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fins retainer?
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Ugly_Bird



Joined: 04 Nov 2008
Posts: 335

PostPosted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 2:36 pm    Post subject: fins retainer? Reply with quote

After loosing a fin for the first time at the end of the last season and spending some reasonable time on fitting (epoxy-sanding-epoxy-sanding etc..) the replacements there was a thought.
It might be a good idea to have a short leash between the base of the fin and the finbox. I'm not familiar much with all the types of the finboxes but just with the powerbox. Seems it can be very easily implemented there.
The leash can be attached in various ways and be hidden in the space from the base cutout. When the fin hits something and the area at the barrel nut cracks open, the fin will just hang over there without turning into fish food.
Fin makers would probably hate this idea Smile

Andrei.
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dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 6:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I hear ya...
I lost 3 fins last year. One I went out without tightening the bolt, one bolt sheared, and one hit a fish in the water and ripped the screwhead right thru the PowerBox hole.
Old age and bad eyesight does wonders.
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U2U2U2



Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 5467
Location: Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania. Colorado

PostPosted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 7:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

if the fin is retained to the board
I envision it on the bottom much like a slicer dicer of

SliceOMatic Veggie Slicer fame

causing more damage than already created and thus more $$ in repair.

What as well are you going to do now with a broken fin

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4Boards....May the fours be with you

http://www.k4fins.com/fins.html
http://4boards.co.uk/
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 10:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I guess a good argument could be made for Tuttle-based fins and finboxes.
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dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 10:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not really.
Oftentimes, Tuttle fins don't use a slug, just threaded fiberglass, which can slowly strip without you knowing it, then just let's go all of a sudden. I suspect that happenned to my Northshore fin tuttle box at the lower dock in Berkeley, since I didn't take fins off of boards last year. I plopped the board onto the water, heard a weirdo "pop", and saw the two tuttle bolts wiggling atop the board.
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 12:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Given the fact that I always remove the fins on my boards with Tuttle boxes to allow for storage in the van, I'm much better protected. As a result, the only fin I ever lost was a very narrow chord slalom fin that broke off right at the base.
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keycocker



Joined: 10 Jul 2005
Posts: 3598

PostPosted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 1:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In Belize we sail from island to island through unmapped coral reefs so we do clinics on sailing with no fin.
The Trimbox once used on mistral and bic would rip out a hole in the fin leaving three other holes undamaged. If you could dive up the fin in the clear shallow water you could attach it again with the folding screw handle and rescue yourself far from shore. The broken fin could be used until you broke it three times.
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PeconicPuffin



Joined: 07 Jun 2004
Posts: 1830

PostPosted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 10:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You're likely to create more problems, and probably not going to save gear in the end.

Checking your fin before each sesh is very easy to do. Done along with checking your uni for health and your mast foot for tightness (all of these things together can be done in under 20 seconds, unless you find a problem) is a good habit and costs you nothing.

I used to worry about carrying an emergency back up fin, and actually created a tether for my mast foot (before switching to two bolt bases).

Get in the habit of checking your gear every time you use it...it will serve you well.

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Michael
http://www.peconicpuffin.com
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Ugly_Bird



Joined: 04 Nov 2008
Posts: 335

PostPosted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

U2U2U2 wrote:


What as well are you going to do now with a broken fin



Should take much less time to fix it than to fit a new one.
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beaglebuddy



Joined: 10 Feb 2012
Posts: 1120

PostPosted: Sun Mar 10, 2013 1:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was amazed how easily the stock powerbox fin ripped out of my windsup, I had just beach started and was barely moving when I felt a slight tick and started sailing backwards, the tip of the long fin had nicked a large rock.
The barrel that the screw attaches to is located very near to the cutout on the bottom base of the fin, the screw and the barrel stayed with the board and I retrieved the fin with a mask and snorkel. It's easy to see how it ripped clear, nothing much holding it, just 1/4" of fiberglass.
Tuttle seems much stronger, the base doesn't have that cut out.
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