Pipeline. It's called " marketing".
Yes, I agree a fin with more depth, say a 7 inch fin versus a 10 inch fin, there's 3 more inches digging into the water, which does cause more drag. But again, hold the fin in your hand and pull the fin across the water, there's not much resistance unless you twist the fin or angle the cant.
Look at the total volume of the fin, versus the total volume of the board. It is better to make the board UN-hydrodynamic ( by stalling, lifting up the nose, etc. ) so the front pushes water like a snow plow and slows down.
What if get a fin with such a large area that it is hard to turn ? What will happen to your bottom turn ? What happens when you need to make quick adjustments to set and hold your trim line ? Better to get a fin you can control and put the board in the right spot on the wave, that allows you to noseride.

So sold my 9'6 and got a 10'6 noserider from Ken White here in St. Augustine. THis thing is great. Im actually starting to cross step it and i feel ill be hagning the nose in no time.

Mohawk918 wrote:So sold my 9'6 and got a 10'6 noserider from Ken White here in St. Augustine. THis thing is great. Im actually starting to cross step it and i feel ill be hagning the nose in no time.

In "no" time ? More like "more" time. With that extra one more foot to walk, you just added more cross steps that you're now forced to do. Not to mention the amount of back peddling you'll need to do to get back to the tail to stall and pivot that monster.

well i was just talking. Of course ill be needing to work on it but i feel more stable and its holding my weight that much more.