WakeSurf Fin Set Ups

[Dandy]

Hi again all -
I tried to search for this information on the forum, but came up with nothing clear. Can you all help to clear up the pros/cons of the different fin set ups on the wakesurf boards.

I have seen tri-fins set up different ways:
1: All 3 Fins
2: 2 outside fins
3: Just the single center/rear fin

Quad Fins:
1: All 4 fins - taller in front w/shorter in back
2: All 4 fins - shorter in front w/taller in back
3: 2 forward most fins either taller or shorter
4: 2 rear most fins either taller or shorter

Anything I am missing.

What differences can these set ups make and what difference does the fin "height" make. I am trying to experiment a little on my own with my boards but don't have the experience and think I may be actually making things worse.

Feel free to reply with comments or if you have questions for me. Hopefully I am not the only guy that doesn't fully understand this.

Thanks for your help - got out in MN with full suit, gloves and boots this past weekend. 60 air and mid 40s water. The season has begun.

[Greeko]

You are opening a can of worms!

1: All 3 Fins - Thruster style, Gives great drive forward with good stability! Fast setup!
2: 2 outside fins - More Maneuverable, still holds really good speed but not as stable. Allows more slashes and other turns
3: Just the single center/rear fin - More of a Skim Style ride. You can spin the board on a dime... Not as much drive but a fun free feeling ride


Quad Fins:
1: All 4 fins - taller in front w/shorter in back - More of a surf style feel. It will have incredible drive and speed, a little muted in response due to 4 fins
2: All 4 fins - shorter in front w/taller in back - I have not seen this very often, Longboard feel i think.>SUPER locked in!!
3: 2 forward most fins either taller or shorter - More Maneuverable, still holds really good speed but not as stable. Allows more slashes and other turns
4: 2 rear most fins either taller or shorter - Longboard feel, sort of locked in, allows slow carving to be held

I hope this helps. We run a wakesurf school up here in Vancouver, BC and Osoyoos, BC if you are in the area ...lol

[Stingreye]

Assuming you are talking about surf style:

Drive = pumping the board

Straight line speed = weight forward on board to speed up

Hold/slippery = does it feel more like a skim or more like a surf style

More fins = more drag, slower down the line speed, better drive, better hold

Less fins = less drag, faster down the line, worse drive, less hold (easier 360s)

Here are my impressions assuming the board doesn't change (rocker mainly).

Quad = most locked in, most drive, feels slowest down the line

Thruster = Three fins - to me it seems to ride very similar to a quad. It seems more pump driven board than a Twin. I have not regularly riden a thruster setup.

Twin = generally feels alot looser, faster down the line, less drive.

Twinzer = (two small fins next to the 2 big fins) feels in between a quad and a Twin. Lots of people seem to like twinzers.


I will say the biggest difference for me was when I started surfing at higher speeds. At 11.5-12.5mph, the drive of a twinzer seems to improve because the water feels firmer. I am not sure if its just an illusions or if there is something else at work. Maybe Chaos will see this thread and comment. He is the expert at fins for boards and developed the only wakesurf specific fins I have heard of.

When surfer at slower speed 10.5-11MPH, the quad felt better because of better drive.


Another thing to bear in mind, even two fins that are very similar will behave differently. When I upgrade my futures fins on my Twinzer setup Bomb Pop to Black Stixx, I saw a noticeable increase in drive. A friend upgraded his doomswell fins to the Black Stixx and noticed the same improvement.

My guess on the different quad setups you have seen, the surfers are playing with a mix of drive vs looseness. It seems alot of guys are going to small rear fins. I bet it makes the board have more drive than the twinzer but not as locked in as a typical quad. I haven't seen a quad setup with big fins in the rear and smaller fins in the front. Even with relatively large rear quad fins, I have usually noticed that they are still smaller than the front pair.

There is a great website that went into detail on fin shape, base length, and height. I will try to find it for you.

[Stingreye]

http://www.surffcs.com/community-sto...de-to-fcs-fins

Check out the info near the bottom on base, height (depth) etc.

Also an interesting read
http://www.tactics.com/info/guide-to-surfboard-fins

[Stingreye]

Here are the Chaos fins I have been dying to try. At some point, I will likely pick up a set.

http://shredstixxusa.com/wakesurffins/chaoswakesurffin

[Greeko]

Those are good reads, Thank you for the forward Stingreye!

Its crazy what effect a fin can have...

[Dandy]

Stingreye - thanks for all the detailed replies along with the links to the good reading. I will need to set aside a little time while not at work to read thought those links. From a quick review, it does seem to contain a lot of good information. Thanks again.

[sandm]

swapped the stock soulcraft fins for some blackstix and it was amazing how much faster the board was. makes a huge difference...

[CarFanatic]

what blackstix fins are you guys talking about?

[Stingreye]

Fins make a surprising difference. I was skeptical of the Black Stix when I first compared them (the differences are subtle when looking at them) but I was sold after riding them. The Black Stix I went with were Future V2 F4 Black Stix Fin Set. They are now obsolete so I think its now Futures Blackstix V3.0 F4. A buddy added them to his Doomswell and he liked the improvement.

https://futuresfins.com/en-us/f4-bla...-412-00-detail

They are on the pricey side IMO.

One thing worth mentioning is that there are two main fin boxes. Futures and FCS. Its a good idea to keep your boards in the same family when you buy the boards.

One of the reasons I sold my Ronix Carbon Thruster and Triple X board was that they used FCS fin boxes and my favorite board uses Futures and my Black Stix were futures fin box.

[CarFanatic]

I had chaos wakesurf fins on my last board. I didn't notice a huge difference over the stock ones for the money. My new doomswell has f2's on it I think. I have not got to try it out yet though. I am interested in these blackstix's though. I think the F4 is a larger fin then the F2.

[sandm]

using the same ones that Sting is using. they were a bit on the pricey side but the improvement made the board well worth the upgrade..

[Chaos]

First, fins make a huge difference.

Secondly, it is not a thruster unless it is set in a specific 3 fin setting. It is not a 3 fin if no center fin is use, then it is a twin fin. A twin fin with canards or c5s is not technically a twinzer, and definitely not a quad, but for the purposes of wakesurfing twinzer or twinzer like is close enough.

I disagree that a quad feels slower down the line, in fact it will be faster typically. People confuse looseness with speed. A loose board is not necessarily fast. A loose board is just loose and feels like it has more lift and is easier to move around. Quad fins are, particularly quad fins set up properly, faster than a twin, or a thruster.

2: All 4 fins - shorter in front w/taller in back. A quad set up with larger fins in the back in wakesurfing is generally a clear indication the person does not know what they are doing. Unfortunately, people often put fins in backwards, right fins on the left side, and rear fins in the front and vice versus.
Generally speaking a quad set up with fins in excess of 4" in the rear is going to feel more locked in. In the ocean you see this on wider tailed boards that need more hold to keep the tail from sliding out. This is not what you are looking for in wakesurfing.

Drive is speed. More fins, generally speaking, equals faster, but might provide too much hold. A sixer is very fast, the fastest fin configuration used on wake surfboard, but will feel more locked in down the line depending on the board and the specific configuration.

Fins/fin boxes are placed either spread/widely separated or close together/tight. In a tight configuration the fin area is lessened and the fins act more as one, in a wide or spread fin set up the fins act more independently. When fins are placed close together larger/taller fins are often used.

Fin height. Taller fins are generally for larger waves and controlling the power of larger waves and to an extent larger people. The larger people factor is less important in wakesurfing, than in the ocean.

Fins designed for riding waves in the ocean are not ideal for wakesurfing. Some ocean fins are better than others. You want to look for a wide base, and an upright pivoty fin with less rake.

F4s are OK, but have too much rake, the WCTs (essentially the futures version of the Kelly Slater fin) are a better template.

Nick

[CarFanatic]

great info!

[Stingreye]

X2 great info thanks for sharing nick.


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