Hi all,
I am after some advice. I have been sailing on and off for about 2 years now, started out on a good old mistral one design which was great but I had to get rid of it due to moving.
The only board I have left is a Bic Veloce 137l.
I am feeling like the tail is sliding out, if that makes sense. I am also struggling to get the board in the direction I want it. I think I need a bigger fin. The fin I have at the moment is the one that came with the board (35cm).
It could also be the position of the fin. I don't really know when to move the fin forward or back depending on the conditions. Same goes for the where the mast sits on the board.
So if anyone can give some advice on the settings I should use and whether or not I should be looking for a bigger fin.
Also, just for more info, I am using a 6.5m sail, and sail in Mackay, so open water, not much swell and not much wind either.
It is more likely that you are using too much back foot pressure. You need to have your gear set up so it is balanced and you have equal pressure on both feet when sailing square to the wind.
Things to try:
Lower the boom. The body moves forward and displaces the weight onto your front leg.
Lengthen your harness lines. It will be become easier to get to have a better grip in the front foot straps, and release pressure from behind.
Move your mast foot 1cm forward. This reduces the power on the back leg.
Thanks, I will give it a try and see how it goes.
Any suggestions on the position of the fin, do I want it further forward or further back.
fins letting go is called 'Spinout'. And while we all first want to change fins to fix spinout, it is usually sail tuning that is the culprit.
The main way of fixing spinout is to simply apply more down haul.
Then if that doesn't work, go to plan B, apply more down haul.
This of course assumes you have a reasonable quality fin.
once you have your sail tuned correctly then read this (they are assuming you know how to tune your sail already)-http://www.iwavesolutions.com/lefebvre/Windsurfing/Articles/spinout.html
then try www.blackprojectfins.com/
there are charts there that say which size fin for which size sail that may make sure you are in the ballpark.
My 135L board is happy on a 42cm freeride fin.
As a PS: more downhaul usually moves draft forward, reduces back hand force, gives a more forward vector to the power of the sail and takes pressure off the fin which can cause cavitation. Hope that helps.
be careful of those fins... as a long time windsurfer turned SUP nut recently found out.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Gash-of-the-week-WARNING-It-aint-pretty/
WARNING: don't look during dinner!!!
