I know this topic, or similar, has been around a bit.

I had the opportunity to test a 42cm MFC RC yesterday, on a 111litre Carve and a 7.2 KA Koyote, in about 12-15 knots. I had previously been running a 36cm, old, cheap MFC thing.

What.A.Difference. Suddenly I had gone from marginal, to fully powered up (actually hydrofoiling a bit). Oh, the upwind angles. Oh, the lift.

I'm of the opinion now, and thought so before, that fins make an enormous difference. In fact maybe more so than sails. If you think about it this is the part that actually gives you the drive. These are the equivalent of propellers, or tyres. And for around $150-$200 you get massive bang for your buck.

Anyone else of this or differing opinion?

Also I'm looking at the MFC Liquid Pros. Opinions?

That's a bit of difference in size, so you would expect that it would make a difference. I went out one day in pretty strong wind with a 23cm fin, and it was controlled, although pretty fast. I swapped to the 25cm fin of the exact same model, and the board was lifting out of the water and making it pretty uneasy sailing.

Who would have thought 2cm would make such a difference.

I agree though, a decent quality fin can make a big difference. Only problem is that the only way to find out if it is a decent fin is to compare it against another after you bought it...

Given a constant fin shape, foil, etc. as the size changes (aka: all else being relatively equal), its all about area.

If you do some rough calculations of say (vague, not even ballpark guesses...), 23 x 12, 25 x 13, 36 x 15, 42 x 15, you will see that the 23-25 change is about 25% increase whereas the 36-42 change is 16%... there is some food for thought.

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evlPanda said...

I know this topic, or similar, has been around a bit.

I had the opportunity to test a 42cm MFC RC yesterday, on a 111litre Carve and a 7.2 KA Koyote, in about 12-15 knots. I had previously been running a 36cm, old, cheap MFC thing.

What.A.Difference. Suddenly I had gone from marginal, to fully powered up (actually hydrofoiling a bit). Oh, the upwind angles. Oh, the lift.

I'm of the opinion now, and thought so before, that fins make an enormous difference. In fact maybe more so than sails. If you think about it this is the part that actually gives you the drive. These are the equivalent of propellers, or tyres. And for around $150-$200 you get massive bang for your buck.

Anyone else of this or differing opinion?

Also I'm looking at the MFC Liquid Pros. Opinions?

Thats great that you've turboed your rig in light winds. I'm also looking to get a 42cm JP fin. I wonder if there is really much difference between the brands if the shape is very simular. Was it a G10 fin?
I know how much difference a fin can make but dont really understand what makes a good fin or a bad one. Weight, design? Are the designs improving or are they just reinventing the wheel as we've had simular looking fins for years?

Was a g-10 fin, yes. I know it was overkill to put the 42 on but it proved a point to me.

I'm probably going to go the MFC Liquid Pro. 32, 36 & 40cm for 5.9, 6.4 and 7.2.

Just thought I'd point out that you don't see much, if any, discussion in mags and the like. But, for $200, you can make a huge difference to how your board behaves. For example if you swapped from a race fin to a wave fin, it'd be like a different board altogether.

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evlPanda said...

Just thought I'd point out that you don't see much, if any, discussion in mags and the like.

If you want to know about fins, ask on the speed forum. Speed sailors are nuts about their fins.

eg:
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=41297

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evlPanda said...


Just thought I'd point out that you don't see much, if any, discussion in mags and the like. But, for $200, you can make a huge difference to how your board behaves. For example if you swapped from a race fin to a wave fin, it'd be like a different board altogether.

I thought I saw an article in Boards on it a while ago. Having said that I don't often get the chance to change fins and see what the effect is.

Steady wind... What's that?

Using that fin caculator on Boards site i think i have been sailing under finned for my weight.
Last weekend used my new 131 falcon with a 48cm fin in 17-25 knots...my ankles are still sore but what a buzz.
I could sail anywhere i wanted in the real strong gusts the board just drove up wind like a bullet,it was abit hard trying to go right off the wind but abit more time on it should have it sussed out,ordered a 39cm fin as well for speed sailing