FIN- what would you put in this unusual board?

[jaffa1949]

OK !Do you play Golf ? Do you use only one club?
Figure out your fins for the day, what you think will suit the surf! stick with it, learn to tune your board and as you do your mind for the session. Sometimes you will choose the wrong club (oops fin) adjust your surfing unless you want to go back to the car or climb that beachside cliff.
Most often failure in the surf is a shift confidence, a mistake, pushing your boundaries of size and shape in the waves, rarely is it outright equipment failure.
These are all learning situations with information for a successful next time.

[waikikikichan]

Answer - look to the old children's story of Goldilocks and the 3 bears. The 9" was to big and the 7" was too small. So a Greenough 4-A 8 inch fin should be Just Right ! Having the 9" all the way forward is a sign that the fin is too big. Better to buy a 8". Then you can move it up to get more "lively" or move it back for more hold.

[Roy Stewart]

"Date: Thursday 11/28/14 and Friday 11/29/14

Location: Ocean Reef Park, Singer Island, south of the south rock, behind the hotels.

Conditions: Weak knee to waist high bumpy wind swell, with an occasional chest high peak. Semi lined up. NW wind 15 mph with gusts. Drifty to the south. Incoming high tide both mornings making it inconsistent. Water 74 degrees, air 60 degrees. Two to four people out.

Gull Wing ride report:

Results: The fin worked really well., It went fast on gutless waves, turned real easy too, although no opportunity to see how it carves, noserides, and cutbacks. Lots of initial lift on the takeoff, and it did not bog at all on the bottom turn, it actually sped up due the the lift it creates. Roy mentioned this factor earlier in the post, but I don't remember the whys and the hows. I'm going to keep it for another bit to see how it works in better stuff, then send it on. But so far in the conditions I mentioned, it worked better than the True Ames 8" Squirrel Cutaway, and a Standard 9" longboard fin. Kudos Roy!!!" Rick, Florida

By the way spinning out on bottom turns is fin error not rider error, sorry Jaffa.

[Roy Stewart]

So a Greenough 4-A 8 inch fin should be Just Right !

The Greenough 4a is a dog of a fin to be honest... very poorly foiled, too thin and too narrow in the tip.

The Reynolds number in the tip zone is way wide of the mark so the fin will always be prone to squirrelly behaviour and spin out, due to operating in the pre stall and stall zone.

I got over that fin type in 1994 after riding them since 1975... they are always vague, unpredictable and gutless, with poor control.

[jaffa1949]

By the way spinning out on bottom turns is fin error not rider error, sorry Jaffa.

Sort of like trying to drive a golf ball three hundred yards with a putter!
The rider error is often choosing an inadequate fin for the job at hand, then the next thing is the fin error.
I have had surfs where the fin is patently failing but some adjusting of how I surf can sometimes handle it.
That situation is stored as performance criteria and next time in similar circumstances the right fin would be chosen.
An example I rode a good condition 1962 reverse pixie D fin a couple of days ago, no rocker to speak of, thick egg rails etc. ( the sort of Malibu Roy believes had it all wrong). I used to ride them quite well in 1962. Could I do it now , talk about squirrelly, only thing I found suited me now was the ease of wave catching.
AGH progress of sorts

[waikikikichan]

Roy - " By the way spinning out on bottom turns is fin error not rider error, sorry Jaffa." -

Isn't most sports Man and Machine ( or racquet ). If a race car spins out in a turn, it could be the tires were wearing out or the suspensions was giving out. But it also could be the driver went in too hot or jerked/ yanked the steering wheel.

I know a lot of people who complained about the fins "sliding out". After watching them, I told them "you're too far up. You gotta step back over the fins". Problem solved - happy customer.

[waikikikichan]

Roy- Bajoman has a dilemma as stated " I want a one-size-fits-all so I don't have to think about having and switching out fins every time I go out. Result- not sure which direction to go now ". I basically advised if the 9" is too big and the 7" too small, then the 8" being it is between the two should be the best comprise of both. Don't you think ?

"The Greenough 4a is a dog of a fin to be honest.......I got over that fin type in 1994 after riding them since 1975..." - So it took you almost 2 decades to realize how terrible the fin is ? If the shoes hurts, or the hat doesn't fit right, I don't keep using them. Maybe a few weeks, but not a few years. If Japanese hate the taste of Rootbeer/Dr. Pepper, do they still keep drinking it ? ( Hard to find Rootbeer in Tokyo ). You must have liked it some what to use that fins for almost 20 years.

(Greenough 4-A ) are always vague, unpredictable and gutless, with poor control. Hmm..... No wonder why I love the fin so much !! I am Vague with my intentions, Unpredictable which way I'm going ( goofy or regular ), totally Gutless to go out in ways over head and my surfboard is Controlled Poorly. That fin description fits me to a T !!

To each his own. Americans love Rootbeer- Japanese don't. Aussies love Vegemite ( is that true Jaffa ? ) New Zealanders like their hotdogs Squishy but Americans like them firm. I really enjoy the Greenough 4-A. I have tried many many fins. I haven't tried the HPD Donald Takayama HALO fins or your BLEF fins yet. I hope to one day.

Did you see the Speedo Nemesis fins ? They are using that same whale fin design.

gos-speedo-nemesis-fins_s.jpg (34.02 KiB) Viewed 704 times

[jaffa1949]

There are some aliens among the long time (but not as long time as the aboriginals) inhabitants that do not like vegemite and there are some visitors to our shores that enjoy it.
Vegemite has been owned by Kraft for many many years. Kraft has had many failures in trying to engage Aussies on various nasty cheese wipes ( you might call them spreads).
Wipes is fine.
Americans ( Dr. Kellog ) invented Cornflakes to stop masturbation, the results peak for themselves world wide.
I should win the thread hijack with that snippet

[oldmansurfer]

It was Graham crackers that was invented for that purpose cornflakes were invented as a precooked breakfast item most likely first served in a sanitarium (old style health spa)

[jaffa1949]

Neither worked