Converting thruster to a single fin?

[sidewalkdave]

Hello, this is my first post so please be gentle Basically I have a 9'6 HIC longboard that was a complete state when I got it but I fixed her up and now im loving the longboarding life. The longboard has a thruster set up which confuses me a bit. I didn't know they made longboards like this? I want to convert it to single fin which means putting in the big fin box. I have bought the box and now im just after some advice as to fitting it and at what location on the board I (hopefully) have attached some pictures of the board with its current set up and with the new box and a tape measure. I would like to know have far up from the tail it should be.




My plan for fitting it is to cut out roughly where its gonna go, place it where it wants to go (dead center etc) yse a few dobs of super glue to hold it then resin and cloth it in. Is there any reason I cant do this? Any tips or advice?
All help is much appreciated, cheers Dave

[kitesurfer]

Hi Dave.

Some people use cloth when fitting leash plugs and fin boxes. I have never bothered myself as i use a mix of reson, glass bubbles and microfibres. Easier to use and easily strong enough.
I use a router to make the slot and i make the slot 2mm bigger than the fin box all round. I also use a blunt 5mm diameter rod to punch holes into the foam, 5 each side so that the resin mix can flow into. This provides an excellent bond/key between board and box.
Fit the fin in the box and mask off the fin, box slot and the area around the slot. Make your self up a plywood jig that the fin can slot into and that will rest on the board keeping your fin vertical whilst the resin goes off.
Mix up your resin/bubbles mix so that it is thick but not paste like. Half fill the slot and then pusk the resin into the holes you made using a small brush. Also paint the box with resin before fitting. Good luck.

KS

[kitesurfer]

Oh and make sure you can get the trailing edge of your fin 4 inches up from the tail i reckon.

KS

[sidewalkdave]

Hey, thanks for the reply. That seems like very sound advice.

Oh and make sure you can get the trailing edge of your fin 4 inches up from the tail i reckon.

KS

Does this mean put the fin box 4 inches up from the tail? or when the fins in the box the back edge of the fin should be 4 inches from the back of the board?

Cheers Dave

[kitesurfer]

Fin measurements are always given to the trailing edge of the fin.

KS

[sidewalkdave]

Cheers for your replys. I have not bought the fin yet so I guess I need to do that before I start.

Cheers Dave