Choosing the Right Fin 101
Getting a little stale on your board? Thinking it’s high time that you invested in the next generation of retro fish’s or egg’s to get that edge? Or just want to ride something a little funky? Before you part with some serious cash read on. Fin set up until recently has been a massively overlooked area of surfboard performance. The boys at Futures have kindly put together a brief insight into how a fin works and what you need to look for if you’re going to get the most out of your board.
How to look at the Thruster set up: Thruster fins should be viewed as a continuum between twin fins and single fins. On the twin fin end of the spectrum there is a pivot finest on both rails. As a result the rail to rail transitions are very quick but heavy foot pressure can spin the tail out. Single fins, on the other hand, are slow at rail to rail transitions but can take all the back foot pressure you can give and are stable and self adjusting in critical situations. Thrusters can be configured to give the flavour of each of these setups while retaining characteristics of the other.

Choosing the Correct Fin Height, Base and Area are related to the surfers’ weight -  light surfer = less area Guidelines: This chart is used as a starting point. The more powerful the surfer the larger the fin they will want to use (weight in pounds).	Weight Height Base Area 125 4 1/4 4 3/16 13 sq in 150 4 1/2 4 3/8 14 sq in 180 4 5/8 4 5/8 15 sq in
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Base: the more base, the more drive increasing stiffness. Tip area: the more tip area, more projection and hold at the end of the turn. Less tip area the more the fin will release at the end of the turn. A board can always be loosened up by reducing the size of the trailer fin. Leading edge curve: A more straight up curve will give a more pivot feel, better for Straight up and down surfing and punchy beach breaks. A flatter curve will draw out turns more. Flex: Generally you always want stiffness at the Base of the fin with the attachment to the board because this is where the drive is produced. The more flex in the fin the looser the feel. The stiffer the fin the stiffer the feel.
Materials
Composite material: Found in most production sets, stiffness. Related to percentage of glass content and type of base resin. Can have Similar flex to hand laid up fibre glass fin if has more than 50% glass. Fibreglass: Similar to a glass on feel and look. Flex is directly related to Thickness. G-10: Compressed glass lay up, tends to have more glass layers in an equivalent Thickness of hand laid up fibre glass. Therefore a very stiff fin can be created with a very thin thickness. Commonly used for wind surf fins. RTM: Resin Transfer Moulded, a variety of materials can be used and a variety of Flex patterns can be created. The most versatile and complex of all constructions. Stiffness is not related to thickness
Fin Placement
Placement: Fins are generally marked from the tail of the board to the back trailing edge of the fins. For a short board the back fin is usually 3 ¼ inches from the tail and the side fins are 11 ¼ from the tail. Toe: Angle at which the side fins are placed relative to stringer. Not enough tow will make the board feel stiff and hard to turn. Too much will make the board feel slow and cause drag. Standard tow for short boards is between ¼ in to 3/16 in. Cant: Angle at which the side fins are placed relative to the bottom of board. Too much cant angle will reduce the drive created from the fins. Too little cant angle will cause the board to feel sticky not able to freely transition from rail to rail. Standard cant angle is around 6 degrees.

 

Vector Tech foils: The Vector Tech foils are highly refined shapes that keep the water attached to the fin through changing angles of water flow in a turn. This cuts down on the amount of drag and produces high lift forces that pull up and forward through the turn.

NEW WAYS TO KEEP YOUR SURFING FRESH
Variable Foils: Exploring new ways to liven up your surf board, we've developed fins with multiple foil angles to free up any stiffness and apply maximum drive from the fin area. Easily the most incredible ride on the market, try the VF452-3/1 3/2 and the VF467-3/2 – you'll never look back. Crazy reduction on these fins limited time only; click on image.
Twin Fins (Classic/Keel): Bringing back fins from the past and applying new technology has created high-performance twins for your retro-fish. Designed with a break in the base to loosen up your ride, the K1 and K2 keel twins will work with your existing box. Twinzer/Quad: Turbo-charged! A small leading fin breaks the water for the trailing full size fins – creating a solid feel like your board is on tracks.

So for the more adventeruse out there start playing with your fins - you never know what might happen; that old dog of a board might just come alive after all! For an extensive range in fins head over to our shop. Click here...