smashed fin

[nz girl]

my local break has heaps of rocks and yesterday i completely snapped off my middle fin - i was totally guttered and called it a day. i was wondering just how necessary that fin is as i hear they're real expensive to replace, besides which i don't want to buy three, just one. i've got fin boxes so it should be do-able, but i only want to get another one if i really really have to...(am already poor student scraping for a new leash and hoodie without getting more indebted for surf related reasons!) some one told me they're about (NZ) $80.00 - sounds rediculsly expensive for one little fin! is anyone else surfing without their middle fin??

[freaky_welsh_chick]

well i went surfin on friday (im off my grounding sumhow, hehe) and i used my mates old board and it had no middle fin and it works ok, because its still balanced by the other 2 fins, so its surfable. be better with the fin, but its not like you cant use the board anymore. well thats what i found with this board anyway, im no expert at board structure and the like...

[kieran]

Dending what board you have the middle fin is usually slightly bigger and keeps you in a straight line. The other fins provide resistance to aid turning.

[nz girl]

i have a 7/6 mini mal which is a work of fibre glass art. i love it more then ..xxxxx, everything! ok, 7/6 is a plank, but its a sweet board! i might go for a surf tommorow and see how it goes

[Uluwatu]

Was the fin glassed in? If so you are SOL. you need to have it replaced. you will notice a difference in turning and satbility especially at higher speeds and when you are dropping in.

The thruster (three fins--two outside are canted out at an angle) set up is faster and more stable versus the twin fin ( twin fins are parallel to the stringer). In smaller surf or white water the twin fin works great, but your now thrusterless-psuedo-twin fin set up will be really squirrely--the board will want to go drive itself and not whree you want to drive it.

and now for the science: pulling the thruster out of a thruster fin set up does not automatically make it a twin fin ride. infact the angles of the outer fins on a thruster are different than on a twin. Will you notice the difference? yes if you can turn. your turns will be more slippery and not as carvy, you'll feel like youre sliding through them. Good to do on a short fish; not so good on a longboard, mini mal, or fun board; and quite dangerous too if you are in a packed break.

[nz girl]

nah, i got fin boxes so i should be alright. finally got another fin today but now i got another question - how do i put it in exactly? am i supposed to use a screw driver or something? sorry, i'm completely clueless.

[Uluwatu]

if its FCS compatible the fin should have come with a key, which is just a 3mm allen wrench.....

how did you get the broken one out?

[nz girl]

yeah i finally fixed it, it had smashed off clean, so i had to use a pocket knife to get the rest of the fin out.