Singlefin?
Moderator: Moderator
AM.
If you can seek out a winged keel (Star Fin) as designed by the late and great Ben Lexan, slot it into a fin box on a mal, old single fin or knee board and give it a try in clean offshore waves, I think you'll enjoy the ride and appreciate the drive and control of the!
My experiences and memories with the winged keel were positive given clean waves. In 89 or 90 I bought what was termed at the time an 8'6" 'modern mal' that had a winged keel attached. I was sceptical but found it gave the board tremendous lift on clean fast waves and loosened it up to allow easy carving from the tail - normally quite difficult on this 8'6" unsightly beast. The fin used to 'hummm' on bigger waves during a bottom turn - the performance was great and stopped the mal spinning out - the sound was quite a surprise but when the fin was humming it meant you were really surfin'!
I was lucky enough to witness Cheyne Horan surfing against Tommy Carroll at Bells around '88 or so when he unveiled the keel. I reckon his surfing on his short stubby with keel was super fast, responsive and smooth and not at all hindered. Tommy's back hand attack on the fast Rincon walls was very vertical but Cheyne's board was planing a treat to give him heaps of speed. (This match up was also featured on the original Nat Young History of Surfing vid.)
Fashion dictated that the keel must die but I believe that we should not judge a design based around it's suitability on the pro circuit.
Cheyne was aiming to create a neutralised board that planed and did what HE WANTED and succeeded. 99.9% of surfers would struggle to ride a conventional pro model thruster well, wheras they would appreciate a wider, thicker, shorter and rounder board , like Cheyne's in average waves, giving them flotation, ease of planing, smooth tight turns, fluid surfing and style. I reckon he was onto the surfing equivalent of the early VW a peroples surfboard. It's a pity the surf media poo pooed him at the time.
The keel could be adapted to a range of boards and could make a come back yet - give it a go and expreience the future!
If you can seek out a winged keel (Star Fin) as designed by the late and great Ben Lexan, slot it into a fin box on a mal, old single fin or knee board and give it a try in clean offshore waves, I think you'll enjoy the ride and appreciate the drive and control of the!
My experiences and memories with the winged keel were positive given clean waves. In 89 or 90 I bought what was termed at the time an 8'6" 'modern mal' that had a winged keel attached. I was sceptical but found it gave the board tremendous lift on clean fast waves and loosened it up to allow easy carving from the tail - normally quite difficult on this 8'6" unsightly beast. The fin used to 'hummm' on bigger waves during a bottom turn - the performance was great and stopped the mal spinning out - the sound was quite a surprise but when the fin was humming it meant you were really surfin'!
I was lucky enough to witness Cheyne Horan surfing against Tommy Carroll at Bells around '88 or so when he unveiled the keel. I reckon his surfing on his short stubby with keel was super fast, responsive and smooth and not at all hindered. Tommy's back hand attack on the fast Rincon walls was very vertical but Cheyne's board was planing a treat to give him heaps of speed. (This match up was also featured on the original Nat Young History of Surfing vid.)
Fashion dictated that the keel must die but I believe that we should not judge a design based around it's suitability on the pro circuit.
Cheyne was aiming to create a neutralised board that planed and did what HE WANTED and succeeded. 99.9% of surfers would struggle to ride a conventional pro model thruster well, wheras they would appreciate a wider, thicker, shorter and rounder board , like Cheyne's in average waves, giving them flotation, ease of planing, smooth tight turns, fluid surfing and style. I reckon he was onto the surfing equivalent of the early VW a peroples surfboard. It's a pity the surf media poo pooed him at the time.
The keel could be adapted to a range of boards and could make a come back yet - give it a go and expreience the future!
-
hart
- Legend (Contribution King!)
- Posts: 928
- Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2003 4:46 pm
- Location: Dee Why, Sydney.
cavitation
Hi Pete..
Sorry mate, but when a fin hums..it is a bad thing.
Fins that are poorly postioned (like out of parallel) or poorly foiled or fins that have chunks out of them will 'hum' at speed.
It is something from a board-builders perspective that shouldn't happen.
At least you were going quick enough to realise it!!
hart
Sorry mate, but when a fin hums..it is a bad thing.
Fins that are poorly postioned (like out of parallel) or poorly foiled or fins that have chunks out of them will 'hum' at speed.
It is something from a board-builders perspective that shouldn't happen.
At least you were going quick enough to realise it!!
hart