I know that you can sand a surf board to speed it up some and I think I need to do this because my new board (05 Shred Stixx Xtreme 5'6'') ran really sluggish this past weekend. I am used to an IS Squirt which to me was pretty fast. I am 6'2 210# if this will help anyone surfing behind a 2001 Tige 20i with the jumbo vdrive sac on the regular side of the boat at about 11-12 mph and spread whoever is in the boat to even out the wave... My question is do I sand the entire bottom side of the board to speed it up or just a certain section? Grit should be 1200-1500 but which grit will produce a faster board? I am currently surfing with three fins would removing the middle fin do anything? If I did remove it would I need to seal that area so the board doesn't get water in the foam (water logged)? Anything else I can do to speed the board up a little?
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Try this, I haven't yet, but would be great to hear your feedback. Has anyone else tried this?
http://www.surfnanoproducts.com/Surf...ent.aspx?PID=2http://wake9.com/ -
Wont need to worry about water logging the board if you pull a fin. unless the fins are glassed on, im pretty sure they arent tho.Originally posted by petrey10 View Post
Make sure you have everyone sitting on one side so you get a nice lean to the boat.
I would just gradually step up to the highest grit you can, and then wet sand it. All over couldnt hurt, but if I had to guess, the edges and all around the fins would be the best place to sand. If your board goes to a harder edge towards the back, be careful not to round it off any more...rounded edges add more drag.
Couldnt hurt, surfdad did a write up on it on his site somewhere.Originally posted by ragboy View PostJoey - Red 20V Riders EditionComment
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Y, I got some. Haven't tried yet.http://wake9.com/Comment
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We used the surfnano product and you can read about our results on the FlyBoy Wakesurf blog. In short, aided release but no change in speed. YMMV though, if your Stixxstreme is a glossed finish. Glossy boards tend to stick to the surface of the water - the example being two plates of glass with water between them, it's hard to separate them. The surfnano product works by elimating the boundary layer, or at least reducing it. A slightly textured surface will do he same thing and is permanent. 1200 grit, running the length of the board is referred to as a speed finish. Just enough to knock down any "shine" on the surface. What you want is a visibly dull'ish look.
Fins add speed to a board by virture of added control. You can imagine that a finless stixxstreme would be rather slow as you spun hoplelessly out of control. However, that control comes at the cost of increased drag. More drag = more slow but only in trim. If you not riding the board, pumping and turning it, more fin area will translate to a slower board, everything else being equal.
That being said, the single best way to speed that board up is to ride it.
Turn, slaysh, carve, pump it and it'll be as fast as anything you want.
However, if what you're looking for is a board that is faster in trim - meaning you just stand on it and shift your weight, BIGGER is usually faster (wake and board), FLATTER (like the inland boards) is usally faster (reduced rocker) and losing weight will also make the board faster.
The trailing fin can be removed without issue on all production Shred Stixx boards. They have used Futures Fins for at least the last 10 years. On your board, you should see an "X" at the very back of the fin box behind the fin - that the mark that Futures uses for the shallow 1/2" depth box. At the front of that box is a set screw, if you have the fin key, just back that set screw out enough to tilt the fin out and you'll be good to go.
It sounded like you just got the Shredstixx and are comparing it to your Inland Surfer - it's slower, nothing you do will make it faster, other than riding it hard. The Shred Stixx has a rocker, the Inland is as flat as a pancake - as I noted above, flatter is usually faster. The shred stixx will turn more aggressively and will allow you to roll back up on the tail for airs, and in those areas will out perform the Inland.
If you've had the board for awhile and it just suddenly got slower - look for leaks. If you're taking on water, the board will start to weigh a ton and that will kill performance. Shred Stixx went through a number of shapers - if it's a colored board, like a solid blue where you can't see the stringer, that board is made from XPS and was imported from China. You can fix it with Epoxy - check along the rails for dings that expose the underlying foam, also check for weird "bubbles", XPS foam delam's easily in the heat and if the underside of the board has developed a bubble - that'll act like an anchor.
That's my
and 4,127 paragraphs.
Buy my kid's board! http://www.flyboywakesurf.comComment
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thanks man thats what I was looking for!!! Some great advice! I just got the board and honestly have rode it about an hour and just wasn't getting the hang of it but I didn't have quite as much weight as I usually have in the boat so that could be one reason... The board definitely isn't taking on water. I did notice that I may have put the outside fins on backwards as the flat side if out instead of it being in... maybe that could be one reason... The finish on the board is straight glossy finish so I may go ahead and wet sand in 4-6in circles all over the board with 1200 grit sand paper. Maybe I just need to learn to ride harder but it just seemed like I couldn't catch back up after I caught up to the boat... If we go out this weekend I will try and video my run but hopefully I will get to wet sand the board this afternoon..Comment
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Great read surfdad, thanks for sharing!Comment
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FIN ISSUE! That'll make it a slug. Fin should have the foiled part out, the flat part towards the center and the tapered tip pointing to the tail of the board. The cant - the angle from the base of the fin to the tip should be pointing out towards the rails, NOT towards the center of the board.
You might try riding it like that before hitting it with the 1200 grit. Should you decide to de-gloss it anway, not circles - straight lengthwise from nose to tail. Sanding block if you've got it - walk the full length of the board in one pass nose to tail. The circles will actually diminish the results.
Thanks for the props guys. Keep us posted on the results.Buy my kid's board! http://www.flyboywakesurf.comComment
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Great info!
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alright I will surf it this weekend with the fins switched and see what happens...Comment
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thanks surfdad I really appreciate it...Comment
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went out yesterday on the board... had the flat side in and triple fins and the board still was sluggish and I could not stay up with the wake.... took the middle fin out and BAM I was surfing like crazy... the first time up I prolly surfed for about a mile long stretch with the middle fin off... I am still thinking about doing the sanding to the bottom as I was messing around on it at party cove and the water didn't bead at all on the bottom.. What do you guys think I should do?Comment
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I recently purchased a new board and noticed the new board also seemed a bit sluggish. I am sure there are products that could potentially speed up the board, but one thing I would recommend is to try and adjust the boat speed. For my 5'6" board I surf around 10.8 mph and for my 4'8" I have to run around 11.2-11.4 mph. Of course riding the board will give you speed, but just an observation that I experienced. Each boat has a speed sweet spot - point being try adjusting the speed up or down depending on the board you are riding.
The other comments is to play around the fin set up that was mentioned in the thread above.Comment
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