Curiosity on standard fin sizing in new boards.

[theq]

Thanks for the numbers on the fins. And yes, I am aware that the 350 is the total area of the fin set. It is a bit frustrating that MFC doesn't have the breakdown of the areas, lengths, etc. At least I haven't found it anywhere.

I measured the MFC sides to be around 9.25cm in depth. I'll have to measure again in case I had more parallax effect. I'm confident it won't be over 9.5cm. And, as you can see in the image, they're quite narrow in outline. Presently they're back in the board so I can try it with the standard fin set before making any new fin purchases. I just rode it the way the guy I bought it from had it set up. He was a Bay area sailor. All that said, I wouldn't be surprised if I end up buying a set of 16cm, 17cm, or something in between.

My usual sailing spots are Leo Carillo and County Line. And, with any luck this summer, a Punta San Carlos run. I'm hopeful that the board will get me out on some of our many local lighter wind days that have surf. Fingers crossed.

[grantmac017]

I run a set of 17 Scorchers on my Quattro 95 with the stock ~9.25cm fronts for onshore/side-on and it works quite well.

[theq]

[U2U2U2]

The area of the MFC set it came with , is the same as his 17 Scorchers , not likely.
The length is only 1 factor , the area, as you know, and shape all have an influence , as do symmetrical, Asy and toe in.

Sailor ability and a couple hundred other things go into the equation.
If this were true that most increase the size of the fins, that would still not account for the variance that could be you.

You might write Steve at K4, for his take.

[theq]

[U2U2U2]

[U2U2U2]

Of course the area would be nice to know.

Trace fin outline.Start at the base , in .5cm intervals draw lines across the fin edge to edge .
Measure the lengths, ie. 9 cm, 9.25 cm etc. Add all the lengths , ie 9+9.25= 18.25
Divide by 2, ie 18.25 / 2 = 9.125, this is the area on the fin in square cm.

[grantmac017]

Actually it's the forefather of the Cube, the Quad LS. I am ~200# and always in a fair amount of gear because it's cold here.
I don't think I'd want bigger rear fins, when I tried 12cm Ezzy fronts it felt slow but surfy and planted. Probably a set of 15cm rears would go well with the big fronts in better waves.

[pjs]

The great thing about those MFC carbon fins is that they are essentially disposable single-use if you sail anywhere that you might clip a rock or scape the reef, or even hit the sand a little hard, which covers a lot of really good wave spots. I'd just sail them until the first one mushrooms out, shears off or breaks free of whatever screw is holding it on (I've done all of these to both the centers and side biters on the 4 sets I've had that came with new boards.) Then you can figure out what your next fin should be.

on the good side- they are awesome feeling fins for the short time they keep their original shape

[swchandler]

The whole conundrum with newer multi-fin tri and quad arrangements is something that never ends. It's a total guessing game that can test your patience and pocketbook to find some kind of wave sailing nirvana.

To me, small fin arrangements just don't offer the positive drive and power possible from a traditional standard single fin. I felt the same about surfing when smaller boards with small thrusters entered the picture on the 80s. It was a different style of surfing entirely.

However, I will say that I have been totally in sink with Open Ocean tri-fins since the mid 90s, but I still was using an 8.75" center fin, so it's not quite the same as 3 or 4 small fins which can be very skatey and quite slow overall.

Good luck trying to find the perfect fin combination. It's like shooting in the dark.