ive recently bought a 110 litre seatrend board. the board is excellent got it for 150 bucks and loving it. gets onto the plane easily for me and has great top speeds. I weigh about 65 kgs and sail with a 6.5 or 5.7 in around 20-30 knots. got a second hand fin for $50, its a bit too big, 35 cm is coming to mind but im unsure. I find once i get into the straps it rides up on the fin and becomes unsteady. What size fin should i be using? and how much would one cost? or possibly is it just my technique thats wrong?
Hi alec,
For a 6.5 sail a 34 - 36cm fin should be about right.
On your 5.7 i would be looking at a 30 - 32cm.
You may also like to play with your mast base positioning a bit also.
If you are getting lifted up on your fin you can move your track forward and if you feel the nose sticking/pushing water you can move it back.
I wouldnt move more than a cm at a time though as it can make a fair amount of difference.
hmm ok ill play around with different settings. ive only just started to get into the straps so it may take a little while to get used to. its a tuttle box by the way, not sure if that makes any difference?
i found that if your rounding up into the wind your probably not going fast enough . once your fully sheeted in and find your feet nearly on the straps thats the speed you want. for me i took the pressure off my back foot, and onto the harness, put the back foot in and then quickly put the front foot in. once you get in try to keep your weight off the board and onto the sail. i found if i didnt do this the board would ride up on the fin. hence why i asked if the fin was too big, but its probably just a technique thing... keep in mind im no expert this is just what ive expierenced and what worked for me.
!!!) and try to get into the straps once I'm fully skidding along. Cheers for that. Good luck with the fin question.
) by using the underhand grip or as i was told, the "kill switch". I found it uncomfortable at first but now won't sail without using this technique.
One thing I've worked out is there's a very fine line between skidding along sweetly and going over the handle bars. TOW- and good info- should sort that out. I'll print it out ya reply and stick it too the sail.
What is going on if fin size is too small?
I had been using recently 94L with 29 cm fin for 7.4m2.
I can not observe any spin outs, but wonder if that small fin for the sail size could effect early planning ability ?
) by using the underhand grip or as i was told, the "kill switch". I found it uncomfortable at first but now won't sail without using this technique.
oh your right phil, had a good read.
i think put your rear foot in first. when i put my front foot in first i felt my feet were to close together. so putting your rear foot in first stops having this awkward stance. maybe its different for everyone but i dont know.
No i dea if its right or not as im self taught and new as well but i put my back foot in first and move the front foot forwards and back to transfer weight through the peaks and lulls. saves me from trying to get rear foot in and out all the time as i find it hard when wearing boots. Seems to work for me just a suggestion. But when fully planing in nice solid wind back foots locked in and the front foots locked in straight after.
If 35 cm feels too big your 110 litre board must be an older narrower board. A modern board of 110 litres is usually about 64cm wide, (I'm thinking of my Tabou rocket) and that would be fine with a 35 cm fin, preferably even a bit longer. Or maybe your straps are inboard, that will make the fin harder to keep upright.
Ian the board is fairly old perhaps 10 years or so. so perhaps it is the design of the board, thank you for your imput
The fin is most likely too big for an older board. Measure the width of the board 30cm from the tail and try a fin a couple of cm shorter than that.
) by using the underhand grip or as i was told, the "kill switch". I found it uncomfortable at first but now won't sail without using this technique.
Select to expand quote
Front foot first and you don't need to be planing to put your front foot in but you need to be on the verge of planing and accelerating. So long as your hanging off the boom you should be OK. Putting your front foot in and weighting it can not only help you get your back foot in but will help you get onto the plane. You can sail front foot in and back foot just in front of the rear strap for extended periods or until you feel ready to go for the rear strap but it feels wrong to me sailing with your rear foot in and front foot out.
Catapults not hurting who ever heard of such a thing. Man i've been flogged by some of my catapults and had sore necks muscles for days and bruised and corked thighs from slamming into the head of the boom. You must be doing them wrong. Mark my words the painful ones are only just around the corner. If you can remember to sheet in if your at the point of no return then you will save the nose of your board too as the sail will fly past it rather than hitting it square on with not so nice results.
Front foot first it is then. Will work on the rear foot during the next session- which according to all online forecast is about next spring...
I must be lucky with the catapults (or doing them wrong
) as I'm yet to hit anything other than the sail. So now I can look forward to damaging the board and some good bruising- excellent...
PhilSWR....Yep you are doing your catapults all wrong, You know when they are good because you'll end up on you back with your boom snapped in half and have caved to nose of your new board in...Now that's a proper catapult.
.....and maybe whiplash or concussion.
Have fun with it
end up on you back - Tick
caved the nose of your new board in - Tick
maybe whiplash or concussion - Tick and Tick
I am glad to here its not just me
. Maybe your just using too much sail..?
) by using the underhand grip or as i was told, the "kill switch". I found it uncomfortable at first but now won't sail without using this technique.Make sure you don't let go of the boom as you go..
. Maybe your just using too much sail..?
What helps me get into the back strap is to make sure I take my weight on the back hand (I guess it makes sure you stay sheeted in) until my back foot feels light enough to shift easily. Most of your weight should be in the harness, but this gives you the feeling that you're in control throughout the process.
