Hey. I need help. I just bought a ci pod. And it seems like the board is being held back as I'm paddling to chatch a wave. I have another chunky fish that has huge fins and the board seems to fly. Its fast as hell. I was wondering if different fins would help the pod. Please advise
i cant imagine it slowing you down unless theres kelp in your fins i think its just you with a smaller board with probly a little less volume than your fish..
Fish tend to have flatter rockers, especially retro twin fins, and they also have the wide point forward. These characteristics lend to easier paddling. The pod has the wide point farther back and most likely has more rocker. Both will slow you down some. I was trying to come off longboards and experimented with a number of boards, Stretch F4, Lost Stealth, Twinzer fish, retro twin fin fish, and quad fish like speed dialers and black knight quads. I had the best luck on the fish because of the design characteristics. The shortboards were a struggle for me because of the way the foam is distributed.
It could be the board and fins... Thats why people play around with different fins because some feel sluggish. If you've only ever used one set of fins on every board you have then you're missing out.
I agree...unless the fins are visibly installed incorrectly they are not creating enough drag to be the cause of your paddling problems and if they were, you would notice major sluggishness once up and riding (going 10x faster and fin drag is a real issue). my guess is what mucker said... the CI's rocker is different (probably more nose rocker) than the other fish you have, narrower nose and you are proably pushing some water while paddling.
I have noticed something similar while riding a board with "expans" fin system (the "toe in" on the side fins are adjustable.) The more the "toe in" (the front of the fin is turned closer to the stringer) the more pressure is put on the outside of the fin, making the board more responsive, yet at the same time causing more drag if they are toed in too much... slowing you down. I have also tested this with a longboard- riding the same board singefin and also 2+1 set up. Huge difference. Catches waves so much easier as a single fin! It would make sense with fin placement and design- a smaller board= more toe in. The only thing is that I don't think you would notice it while paddling a shortboard... maybe while riding... but I doubt while paddling. Maybe it’s your feet dragging in the water- they cause alot of drag too...