With yesterdays 20-30 knot wind turning into a 10-15 knot breeze our downwinder turned into more of a downbreezer..

I was able to test my new 9'' FSC Toolless fin.. Awesome fin and so cheap..

This was the cheaper $69 version.. I was so happy with it I have now ordered the more expensive glass version..

DJ where can I pick one of these up from.??

I got mine at The Zu.. at St Kilda..

Is that just a friction bush or am I missing something hidden?

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Jethrow said...
Is that just a friction bush or am I missing something hidden?

Yes.. Just a different version of the clicker idea that costs a lot more and IMO this system is just as good if not better.. It's just a bead or roller on a stainless steel pin/rod that works like a spring.. It's very easy to put in and take out.. Classic dolphin shape.. No chance of it falling out or being knocked out unless you're into paddling your board backwards.. I like it..

Not being sceptical, seriously, but having windsurfed and tried heaps of different fins, it looks like a very similar shape and size to the red one ?
How much difference did you feel ?
Is it similar to the changing windsurf fins ?
As you know DJ they can transform a board

Nice idea. SO much time is wasted when DWing faffing about putting fins in and out for transport. And someone has always forgotten their screwdriver/key/shim/bolt/whatever.

But what do you do if it doesn't fit your fin box well? FCS fins I've got tend to be loose in most of the boards I've got. With standard fins you can use shims or sand down to fit, but presumably with this fin, if it doesn't fit, you are pretty much stuffed?

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shoodbegood said..
Not being sceptical, seriously, but having windsurfed and tried heaps of different fins, it looks like a very similar shape and size to the red one ?
How much difference did you feel ?
Is it similar to the changing windsurf fins ?
As you know DJ they can transform a board

They can transform a board... After trying heaps of fins that plain red glass dolphin fin is my faverite.. This new tool-less FCS 2 fin is very similar in shape and size and feels very much the same on the water.. I was sponsored by MuliFins for years in my windsurfing days and learnt a lot about fins.. Foils.. Shapes.. and sizes.. and after all the fan-dangled fins I've used I keep coming back to the plain old dolphin shape..

IMO the best fin is one that you don't even know it's there.. It just works.. It provides the nessesary stability and tracking without restricting the turning or the surfing performance.. It's when up to higher speeds on downwinders that you will often feel the fin working against you.. Dolphin shapes work great at higher speeds.. There's a reason that dolphins have fins that shape..

The beauty of this fin is the ease of putting on and off the board because doing downwinders means stacking boards.. Doing car shuffles.. and taking fins off to make board stacking easier.. Anyone doing downwinders should concider one of these fins.. We don't put any load through our fins unlike windsurfing and kite surfing.. We don't need carbon.. G10 glass.. or even normal glass fins IMO.. These cheaper glass flex fins might look like plastic but they're not.. They're plenty strong enough for what we need.. I've ordered the performance glass version mostly for the look and extra stiffness for when my board is resting on the fin on the beach with the added weight of my huge camera rig.. That new black tool-less fin will go in my Odysseus once my new blue one arrives..

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Area10 said..
Nice idea. SO much time is wasted when DWing faffing about putting fins in and out for transport. And someone has always forgotten their screwdriver/key/shim/bolt/whatever.

But what do you do if it doesn't fit your fin box well? FCS fins I've got tend to be loose in most of the boards I've got. With standard fins you can use shims or sand down to fit, but presumably with this fin, if it doesn't fit, you are pretty much stuffed?

I've tried this new fin in a few different boards and it's been a perfect fit in them all.. I haven't sanded or shimed a fin in years..

I guess if you have odd fin box issues you need to try before you buy.. I'm sure most shops would agree to that..

I have one with bearing balls on springs ("ball transfers"), and it is so great for inflatables, where you remove / put the fin on each session!



Another solution could be the QFR:

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colas said..
I have one with bearing balls on springs ("ball transfers"), and it is so great for inflatables, where you remove / put the fin on each session!

Yes I have that one in a 9" which is great for downwind but too big for inflatables. I will be getting a 7" plastic in the new version for my inflatable. They don't make that old version anymore. It was much more expensive than the new one.

I'm surprised that you guys like fins with such relatively wide bases for downwinding. I find they resist turning when following the bumps.

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Area10 said..
I'm surprised that you guys like fins with such relatively wide bases for downwinding. I find they resist turning when following the bumps.

I agree about the wide base fins.. I'm not a fan.. They are great for tracking but they do tend to resist turning.. I'm talking about those long base triangle shapes where most of their large area is in the base.. These dolphin shapes are not as bad because they are cut in on the trailing edge reduces the fin area quick.. It would be nice to see a real cut-away version but this one is still very good.. That green original FSC clicker fin is awesome but besides being not that cheap they are no longer available.. and I'm sure those with them will be hanging on to them.. I tried to buy one after they were all gone.. This new one is the same shape and it's nice to have the cheaper option.

I was starting to feel like the stock fin on my M14 was holding me too straight. Work paid out a bonus so i treated myself to the futures hawaii downwind fin.

I don't know jack about fins and was a bit skeptical of the hype and pretty colours but initial impressions are pretty good. Its definitely more agile and quicker and easier onto a bump. It really surprised me how much of an effect the fin makes, I need to relearn the feel of the board. I did an out and back from the beach after work and the first bump I caught I buried the nose a foot deep because it completely caught me out.

For those that haven't experimented with fins I would recommend giving it a go.

That stock fin on the M14 is ridiculous IMO, and I have no idea what Jimmy was thinking pairing it with that board. The early M14 models (that were marked "Maliko" came with a more conventional ocean/wave type fin. That JL fin in your picture is a good flatwater touring fin, but a lousy downwind fin. I'm not surprised you noticed a difference going to the DW fin. I have the California version and it's a good all-round ocean fin.

Boards differ in the degree to which they are sensitive to fin changes. The M14 is quite sensitive in that respect. It is worth experimenting with different positions in the fin box too. I liked mine quite far forward in the box for maximum turning ability, but it's a very personal thing and you may find it more to your liking elsewhere. And it depends on the conditions - move the fin back for bigger, more confused, conditions.

IT seemed to me to be good while i was learning. I was running it with a Hatchet fin from the day i bought my M14, and when i swapped over to the stock fin i started to feel more steady and in that respect, go faster.

Now that i have a few more paddles under my belt i could play with the fin, but to start with that big, weird fin actually did a pretty good job...

Haven't dw'd for ages but down here in Melb the water on the regular northerly DW course is often quite messy and confused in places and tends to line up nicely only on sections of a run. At my very low level of DW proficiency (tall, heavy and balance-challenged) I generally prefer a fin with a big base and tip for tracking and hold in the slop, at the expense of surfiness on the good sections. .

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HumanCartoon said..
Haven't dw'd for ages but down here in Melb the water on the regular northerly DW course is often quite messy and confused in places and tends to line up nicely only on sections of a run. At my very low level of DW proficiency (tall, heavy and balance-challenged) I generally prefer a fin with a big base and tip for tracking and hold in the slop, at the expense of surfiness on the good sections. .

As anyone who knows us both will attest, you and I have significantly different needs when it comes to fins due largely to our size, but what I am finding lately is that a much smaller fin is fantastic in downwind where the wind and waves are a little bit cross-onshore or offshore. I don't need the balance correction from a fin so much, and having too big a fin tends to push me sideways and against the direction I want to go. Thanks to Pete Dorries for this revelation.

I went from a 2013 14 x 27.5 Allstar to a 2015 14 x 29 DC NSP cocomat. The DC has a wide base dolphin fin that maintains its width to the top resulting in a fin with lots of surface area resulting in a stable board. However it tracked so well it lacked the "lively" feel of the allstar which made it feel a little slow and sluggish (although not a huge speed difference on GPS). I was thinking "what have I done?" changing boards to one I enjoyed paddling less. I suspected it was the fin but didn't want to spend $180 on a fin that I wasn't sure was going to change things. Where I live demos aren't an easy option

On the advice in this topic I bought an FCS tool-less fin from surfstitch for about $60 delivered. It has transformed the board, the lively feeling is back and I am a happy chappy. Changing fin positions is now ridiculously easy. I wasn't expecting the fin to alter the performance that dramatically. It's the best $60 I've spent in ages.

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JustCruising said..
I was starting to feel like the stock fin on my M14 was holding me too straight. Work paid out a bonus so i treated myself to the futures hawaii downwind fin.

I don't know jack about fins and was a bit skeptical of the hype and pretty colours but initial impressions are pretty good. Its definitely more agile and quicker and easier onto a bump. It really surprised me how much of an effect the fin makes, I need to relearn the feel of the board. I did an out and back from the beach after work and the first bump I caught I buried the nose a foot deep because it completely caught me out.

For those that haven't experimented with fins I would recommend giving it a go.

Justcruising, does your new fin make traversing confused choppy water any easier? Logic would suggest less surface area for surge to affect balance especially side on but what about in practice? I have the 2014 m14 and love it just wondering if a change in fin would make the confused water smoother/easier to traverse and maintain heading

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Timster said..
I went from a 2013 14 x 27.5 Allstar to a 2015 14 x 29 DC NSP cocomat. The DC has a wide base dolphin fin that maintains its width to the top resulting in a fin with lots of surface area resulting in a stable board. However it tracked so well it lacked the "lively" feel of the allstar which made it feel a little slow and sluggish (although not a huge speed difference on GPS). I was thinking "what have I done?" changing boards to one I enjoyed paddling less. I suspected it was the fin but didn't want to spend $180 on a fin that I wasn't sure was going to change things. Where I live demos aren't an easy option

On the advice in this topic I bought an FCS tool-less fin from surfstitch for about $60 delivered. It has transformed the board, the lively feeling is back and I am a happy chappy. Changing fin positions is now ridiculously easy. I wasn't expecting the fin to alter the performance that dramatically. It's the best $60 I've spent in ages.

That's good to hear.. and thanks for the feedback..

I'm extreamly happy with mine.. and the other day I popped into the Zu and bought the more expensive version..

I've used it the last two days.. No noticable difference other than the looks.. It's the perfect size and shape IMO..

Two more thumbs up for the tooless fin. Much easier than scrabbling around in the dark with a fin screw and plate.

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filet said..

JustCruising said..
I was starting to feel like the stock fin on my M14 was holding me too straight. Work paid out a bonus so i treated myself to the futures hawaii downwind fin.

I don't know jack about fins and was a bit skeptical of the hype and pretty colours but initial impressions are pretty good. Its definitely more agile and quicker and easier onto a bump. It really surprised me how much of an effect the fin makes, I need to relearn the feel of the board. I did an out and back from the beach after work and the first bump I caught I buried the nose a foot deep because it completely caught me out.

For those that haven't experimented with fins I would recommend giving it a go.

Justcruising, does your new fin make traversing confused choppy water any easier? Logic would suggest less surface area for surge to affect balance especially side on but what about in practice? I have the 2014 m14 and love it just wondering if a change in fin would make the confused water smoother/easier to traverse and maintain heading

I haven't noticed any difference in stability good or bad which was a relief to be honest as i thought less area would make it less stable. I can see your logic about the cross chop though. I was looking at a Bullet and they have a tiny fin on them perhaps for that reason. Its worth having a play around with as it can make a big difference.

With regard to holding its heading in cross wind/chop I was hoping it would would be a little more loose and steer more to windward. Its a massive improvement over the stock but still tracks very straight. Maybe I am expecting too much though.

If I was you I would try going smaller with a cheaper fin like DJ has. Maybe drop it down to 8"and see what happens. I think the Futures fin was an expensive but safe choice for me given my lack of knowledge with fins. Still very happy with it and would recommend it but it opened my eyes to all the possibilities.

Cheers for that Justcruising, yep may try that flash blue one DJs sporting.

Ditto......I ditched the stock JL fin for one of these....

Yeah, that's the Cali one I prefer. The little radius at the base and the slightly more swept-back nature make it a lot more forgiving if there is kelp or debris in the water. There's little worse than a face plant onto the front of your board at speed when your fin catches a ball of seaweed. The rake is a little more forgiving and better for surfing than an upright fin as well, I find. Both good ocean fins though.

Gents my appreciation all round (DJ those FCS II PGs are awesome both to install and look at!) and for those that still have the stock fin on their M14, it's a good fin (not to look at) but check this out!








Dead sexy! Now for some trials..

Looks awesome..