Rocker and Blank Question

[K-man]

Hmmmmmm,lets make that fin on the tail-

[K-man]

Hmmmmmm,lets make that fin on the tail-

[K-man]

but toed in, good grief,fergot to take em vita-mins!

[red]

K

You'll never catch rails on a Flashie.
I've been buried waist deep in a piece of chop, maintained position and the board simply surfaces and takes off again (barely slowing down). Forget all those things you've learnt about rail catches and hold your line, trusting the board to pull you through - it'll do it every single time. The hartdest thing about riding a Flashie is to practice not bailing because the board will generally pull you through.

its pushing more of the face of the fin against the water flow. It might give a quicker turn but at the expense of even more friction?

Board design is about trade offs and balance. My boards accelerate through turns so the big H must be doing something right.

We've found that all elements of a board need to be balanced. When any single element dominates (size of rail fins, for instance), this skews operation of the board.

[K-man]

OK! One more time.. the reference to catching rails had to do with my surfing style.Surfing more on the tail,means I'm using less forward rail,and awide nose may catch[hart ran me thru this one]So he pulled in the nose..and I've buried this board to a point where I swore I'd never recover It pulls thru every time...
And as far as the quote on toe in and friction...I just don't see or relate to the problem,as my other boards [minnie waves]are toed right in,and feel real positive,and go good.Alot of it has to do with wave size,qualiy,surfing style,and number beers consumed

beers

[hart]

as my other boards [minnie waves]are toed right in,and feel real positive,and go good.

Special K

Fins that are toed way in can go good in quality little waves, providing all other things (like Red said) are in balance.

Toed in fins however, REALLY like to be turned..cause they don't like to trim.

When the waves get big..and bigger, then fins that are too toed in can be a negative.

I spoke to a couple of Hawaiians before I started shaping guns for Farrer and Red (North Shore Gathering 05) only last week and both Mike Kennedy (Smokin Rock) and Jeff Bushman (Shaper) told me to pay close attention to fin toe in.

In fact, more to the point dont pay attention to fin toe in

So..

small waves = go the toe

big waves = stay more parallel



hart

[K-man]

I was just getting ready to do a second post whe ya'll popped up.
That was part of the thought-small toed in bigger,toed out.
NOW-the next part.On my minny boards,the fins are close on the tail-so the trailing edge to the leading edge of the fin is a particular angle to the nose
On the tri,rail fins at 16-1/2 that angle increases and can create quite a lot of friction-Make sense?It does to me

K

[red]

I started shaping guns for Farrer and Red

Brucie,
I'm getting excited now!!!!

[ross]

if Kyles tail is drifting through his bottom turn,wouldnt he be losing speed?(not that you'd know it).
i personally feel sliding should not be tollerated in one of my boards.

[fooj]

Headwax, you funny.

[hart]

If Kyle's nose (board not interpupillary bridge) is so wide, and he is still going vertical is it because he is sliding the tail at the end of his bottom turn?

Seems so in Simon's new vid. Three quarters of the way through the bottom turn the tail seems to come round way too fast.

Or is it the point where the outside fin pops?

Remember Kyle is very tall (6'4") and his knee position is way behind halfway. His centre fin (whilst being large ie same size as his rail fins) is way forward..like its leading edge overlaps the trailing edge of his rail fins.

All your observations are accurate and in my view, a result of the above 3 individual characteristics.

His height, kneeposition and fin position..all of which he uses to his advantage.

Add to this a low drivey style..and the best of all Worlds (Ozzie ) is created.

hart

[red]

HW

Kyle's turns are often pivots off the two inside fins (and around his hand which is in the water far forward). All that area behind the fins does seem to slide around, but I don't think it is non-functional slide (i.e. fin slide) - just a tight radius turn. As Bruce says, it's Kyle's unique body position. Remember he has heaps of upper body weight so can control his board trim from waaayy back on the board just by leaning forward. I imagine his lower back muscles are in good shape for him to be able to do this (an hour of gym every day he told me).

Watch carefully and you'll see how he uses the nose width to his advantage.

Would you or I be able to ride one of those boards to such effect? I think I'm too skinny to manage that much area up front and push much too hard with my feet to be able to turn that smoothly.

[red]

Actually I was beseeching the gods for a clean paddle out. Had to swallow my heart back down a few times - simply can't paddle that fast for so long anymore