IS Fins for '09

[Surfdad]

I have been messing with fins and fin placement the last few weeks. Most recently a twinzer setup that I wasn't impressed with, but you can read about that here. Last evening I started a project to mold my own fins, in an effort to make them lighter, the details of that project are here.


Inland started making their own fins, I believe it was last year. They offered only 2 fins at the time. Jeff Page mentioned that they are offering up a number of new fin options for '09. Also, note the 4 skim in the one picture - it's a twin. I saw this configuration at the WWSC in '07 and then again at the TWC, it looks like that may be a production model soon

I have heard rumors of a thruster to be offered from IS. It's a little hard to see in that picture of the 4skim, but if you look at the back you can see a sticker behind the warning sticker. It looks as if under that sticker are two screw holes or perhaps screws. That sure looks like a thruster configuration to me. Adding or removing fins would then allow that board to be ridden as a single skimmer, a twin like in that picture or as a thruster. It doesn't look as if those fins will interchange with the rest of the IS boards.

[Moki]

So, to clarify, the double fin configuration is supposed to give you more speed? How does it work, it is like a venturi effect?

[Surfdad]

Hey Moki,

Just so that I don't answer the wrong question, are you talking about the quad (4) fin set up or the twin fin set up?

[NICKYPOO]

Hi Surfdad! Interesting fins on that last pic. Looks almost like a hybrid cleaver/thruster ... or something? There chunky. Longer/shorter theory perhaps? I see the holes under the sticker.

[Surfdad]

Nickypoo! Long time no hear 'bro! How have you been? Those are funky looking fins aren't they? I swear they remind me of fins I had on an old wakeskate.

[NICKYPOO]

Nickypoo! Long time no hear 'bro! How have you been? Those are funky looking fins aren't they? I swear they remind me of fins I had on an old wakeskate.

Ha, I'm still lurking around. Haven't done much riding this year, so not much to speak of there.

Ya, I had some cleavers on my old LF Superfly. They have a ton of surface area. Any idea on the hight of them. They look to be in the neighborhood of 3x5? Maybe 2.5x4? Comparable drive with less hang up? I seem to remember someone kicking around that idea a couple seasons ago. Oh yeah, it was me.

Man, I'd love to ride that 4skim as a twin. I really like shape and the rails, but it seems like it's missing that little bit of umph I get out of my Walzer, although I think it rides a bit better than the Walzer.

[Surfdad]

I honestly don't know Nick, I'd guess your dim's are probably accurate. The folks at Inland only feed me the info they WANT me to have. The 4skim is a fun little board to ride and I know that Jeff Page has been killing it at contests on that little puppy set up as a twin. In Texas, they were riding it with assymetric fin depths, so the inside fin, I think, had less depth than the outside fin.

[NICKYPOO]

In Texas, they were riding it with assymetric fin depths, so the inside fin, I think, had less depth than the outside fin.

Thats cheating. I could see why they would do that but, it seems like a bit much. What am I saying? If I had those resources, you know I'd be throwing everything I could at it just to see if it worked.

[Surfdad]

Me too! I always start off by attempting to bribe the judges.