About surf board fin boxes

I’m familiar with and like Futures fins and fin boxes. The ones I’m familiar with are compatible with IS boards and are in the WP boards; I think that SS also uses Futures.

I’m looking at building a long board with a larger 8 inch or 9 inch fin. The fins I’ve seen are not Futures. Does Futures make larger fins or is there another kind of fin box that works with these larger fins?

Example fin:
http://www.essentialsurf.com/ikorb.php?func=catalog&category_id=74&product_id=1 5326

The Foam EZ web site has lots of fin boxes but I can’t tell which one work with the big fins.

Big fins:
http://www.foamez.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4_38
I love how they want $1.25 for a screw

Fin boxes:
http://www.foamez.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4_88
http://www.foamez.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4_84

Thx

This is what you want:

http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/Product_Catalog/SurfSailcom/surfsailcom.html

They only wany .63 for the screw.

So does a R06-1027, 9.0 inch single color fin work with both R04-0499 and R04-0562 fin boxes? I take it that the small metal plate slides in the box. The fin and screw attach to the metal sliding plate, right?

The picture at the top of the page shows one fin box marked as R04-0499 and another picture below shows a different style fin box with the same part number, sounds like an error.

The two different boxes and identical except for length. You're right, you slide the plate (which is threaded) into the box, and into a channel in the bottom. Then the fin typically has a small dowel on one end that slides in the same way the plate did. Line up the plate with the hole in the fin and thread the screw. The boxes typically allow you some adjustment fore and aft. The longer box, would give you more adjustment.

I think that the two boxes in the two pictures are the same, just with the tabs removed.

Next Question: How big?

I'm looking at buying a 7'3" Poly-U blank and either a 8'5" blank or a 9'3" blank. The 8'5" blank is an EPS, I'm not sure I want to work with EPS yet. The 9'3" is a little bigger than what I had in mind, but I know we had big fun with the 9'6" Stewart this year.

So how big of a fin should I get for a 7'3" and a 9'3"? Can I go down to a three fin Futures setup on the 7'3" or do I need to go big?

Thx

You certainly can go with a thruster fin cluster, but it depends on what you want to do with the board. If you want to try noseriding, you'll want to go with the long fin...the reason being is that as you get forward on the board, the tail will start to come up and the shorter fins pop out of the water - then you are just going sideways

Our SS noserider is 8'6" - Dennis' Inifity was 10'2" I do believe. I prefer the longer boards for this type of riding - very soulful. That stewart was a blast.

I would say go with the single longboard fin and go as long as you can. 10 inches. Great fun noseriding.

Ed, where are you planning on laminating this? Will it be heated? The Polyester resin is toxic, you need a breathing mask...I was thinking that might not be a good choice in the garage unless you want to lose your kitchen passes for a few years.

EPS and Epoxy isn't that hard to work with and the Epoxy has less or no VOC's. Possible to do in your garage without causing your lovely wife to file for divorce.

Ed - I would second Jeff with the EPS and Epoxy. Fairly easy to work with and as long as you have normal ventilation you should be fine. (According to Greg at Resin Research).

Although Polyester is supposed to be easier to work with I was going to go with epoxy. I’m going to laminate with one layer of 6 ounce on the bottom and two up top. I think I want cover the top of the board with foam, keeping wax out of the boat.

I'll heat my garage but keep my door open a bit. I've got a kerosene space heater. I have included on my order spread sheet a good mask. I have one but its old and I don't think it has the right filters. I'm planning on using the Resin Research materials. I caught heck last year for making a mess and a stink, I think I can be a little more clean this year. The Resin Research resin isn’t supposed to smell as bad as others, at least I thought that I had read that somewhere.

I saw a drizzle pigmentation technique on a video that an East Coast shaper posted. I’m planning on trying that technique on the bottom of the board.

I’m going to try to make the longer board a nose rider, don’t know what I’m doing, I’ll just try to duplicate what I’ve seen elsewhere. I might cut the shorter board down, not sure yet.

Sounds great Ed -- I'm working on a noserider myself, so we'll have to compare notes...

can you send me the drizzle pigmentation link?

An Austin Surf Boards Gallery Link: http://www.austinsurfboards.com/boards_html/gallery.htm

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