One more fin

[rtz]

I have the included plastic 34cm fin. I have on order a 40cm K4 fin. I want either a 46, 48, or 50.

Looking at these: http://www.unifiber.net/2015/gear/fins/freeride/

Board I'm using is 91cm wide, see the above chart

http://www.fanatic.com/product/viper/

Looking for something big to help the board plane. Mainly also so I can see the effects different size fins have. I just don't want to get a 50 if it's going to prove to be useless if I should have instead gotten a different size.

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Also anyone know of a place that will either ship to the USA or do so at a reasonable price?

[westender]

No excuses with these. https://www.vectorfins.com/

[sailwave]

I bought this Select fin in 53cm for my 91cm wide 150 liter board. Works great.

http://www.windsurfingfins.co.uk/Select-Elite-S1-SLAM-XL

[NOVAAN]

Sail power not fin size is what will make a board plane. Maybe adding a larger fin for the most skilled windsurfer might help a little but it will not make much difference for you. Invest in good sails and masts. take lessons shome where warn shallow and windy..

[joethewindsufa]

[swchandler]

Sail and fin need to be reasonably matched to perform optimally. If a sail is too small (4.7-5.0), like rtz is using with a heavy 91cm wide board, he could put on a 50cm fin, and he still wouldn't be able to plane up. Not enough sail power. Also, from what I understand, he's not in the footstraps yet.

Now, if he rigged up a 7.0-8.0 sail, and balanced it out with a 44-50cm fin, he could most likely plane up if he was hooked-in and moved back into the footstraps. Of course, what sail and fin you use has everything to do with how much wind there is. My example would need probably need a minimum wind average of about 15mph.

[rtz]

The 34 and the 40. Still thinking about a 50. Got a 6.5m in today and harness lines. I'll get some bigger sails when I feel like the 6.5 just isn't enough.

I want the fins so I can experience what it's like having to much or too little fin on a board.

[beaglebuddy]

46 cm fin is too big for a 6.5M sail. If there was enough wind to plane on a 6.5M sail a fin that big would cause the board to tail walk. Everything has to match, board, sail and fin. Your combo would work with a much larger sail, 7 or 8M.
And then there is matching foot strap position, harness line length, boom height etc...

[gregnw44]

Right.

Rtz, you have a short, wide, heavy 36-37 lb board (or more) with the centerboard and straps installed, etc.
I don't know what your exact skill level is... but it will take quite a bit of skill and experience "for anyone" to get that board planning.
I don't know how much you weigh (which is also a big factor)... but let's just suppose you're 180 lb expert skilled sailor. So you'd be very experienced in harness use. And you'd sail with the centerboard down in wind from 2 to 12 knots. But if you're good enough to use a 9M free-ride sail in 10-20 knot wind (the CB will be retracted then) you will be planning "in those conditions".

And yes, when you can control a lot of sail power (which is a combination of sail size and wind speed)... then, you will feel the difference between a 30 or 40 or 50cm fin. But I think you have a lot of experience and skills to gain first.
There aren't any short-cuts in this sport. All skilled windsurfers have dedicated 100's (or 1000's) of hours of quality practice.
Greg -

[techno900]

rtz,

Your focus is WAY too much on equipment. It isn't the equipment that is holding you back, it's time on the water. You have what you need to learn the basics and progress through the needed skills to eventually get on something smaller and plane with speed.

As mentioned earlier, on one of your MANY threads, there is a progression list where you need to focus In addition to what you can learn here, there are many, many on line videos as well as books that will take you step by step through the skills. As mentioned by many, lessons will cut the leaning curve time line by quite a bit.

Many of us here were self taught, via commitment and determination. I learned from a book in 1984.