Freestyle Board for Slalom???

outcast · Joined: 04 May 2004 Posts: 2724

Anybody try putting a deep fin on a freestlye board...?

I get that turning might not be great, but they plane up quick and have a flat rocker right???

I only ask because i know where i could get my hands on one cheap

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

I've never ridden a dedicated FS board, but one expert FS bud who sailed little else complained and could not sell his Goya FS board for years because of its harsh ride in B&J mode. Others here who have them pooh pooh that. Caveat emptor.

cgoudie1

I have done this very thing with an RRD Twin Tip (I think it's a 115 ltr).
It makes for a surprisingly planey board, and in Utah where I ride that, it's
not too harsh in 7/6/5M conditions. It is a little sticky in the turns though.
I use a pretty big sweeper on it. I have to say though that the fin the board
came with, which is quite stubby, is surprisingly planey, and works pretty
well for a shallow mud bog of a lake we sail here in the Spring.

-Craig

d0uglass · Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 12:03 pm Post subject:

I've seen the Peconic Puffin sails a JP freestyle board really really fast with a large-ish fin. You should ask him about it. http://www.peconicpuffin.com/ I think it can work.

pete1111 · Joined: 16 Apr 2005 Posts: 193 Location: The Dude

most modern freestyle boards have a slalom rockers so yes quite fast and plane up fast due to all the volume in the tale. 25-30 cm fin depending on the size of the board should be fine.

boardsurfr · Joined: 23 Aug 2001 Posts: 1266

I sometimes sail my Fanatic Skate 110 with a large fin (30 cm weed). Early planing behavior is similar to a slalom board, except that it's a bit easier to get going due to the center straps. With the big fin, a 7.0 works great on it. I've used it with an 8.5, but that's a mismatch.

Top speed seems a bit slower than with a similar sized slalom board. On the upside, sailing just barely powered can be much more fun than on a slalom board.

dllee · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay

You get the early planing and the acceleration up to high speeds.
What you don't get is control at high speeds, due to inboard straps, your mid point pounds the chop, and you can't jibe well at those higher speeds because your feet are inboard and too far forwards.
The mast track is also too far back for bigger sails per board size.
You DO get early planing of a slalom board, if that is your main criteria.

boardsurfr · Joined: 23 Aug 2001 Posts: 1266

dllee · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay

When sailing as a slalom board, most sailors would use a bigger sail than used for freestyle, so they're more powered up. Bouncing around at top speeds doesn't make the jibe any easier, especially if the strap settings are forward. Inboard is fine. Also, a bigger fin than freestyle is used, as said, up to 30 cm's, but if you really wanted early planing, up to 38 on the modern 100 liter freestyle boards with 40cm + sized tails. With the big fin, mast track too far back, and forward set straps, you're fighting the whole equation all the time, which translates to fighting the jibes also.
Most intermediate sailors do find a freestyle board jibes very well, while a slalom board, full on lightweight, hard railed, cutout equipped, do take more skill to perform full planing jibes.
But easier doesn't always translate to better. What's easy at low speeds, like freestyle board powered up by freestyle sized sails, is not the same thing as being powered up by bigger sails, fins, and wrong mast track positioning.

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3550

One other issue is the fin box. If you have a freestyle board with a Powerbox fin than finding larger race fins will be no problem. But if you have a freestyle board with a slotbox finding fins may not be as easy.

Coachg