myiW Current Conditions and Forecasts Community Forums Buy and Sell Services
 
Hi guest · myAccount · Log in
 SearchSearch   ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   RegisterRegister 
Fin Material
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4 ... 10, 11, 12  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    iWindsurf Community Forum Index -> Windsurfing Discussion
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 1:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

3-phase wrote:
I had several pros say after 30 to 50 days throw a G10 fin away, do the material is loosing its initial flex /stiffness from flexing what do you think or what is your input on that?

I'd say that, right or wrong, pros get free fins. Wink

I've had new fins fade in just one session, confirmed when visual inspection revealed extensive internal cracking at the base strictly from sailing it. The most glaring example was fiberglass, not G10 IIRC, but it was a hefty fin from a major brand at the time. It looked so bad, and others had snapped, so we threw it away and notified the manufacturer.

In the many years since then, I've never had a fin fail that I could tell.
But, then, I'm not a pro, and I change boards and fins so often that unless a fin just isn't working out, I just adapt and keep sailing. Unless a big trophy is at stake, what's a little flex?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
LeeD



Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 1175

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 1:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

150 lbs recreational rider here....
I usually use blade fins, on slalom boards. G-10's usually last about 2 seasons, then get unrideable. Smaller 30's last longer, while 38's tend to feel soft and delaminate within that time span.
Carbon, epoxy, and g-10 seems to delam sooner. Maybe the carbon is too stiff to support the G-10.
Low tech fiberglass old style pointers delamed about the same...2 seasons.
Wave fins poly and standard E glass would last 2 seasons, then show spiderwebs and less rebound.
Older course slalom 50's of G-1O delamed after about 50 days.
Notice ALL modern Formula fins are multi layer carbon shells, the core being a variety of materials.
Fins just don't last. Side loading is a real culprit.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
coachg



Joined: 10 Sep 2000
Posts: 3546

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What does 1 day constitute? 1 to 2 hours of cruising or 6+ hours of hard sailing?

Coachg
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
cgoudie1



Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Posts: 2597
Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 3:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ooh ooh, I know the answer. A little flex is pretty handy on a top
turn on a wave, but not so much in a drag race. I'm going to attempt
to prove that in May.

-Craig

isobars wrote:
Unless a big trophy is at stake, what's a little flex?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 4:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wrote:
I've had new fins fade in just one session ...
about which coachg wrote:
What does 1 day constitute? 1 to 2 hours of cruising or 6+ hours of hard sailing?

I don't remember, but even if it was 4:30 AM 'til 9:30 PM -- and it surely wasn't just cruising; it was at Rowena/Doug's -- it was way too soon for a fin to lose its performance. It started out crisp and responsive when pushed laterally, but within hours it felt "spongy" even to me, who was still trying to hit 50% of my jibes then. I was amazed that at that early stage I was not only able to cause the damage but also able to perceive it. That's just another example of why even intermediates can feel and benefit from trying different fins.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
damel



Joined: 15 Jul 2007
Posts: 247

PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 1:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This fin setup is a little ridiculous but I guess if you are an amazing sailor it works:
http://www.zakel.ws/2012/02/09/jaeger-stone-testing-a-keel-quad-fish/

_________________
_____/)_____
http://east-of-maui.blogspot.com/
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
andersbq



Joined: 07 Feb 2011
Posts: 18

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 1:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I do not agree about that the fins get crappy and they should be ended after 2 years. But a "pro" do sail a lot. I almost a pro and spend almost 100 days on the water, still I use about 15-20 fins every year, different boards and conditions. The material, shape and how the are built matters, and all G10 are not the same.

I wrote a fin review recently, 5 fins almost the same price and size:
http://www.andersbq.com/2012/02/premium-speed-fin-test.html
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 1:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks andersbq for posting your premium fin test. I'm with you about high quality fins not getting crappy anytime soon. I still use and love a 34cm Tectonics Goldwing that I bought in 1999. In fact, I have quite a few Tectonics fins, including a 32cm F1 Falcon, and all are well made high performance fins made from excellent grades of G10. If I was to have a criticism about Tectonics fins, it would be the fact that Dennis Parton taps the screw holes directly into the base materials (no metal barrel nuts), so they can stripout over time.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
LeeD



Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 1175

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Damel...
Quads work great on a wave face because you can release the two outside fins and get loose but directional performance. My first quads, and some twinzers, can in around 1981. Quick but loose.
As for Parton fins. Most are pretty good, but you gotta get rid of the slow ones, and there ARE slow ones.....slow compared to their fast ones.
When they start to loosen, just drop some epoxy into the hole and retap. I carry 3 taps in my fan.
Whether anyone agrees or disagrees is a moot point. Most sailors who sail a lot can feel the fin losing snap even after 20 days. If you can't feel it, good for you, your fins will last longer.
If I get less than 150 planing days a year, it's a bad year for wind.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
coachg



Joined: 10 Sep 2000
Posts: 3546

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

LeeD wrote:
Damel...If I get less than 150 planing days a year, it's a bad year for wind.

And my season is around 100 days as football eats up most available days Aug-Nov. So maybe fin life would be best described in hours as opposed to seasons or days as those measurements seem to vary quite a bit.

Coachg
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    iWindsurf Community Forum Index -> Windsurfing Discussion All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4 ... 10, 11, 12  Next
Page 3 of 12

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You can attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum

myiW | Weather | Community | Membership | Support | Log in
like us on facebook
© Copyright 1999-2007 WeatherFlow, Inc Contact Us Ad Marketplace

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group