SURFIN SYSTEMS Fins Review in TRACKS magazine Jan97 SURFIN SYSTEMS Fins Review in 'FREE SURF ' MAGAZINE DEC '97.

SURFIN SYSTEMS.
For Surfers wishing a more practical grasp of Surfboard Design, there is no more practical place to start than with your own Board. Assuming that it floats you properly, by far the most accessible aspect of it's tuning lies with its fin(s). For example by reshaping or rebuilding your fin with fibreglass, you can completely change the feel of your board forever. Unless of course you have a removable fin System, in which case all experiments can be returned to their original set up if required. While fin boxes with their high strength/weight ratio have fulfilled a need for decades, in an age of multi fin set ups, they are no longer a first choice for lightweight, highly refined equipment.

Like surfboard design itself, modern plastics have come a long way, and it is now possible for moulded plastics to emulate and even surpass features of the fibreglass Fin.Torque,Reshapability, and Glasser friendly materials are already available for the discerning designer. They are cheaper, lighter and recylable.

SURFIN SYSTEMS began trialing a range of new materials to utilise with an insert/removable system they began developing in the mid eighties. While the system includes mini inserts that may be fitted with a minimum of tools (the Board can be surfed within the hour and the need for electricity is optional) as well as toe-in and fore aft adjustment, it was in the area of new plastics that the most suprises lay.

System designer Chris Beacham: "The idea to use inserts to attach fins came after seeing what was being done with the footstraps on wavejumpers in Hawaii. I reasoned that if inserts could contain that sort of pressure, they would hold fins on. Early trialing confirmed that because of its foil, most of the force on a fin is exerted sideways, (at the thickest part of the foil to be precise), and for a new system to be valid it was here that the fin would need the most reinforcement. Rovings have done this job for decades. What we did was incorporate the rovings into the actual fin itself. Like rovings, early prototypes showed no drag so we went ahead. The other tuning aspects came later. It was important to us that the finished system could be fitted by anyone, anywhere. The track in the fin allowing some latitude for fitting error with the flange covering up any less than neat settings."

However, it was in the area of surfing performance that the newer plastics held the most potential. It was now possible, with the range of different moulded flexes (which SURFIN SYSTEMS chose to colour code) to tune each rail of the same board differently. Although trialling has shown that the centre fin complements the side fins best when it remains stiff. Hmm.. Interesting for point surfs.

With the bewildering array of fin outlines in the marketplace, which is the most suitable for any one board?

"Well, nothing is better than trial and error, but we feel that the flex characteristic that an outline creates has more bearing on performance than 'more or less' fin area. This is why those weird little fins are so popular with those weird big surf skis. But strictly speaking, if you have a wider base fin, it should not be set in the same position as one that is of less width. The further foreward a fin is set, the tighter the arc of a turn will be."

SURFIN SYSTEMS has recently set up the 'Surfin Custom Shop' for designing a range of Single/Twin etc. Fibreglass/Plastic hybrids for those Surfers who would wish to go further than just fine tuning their Tri Fin. In other words it is possible to try all setups on the same board!

Beacham concludes "We set out to design a lightweight alternative to boxes re practical, place to start and ended up with a fin that could fit inserts, standard boxes (using two screws and plates the fin sits 'on' the box) as well as one that may be cut at a variety of angles at the base to be glassed on in the traditional manner. I look foreward to the time when we can screw the fin directly into the hull without Inserts at all".