This is the fin on my Jimmy Lewis M14. It seems to go pretty good. I've trimmed small point break waves and managed to turn the board in these waves enough to keep near the curl. Even managed it with my young son sitting up front (fun). However I'm thinking of getting into some DW work and considering a new fin.

Would I notice a big difference by swapping out this fin? For my first DW adventure I was considering the Moon Island Classic (Newcastle) before Mr Noah shut proceedings down. That's around 20km + so extra glide would count for a lot over that sort of distance.

Even though I am looking at doing some DW stuff, I want to maintain the ability to take off on a wave and trim while taking the drop as I surf it off a breakwater sometimes (Swansea Bar/channel). You take off pretty straight mostly out there but the ability to angle down the drop is preferable if things get a little steep. I was going to take the fin from my wife's 2013 Fanatic 12'6" Falcon and whack it into the M14 to see how it felt, but its base was too thick and the fin would not go into the M14's fin box. DOH!

JL has a dagger style fin (called a Noserider, I would go the 11" I guess) and a swept fin (again go the biggest one I guess, 9.5"). Do you reckon I should go the dagger or the swept? I haven't confirmed I can even get these for starters. Would the dagger be significantly faster or better on a DW? Maybe I should get 2 new fins but if the difference is marginal I won't bother. An image from the JL catalogue is shown below. Maybe a local fin would do the trick, if it fits in the M14 that is.
Cheers!

Maybe a 10 or 11 inch like this

www.trueames.com/products/heritage-nosrider-single-fin (my favourite)

Or this


www.surfstitch.com/product/fcs-fluid-foils-dolphin-10-smoke-smoke

Cheers HC. That Heritage fin by True Ames looks a bit like a cross between a dagger and a swept fin so might do the trick. It is also reasonably priced (edit - I see it is from USA so exchange and shipping will bump cost). I can't see me spending $160 on a fin, I'm not that keen unless the results would be really noticeable.

Just have to get hold of some vernier calipers and work out the maximum base thickness the M14's fin box will accept.

For a pure flatwater/downwind fin, try one of these:

www.surffcs.com/collections/water-sports-sup

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enuenu said..


Just have to get hold of some vernier calipers and work out the maximum base thickness the M14's fin box will accept.

I wouldn't get hung up on that, it's not surgical equipment .

There's a lot of variation in US-compatible fin boxes and fin bases (despite them supposedly being made to a standard) and the manufacturing tolerances generally aren't very fine. You can always shim out a fin base that's too thin, or sand down a base that's too thick.

Thanks. It seems the dagger/upright style fins are acknowledged as the fastest/best for DW. My question would be do they do weird things when you try and surf them across waves with a face?

An all-round log fin like that TA heritage, or one of the bigger stock Naish surfboard fins (which are priced very well locally) will be pretty versatile in a range of conditions...the couple of skinny "DW" dagger style fins were less surfy. Local DW legend DJ prefers a dolphin style fin. IMO it comes down to personal preference, your board and local conditions, how tall/heavy/skilled you are. See of you can borrow/demo a couple of different shapes and try them in your local conditions (not always feasible with fins but no harm in asking around).

Just found this post
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Swept-back-fin-and-stability/
So as you said DJ goes dolphin over dagger, even for DW. That would be the go then I think because the dolphin would have to out-surf the dagger. I might take to the fin from my wife's Falcon with some sandpaper until I can shoehorn it into the M14 and give it a go to get a sense of the difference In feel. I'm around 90 kegs and can surf. DW new to me though.

This one works for me....

Nice. Looks like a hybrid DW/surf sort of template. It has that dolphin look to it which I reckon might lend itself to some laid out bottom turns when needed

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enuenu said..
Nice. Looks like a hybrid DW/surf sort of template. It has that dolphin look to it which I reckon might lend itself to some laid out bottom turns when needed

I personally don't think dolphin fins are good in these downwinders.....far too much base in them. You need a small base to the fin to turn it quicker on a wave. I surf mine on small weak swells now and again.....you need to get right back and pivot it round. I have tried a dolphin fin......no good in my opinion and Noserider fins are awful on these boards. Just my take of course.

''You need a small base to the fin to turn it quicker on a wave''

Interesting.. Firstly I don't think there's much quick turning on a wave going on on downwinders.. Turning quick will often kill your glide and speed.. Dolphin fins are what's used for 90% of surfing boards where there is plenty of quick turning happening.. and btw there are so many variations of a dolphin fin including cut away dolphins.. more area in the tip or more area in the base.. along with different rakes etc.. In my experience quick turning type fins make the board do funny things at higher speeds like causing the board to rail up and try and buck you off in the same way a pointer fin on a windsurfer doesn't like to head down wind at speed.. IMO you want the fin to be very neutral and have no effect on the board and dolphin fins do this very well.. The fin is responsable for tracking.. turning.. and stability.. you should always use the smallest fin that you can get away with and still get those three things.. Which of those three things is the most important will have an effect on what fin shape works best for you.. Water conditions along with board size and shape will also effect what fin works best.. It's complecated stuff..

maybe down to personal pref but for me a small base fin works best....tried standard type dolphin fins and they were not for me on the M14. Go try and see what works for you I say.

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enuenu said..
Thanks. It seems the dagger/upright style fins are acknowledged as the fastest/best for DW. My question would be do they do weird things when you try and surf them across waves with a face?

It is fun surfing the M14 in little waves.....but don't expect any killer turns.....once I have got on the wave I just try to ride it before it closes out.....

Thanks for the input. I was really surprised by how well the M14 surfed a soft point break at around 2ft. I could take off at an angle then point and shoot. There was a bit or running back to the tail to cut down when I started to outrun the wave, but it did hold trim quite well. I don't want to lose that basic surf-ability.

Are you still using what looked like a red Glide GT10 DJ?
www.glidefins.com/

Interesting you say the Noserider fins aren't the best Slab. I was considering one based on the fact that they look kind of similar to the Futures DW fins. You may have saved me some trouble, thanks;
www.trueames.com/collections/single-fins/products/velzy-noserider-single-fin

Cutaways look very similar to the Futures DW;
www.trueames.com/collections/single-fins/products/tom-parrish-cutaway-surf

HC's original suggestion still in the running too;
www.trueames.com/collections/single-fins/products/heritage-nosrider-single-fin

One thing holding me back from the Futures DW are the $180 - $200 price tag.

I'm going to see if I can sand the base of the fin from our 2013 Fanatic Falcon (ONE Race Ace 9.75") down to a thickness where it will fit in the M14 and compare it to my current fin as an experiment. It's more of a dolphin type fin.

I read some some interesting comments here about fins with less base not anchoring the tail so much in cross winds, causing the nose turn downwind. I've noticed that effect;
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/Falcon-Fin/

I use an FCS Hatchet fin on my M-14 for surfing. I use the stock fin for downwind. i used to use the hatchet for dw but it would slide around a little too much on the runners. I find my glides are longer with that big stock fin.

One thing I remember vividly with the stock fin is that I really felt like I was battling with it paddling cross winds.....so hard to correct. You will get tonnes of views from all sides saying one fin or another is the go....some work for others and not others. Ive comes down to the view that an upright fin with a smaller base but good stability works well. I had a few conversations with Jimmy Lewis on email about this....he likes the stock fin the best but has tried others. He likes big stability and straight tracking.....works for him but not me. what I like about the fin I have is that it tracks well but don't feel like the board is planted straight, stable with a decent bit of volume in the middle but a surf type tip. have fun trying a few.....