Windrider wrote:Was talking with Patrick at Hawaiian Watersports, and he had a lot of good stuff to say about changing the fin configuration on thruster directional boards. I really like my 6'1" Cabrihna Tow-Surf, and had never really considered experimenting with changing the fin configuration. But, he got me to thinking about it.
Anyone have opinions on:
(1) taking off the center fin and just running with the thruster fins?
(2) Putting in a small center fin (right now all three fins on my board are the same size), or
(3) Just running with the center fin, no thrusters.
Most interesting thing he said was about the upwind performance of the board with either #1 or #2 configurations.
Any thoughts?
Yes, one main thought:
Riding solely with twinsers make (usually - can not say generally of course, only my own experiences from windsurfing with dedicated twin fin boards, and kitesurfing with a broken rear fin) a board extremely loose.
This is a feeling I dont like personally (except for the ability to make floaters in the foam better) - as I want the board to be able to track and turn hard with good feedback, but still have fins sufficiently small to keep the board riding on its rails a lot, and not "tumbling" over the fins when pushing really hard
Some prefer the extremely loose boards, others like them more "firm".
I honestly think it is a very personal choice, but if I had to choose, I would choose running with only one bigger center fin, instead of two twinsers.
Luckily I dont have to choose - can ride with either a three fin or quad fin setup on my two boards
But indeed, fin choice and sizes can mean and change much more than the board itself
Kindly, Peter Frank