been lurking on this site for years, finally decided to create a profile...anyway, I purchased a 6'1\" single fin last year and recently starting riding it more frequently, and I'm having a blast in chest high+ waves. Anyway, I wanted to start playing around with the fin on it to see how it changes the ride. I've tried looking at various sites dealing with fins, but everything in the single categories seems to be geared towards long boards. Does anyone have any fin templates they would recommend and why (or know of any websites that deal with shortboard single fins)?
true ames fins (trueames.com) has a great variety of fin templates, many of which are not geared toward longboards. what kind of single fin is it? that'll influence the type fin you want to use in it...ie: old-school style hull or egg, you'll prob. be happier w/ a big ol' flex fin, but if it's a more modern hp single fin, you'll prob. get the best results w/ a shorter, stiffer fin. for example, i had a 6'4" '70s style egg that i ran w/ a 8" L-flex (really racked back w/ a super flexy tip) & the board was tits w/ that fin! then, more recently, i had a 6'2" bali single that worked best w/ a 7" fin that was more upright & pretty stiff throughout.
6'0 x 20 3/8 x 2 3/4. Its pretty old school. 7oz cloth, gloss and polish, pin-lines etc. I've tried squirrel cutaways, a soul flex, rusty performance fin, rainbows tk flex. Tried them in a 5.5, 6, 6.25. 7, 7.5, and an 8. That 7'' Greenough is by far the best fin I've found for that board if I'm riding it as a single, not a bonzer. I've tried all the way up, all the way back and everywhere in between. Leaving it about an inch up from the back feels best for me.
NJ good lookin out on the trueames, I've never heard of that site. Blues, the board actually came with that greenough fin in some "rotten avocado" color. Good to know I have a decent fin already. That volan glass one on truw ames looks pretty sweet; I'm curious if it will have a different ride. Here's the only pic i have of my board, which also shows the reason I couldn't ride it as much the past year. It's got a round tail and is approx 6'1" x 19" x 2.6ish. It's got moderate rocker and single concave. I've ridden it from waist to a foot overhead, and it's done well. I'm looking for a fin that will provide plenty of drive and hold through sharper turns.
the greenough 4A fin is one of my all-time favorites. it seems to work well in pretty much everything. what size is yours? & definitely try moving it around in the box...small changes make a big difference! (general guide: fin farther back=more drive & hold, fin farther forward=looser, less drive.)
Stick with the greenough, just move it all the way forward in the box to help with the tighter turns. If you switch it, try one with a little less rake.
It's either 7 or 7.5 I want to say that it's 7" even, but I'll have to go home and measure it to be sure. I like the idea of that fin shape but with more flex for projection out of turns. I will try and move it around first, as 90 bones for that fin in volan is pretty steep. My issue right now is when I really start to push hard on my top turns the fin breaks loose. i know a lot of that has to do with riding a single fin vs thruster, but if I could find something that could hold up to the torque/pressure and keep speed through a hard top turn, I would be very happy. With what little I know about fins, I think a fin that had good flex characteristics would be less likely to break loose than a stiffer fin of the same shape, and in turn help you hold speed better through the arc of a turn. Or I could be really wrong about that...
Check Captian Fin Co, as well. They have all the hip retro guys on their team. Knost has a few flex fins, i think Tyler warren has a couple models as well. Gonna have to try a few new fins before you find the right one.
I got a velzy 8.5 by true Ames for my longboard I suggest one of those it's really responsive and has good hold. Only problem is that it's such a long fin got to watch it in the shallows it would never be fun to lose a 70$ fin to mr sandman. Idk if you would want a fin that long on a short board but it might be a interesting experience and I suppose will all the hold it will give you it would be good for turning and cuts and stuff.
Hahahaha. Took her out on a boogie this summer on a small 1 ft day at chix beach and she LOVED it! Hopefully she'll end up loving the water as much as I do. Blasters, that sounds like it could be interesting, but I have a sneaking suspicion that an 8.5" fin might be a bit overkill for a 6' board. I'm not sure I could do a sweet carolina cutback with a fin that big. I could always slap a legit longboard fin in it (I have a couple) for sh!#s and giggles just to see what happens.
