Smaller fin for new bump and jump board

[coachg]

antonputman,

I'm not a fin expert. Just stating that up front.

Everyone's experience with fins is going to be different because of the different water states, types of boards we use & how we sail-stance/setup. swchandler is correct in that slalom fins are not non-maneuverable. How can you compete in a slalom race with a fin that can't jibe. I also have a full set of Tectonics fins from 66 cm down to 30 & all are perfectly maneuverable. But in no way are they as maneuverable as my True Ames Converts. In essence wave fins will get you up wind and slalom fins can maneuver, the only uncounted variable is YOU. What is fine for upwind may be inadequate for you & what is maneuverable for you may be inadequate for me. What we do know is the better a fin is for going upwind the less maneuverable it will be by design.

What does flex do for me? If I'm lazy on flat water & just want to hook in and lay on my back foot a stiff fin planes up much earlier for me. If I pump or wait for more wind a flexible fin get me going just as well. Stiff fins are harder on my ankles & more prone to tail walking for me. Flexible fins give me more control in higher winds with less fatigue. One strange variable for me though is that stiff fins when trimmed correctly are more comfortable in bad chop. In certain setups it allows me to keep the nose of my board higher so the chop hits farther back on the board. It sounds strange but for me in bad chop if the board nose is trimmed higher & kept there the ride is softer as less of the board is hitting the chop and the part that is hitting is usually where the vee shape starts.

That is my experience based on where & how I sail.

Coachg

[adywind]

I don't think not bearing away easily is a fin issue. It is rather a long water line issue-it's a big board after all. My Kode 86 turns on a dime with its Freemove 26cm fin, my 9' Windsup takes forever to turn even with its tri-fin 19/2x10 setup.
Try placing the mast foot back of center-especially with smaller sails. Moving the straps farther back /if any holes left may help also/.
I wouldn't put any smaller then 30 cm fin on a 115L board-nothing worse then constant spinouts IMO.
PS: actually a good idea is to start with your rigs first. Some extreme rig trims can develop specific pull tendencies: like the sail being too bagged out or the harness lines having too wide of a spread; too forward or too much back.
Do you feel like you have too much pressure on your back foot?

[PeconicPuffin]

[jingebritsen]

if one is super lit, moving the base back will make the fin lift harder,

also, flexier fins make the ride more physical, not less. i was frustrated in the reviews that ws mag gave lots of boards over the years. i would stick a slightly smaller and stiffer fin in lots of these boards that were labelled as "flighty" to find another 5-10 knots of extra wind range and comfort thru chop.

if you are super lit, base forward a few cm's. maybe boom up one or two to keep the boom height right. makes the fin not bite so hard and drives the nose down a bit.

getting splashed by the bow wake? board seems to wallow too much? base aft a bit to quite a lot. makes the fin bite and lift the hull. trial and error will help most. 3 goes on a new board may not have been enough to dial it in.

if given a choice between a 34 stiffer fin, and a 32 cm flexy, i would choose the stiffer. opposite would apply if i am barely powered. i would choose the flexy smaller fin vs the larger stiff.

boards most often transformed by this trim in my testing: hifly madd 165. it wallowed with base in the middle. everyone that came in with an initial mope was coached to move the base all the way back. they came back smiling, every time. case of boards that had base too far back were usually JP'S. base all the way fwd, much rangier performances.

[isobars]

I've always presumed B&J includes lots of turning/slashing/transitions ... stuff that strongly favors shorter, wavier, flexier fins. After all, most of my shorter, wavier Curtis fins say it right on the fin: "Bump and Jump". Their even wavier surf fins say "Surf", and their straighter fins say "Freeride". Why would we burden a board bred for powerful slashing and big jumps with a fin bred to drag race in marginal wind where early planing is a requirement?

[coachg]

[isobars]

But "choices" or "preferences" presumes "informed". So many people who grew up with long straight fins simply aren't informed of the place shorter wavier fins have and just figure that wave fins are either passe or limited to big ocean waves. Does someone who's trying to force-fit a racy fin onto a board designed for B&J without trying both fall into that category?

[coachg]

So “many people who prefer long, straight racy fins “are uninformed? Isn’t that rather presumptuous?

Besides, the Starship is an all around freeride board so putting a racy fin on it to make it go faster is no burden at all. Not my choice for that board but surely not an uniformed choice.

Coachg

[whitevan01]

according to Naish's website, the Starship is for bump and jump/onshore wave.

[coachg]

The Starship is one board that can do just about anything in flatwater, bump & jump or waves. The Starship was designed for early planing, thrilling straight-line speed and easy, yet exciting, maneuverability. It rides super smooth in a wide range of conditions and allows riders the freedom to progress their skill level.
Sizes: 90, 100, 115


Copied & pasted from the Naish website. Also note, the board comes with outboard footstrap positions.

Coachg