shallow water slalom fins

[Wavedave38]

Looking for feedback for fins that can be used in shallow areas for slalom/freerace boards.

Thanks

[Wavedave38]

also what sizes to get when comparing to regular slalom fins.
Have 120 slalom board which has 41 and 45 fins but need to have fins to take in shallow water.
Thanks

[TruckerBob]

Might consider the Black Project Fins' WeedSpeed. Stellar fins, fast and go to windward great. Their WS 42 is 33.6cm deep and the45 is 36.7cm deep. Local pro has the WS42 and thinks the larger will be better on 120 Falcon and TRXI 8.4. How deep is the water where you sail?

[isobars]

This is a more a question than an answer: What about freestyle fins? They cram more square inches (the bottom line fin parameter) into less depth (an important criteria for you) than anything else. They aren't as fast, but they can be powerful. Maybe they're dogs for any other application than freestyle, but MFC's fin characteristics charts don't imply that.

[whitevan01]

take a look at the maui ultra fins delta slalom if its very shallow where you sail.

[boardsurfr]

Black Project WeedSpeeds are great for slalom boards. I have about 6 from "28" to "45". Just look at the specs carefully - the actual depth of the fins is less than the numbers. They work great in my 90 l and 117 l slalom boards. In my freeride boards, I don't like them as much, but they were designed for slalom and speed. Other slalom and speed surfers have also said great things about them, and you'll be able to find plenty of 40-knot+ results with them on the GPS sites.

If you have very shallow water or very heavy weeds , you may need a delta design. A 22 cm delta fin is probably the equivalent of a 30-35 cm normal weed fin, and sheds weeds better due to the higher angle. I have a couple of Deltas from Maui Ultra Fins. They are fine for very flat and very shallow water. In chop, you'll have to be very careful with your back foot. Any sudden changes in pressure will lead to spinouts. Not exactly confidence building when you want to push the limits, but some guys have done 40 knots on these fins.

I have also tested the FreeDELTA RE from Black Project, and was quite impressed. I found it almost impossible to get the 22 cm fin to spin out on a 116 l board; regarding spinouts and general performance, it's equivalent to a very good 32 cm weed fin. I think the form makes more sense than the MUF Delta form: the rear edge is parallel to the front edge, instead of a straight triangle shape. That means you the fin can have a decent profile over most of the length, instead of having a very thin profile (20:1??) that the MUF Delta has. But the FreeDELTA RE was developed and is marketed as a freeride fin, not a speed or racing fin. I am not sure how fast it is, nor have I tested it on a slalom board. Maybe Andy from Wind-NC has.

[Wavedave38]

High tide where i sail is no problem for normal slalom fins but low tide we are talking 2 to 3 ft in areas which is a recipe for pure destruction for me and my gear . Just want to be able to sail bigger gear out there without water limitations at low tide

[boardsurfr]

Sounds like a regular weed fin will do the trick. The biggest BPF WeedSpeed has a depth of 36.7 cm, but is the equivalent of a 45 cm pointer. They recommend it for 7.5-8.5 m sails on 110-130 l boards, which sounds about right.

The BPF online store shows that the 42 and 45 cm fins are not in stock now. Your best bet is to email them about pre-ordering. The performance difference in weed fins are rather large, so fins from another brand may not work nearly as well. I love the weed fins from Maui Ultra Fins for my freeride boards, but prefer the Black Project fins for my slalom gear.

Keep in mind that weed fins will not give the same amount of lift as pointers, so you may need to adjust trim and sailing style a bit. Most windsurfers will get used to them; I sail weed fins most of the time. But some slalom guys just hate them.

[whitevan01]

thanks to boardsurfr, I ordered a BPF Free Delta RE 19.5 (smallest one) from Andy at Wind-NC.

I've used it a couple of times already, yesterday with 4.7 and 5.5. Man, it's a great fin. I had no trouble at all "getting used to it". It just sails great. Used it on a RRD FSW 102. turns great, goes fast, goes upwind well enough etc.

but, best of all, I was able to sail right through some weed islands w/o slowing at all. the only other fins I have found to work at my spot this time of year are the old curtis weed fins. this black project fin worked just as well, if not better.

I've already contacted Andy about getting a 22.5 (biggest one) in tuttle for my Ray 130 with 7.5 or 8.5, but he said they are all sold out. bummer. Another spot I go to is flat water, but super shallow in places and I've always wanted to sail in the shallowest (flattest) spots but can't with the Ray 130. this fin will allow me to do so, if I can get one.

so, thanks boardsurfr!! (I sail at the ECWF LI place in summer, which gets overgrown with weeds esp. this year - my MUF freeride weed fins aren't cutting it (pun intended) this year)

[gvogelsang]

YEsterday I tried a Black Project Weed Speed 38" on my Firemove 122 with a Cheetah 5.5 in mid-20 gusting over 30 conditions. It is choppy where I launch, but flat if I can make it out to the breakwall.

I spun out a few times in the launch area in the big chop, and had a hard time getting the fin to re-attach. No problem out in the flats behind the break wall.

The Weed Speed 38" is indicated for 6.5 to 7.5, but it is also indicated for 90 to 110 lt boards. Perhaps the width of my Firemove 122 was more the problem.

I have the 42" and 45" as well. My inclination is that the 42" might be a better fin for the Firemove in those conditions. I'll save the 38" for my next board, which is going to be a FSW, probably.