I've had a smik custom hipster twin 9.5 X 29 longboard for about 2 years now and have always left the rear small fin in the very centre position.
Has anyone experimented moving this fin fully fwd or fully back and what are the effects, or being smaller is this minimal.
What position do other smik hipster owners normally put this fin in.
Thx
Dale

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dkeating said..
I've had a smik custom hipster twin 9.5 X 29 longboard for about 2 years now and have always left the rear small fin in the very centre position.
Has anyone experimented moving this fin fully fwd or fully back and what are the effects, or being smaller is this minimal.
What position do other smik hipster owners normally put this fin in.
Thx
Dale

I have the 9'2" X 29" hipster twin long board. Tried the centre fully forward. Didn't like it. Board seemed to have no drive. I thought it might make it loose but it didn't drive through the turns just kind of stalled. Also tried it fully back. I think it paddled into waves slightly better but wasn't as loose. The extra wave catching ability was minor. The difference in turning was relatively major, so in other words fully back was not worth it. Centre is how it was designed and to my mind certainly the best option and the best balance between drive, wave catching and looseness.

Interesting topic.

I've always ran my hipsters with the centre fin forward. I've always found them loose,drivey and very responsive to whatever you want to do. I had thought it might be better in bigger surf to maybe centre it. But have never been bothered to try it as its always fun having it forward.

I've also got a smaller center fin I want to give a shot to see what that does to the board

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dkeating said..
Has anyone experimented moving this fin fully fwd or fully back and what are the effects

It is simple:
- move it forward to gain looseness
- until you begin to lose drive: you will feel the board kind of oversteering at the end of the turn and killing its speed

The position depends on your surfing style (powerful back foot surfers will want the fin more at the rear) and the waves power.

A tool-less fin is great for this, you can move it on the water between waves without tools to experiment and find your personal sweet spot of the day.

With my boards with centre rear boxes i always mark 1cm lines along the box.
Start with your fin in the centre of the box and take a fin key with you next surf and then simply move it forward or back in the 1 cm increments.
Rule of thumb is all forward loose with minimal drive and all the way back drivey but tighter to turn.
Best advice ..... go and experiment.
Enjoy.

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Brenno said..

I used to have these shoved up all the way forward on my 9' x 28".
After many, many sessions on this board they sit just rear of centre, which is a good compromise for nose riding and standing on the tail.
I think they are rusted in place now

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Brenno said..

Brenno said..

I used to have these shoved up all the way forward on my 9' x 28".
After many, many sessions on this board they sit just rear of centre, which is a good compromise for nose riding and standing on the tail.
I think they are rusted in place now

Hi Brenno, how do the C Drives compare to the standard Smik Hipster fins. I have the 10ft long board version on order and looking for advice on the best setup?

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wazza66 said..
With my boards with centre rear boxes i always mark 1cm lines along the box.
Start with your fin in the centre of the box and take a fin key with you next surf and then simply move it forward or back in the 1 cm increments.
Rule of thumb is all forward loose with minimal drive and all the way back drivey but tighter to turn.
Best advice ..... go and experiment.
Enjoy.

Wazza, you say 'tighter" to turn... do you mean harder or that the board will turn in a tighter arc???

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DCeeSup said..

Brenno said..

Brenno said..

I used to have these shoved up all the way forward on my 9' x 28".
After many, many sessions on this board they sit just rear of centre, which is a good compromise for nose riding and standing on the tail.
I think they are rusted in place now

Hi Brenno, how do the C Drives compare to the standard Smik Hipster fins. I have the 10ft long board version on order and looking for advice on the best setup?

The stock fins are great, especially in bigger surf. They flow really nicely.
I enjoy the C Drives more, always have, and not just on this board.
Mainly because I am a large bloke, and I find I can really drive these through a bottom turn, and have some loose fun on the top turn as I ease up on the weight.

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bomberdave said..

wazza66 said..
With my boards with centre rear boxes i always mark 1cm lines along the box.
Start with your fin in the centre of the box and take a fin key with you next surf and then simply move it forward or back in the 1 cm increments.
Rule of thumb is all forward loose with minimal drive and all the way back drivey but tighter to turn.
Best advice ..... go and experiment.
Enjoy.

Wazza, you say 'tighter" to turn... do you mean harder or that the board will turn in a tighter arc???

Tighter radius in your turn .....sharper and not so drawn out.