OK, I'm going out again tomorrow and I want to try a surface 180. However, I'm just wondering.... do I need to take the fin off to do this? <BR> <BR>Oh, it's a realm board and the fin seems to be screwed on to the tail. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by ar1stotle on August 19, 2006)

Tyler, <BR> <BR>I'm just a beginner but can now do surface 180 and 360s. Here is my $.02: <BR> <BR>I ride a LF Fish 133 without fins and find it a lot easier to spin 180 + 360 for me. With fins I find it sticky and snappy when rotating and it doesn't feel smooth. That's my experience. My buddy just tried my fish and hated it without fins. He said it doesn't want to ride straight and found it too slippery. We put the fins back in and he was doing 360's with them in where I could not. To each his own. <BR> <BR>If I have read the info on your board correctly it has 2.45" of rocker and 2.5" fins. That means the fins are almost always in contact with the water unless you get it on center and up on edge. You'll probably find a lot of water resistance when it's turned sideways from the fins grabbing the water. If you take the fins out it'll probably slide/spin WAY easier and it'll take some getting used to. <BR> <BR>Let us know what you decided and how you did.

Well, I tried it with the fins, but I couldn't get it to come around. Maybe I just wasn't comfortable enough on the board. So, I took the fins off, and did a side slide. It was weird without the fins... I had like no control, and I noticed my natural tendancy to have the board cocked a little to the left (which was hard to straighten). So, after the sideslide, i went back to the normal position, then I tried to open up and switch positions, which I assume would be a surface 180... faceplant. Felt like I did a belly flop on my face. So I put the fin back on, and tried not to do anything stupid. I didn't feel too good after the faceplant, and when I went to try to jump off the wake, I slammed harder into the water and had a headache for a while. So, I'm not gonna be trying that again for a while.

I shouldn't really matter and u should try doin it cuz it can easily be put back on. But if ur board already has molded in fins, then it might help to take the fins off. If ur board is flat, then u'll lose ur grip on the water.

Tyler, what speed are you trying this at? I think I started at like 15mph trying the 180s. The board wasn't far out of the water (on plane) but I could do it at slower speeds initially. I had the driver go up 1mph increments until I was comfortable doing it at 23mph. <BR> <BR>Oh yea, the faceplants are a lot more forgiving at slower speeds. Hope it helps.

I ride a Kink without fins. It just takes a bit of getting used to it but once you do its so much better. I can edge just as hard as any of my friends riding with finned boards..

you dont need to take the fins off but yes, it makes it easier

Does your board have the 2.5 fins on it? If so that seems like a lot of fin, I would try riding on smaller fins if you still want to get the locked in feeling but be able to spin a little easier, doing them slow at first is also a great idea.