Well a rock found my fin ...a good MAUI Freeride .
40 "..broke off the top part ..well in half ..( power box ,.) fully planing ..what a slide..

just thought I'd put the question out there to see if there are brands. as good ..or better.
as I haven't brought one for years...as I have had a large collection ..
but 40" is my main size ..
there are so many brands these days ..but some can be crap... have a few select fins they seem ok .

had a few pro limit ..no so good ..

I don't know how good they are but these guys at least have the advantage of being local and have online ordering with reasonable prices. That alone makes them desirable after some of the pain I've experienced trying to buy fins. I'm not very keen on G10 but once I recover from Christmas I'm going to try their weed fins out.

www.tribalwindsurfing.com/en/

Lots of things are repairable - pics?

Sorry mark ..didn't end up diving for the other end ..but I just had the top front part left in the box ...plus bolt and fin nut.
shes a gonna .

I lost one in knee deep clear water and saw the rock I hit. 1m from waters edge. In an area about 1sqm in between rocks, clear sandy bottom, you think I'd be able to find it - but nup :(
Mate snorkeled the wider area the next day - still nothing.
So yeah one wonders if it is worth trying too much...

Tribal all the way

Select.
Black Project.

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Cluffy said...
I don't know how good they are but these guys at least have the advantage of being local and have online ordering with reasonable prices. That alone makes them desirable after some of the pain I've experienced trying to buy fins. I'm not very keen on G10 but once I recover from Christmas I'm going to try their weed fins out.

www.tribalwindsurfing.com/en/

I've found the weed speeds are awesome. If you hate weed fins generally, they're one of the best compromises around (provided you're not sailing one of the places where you need 45 degrees of rake)

I have found a few ...it's just remembering where to look .....and it just stripped the brass nut ..replaced ..it..and away ya go again ..
black ones are the hardest to find ..
did loose. one 2 km out to sea ..never hit anything ..only two weeks old ..overpower ..to the max. it just broke off flush with the hull.
what a dud...side on wind ..got back after 45 minutes of hell ..

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Mark _australia said..
I lost one in knee deep clear water and saw the rock I hit. 1m from waters edge. In an area about 1sqm in between rocks, clear sandy bottom, you think I'd be able to find it - but nup :(
Mate snorkeled the wider area the next day - still nothing.
So yeah one wonders if it is worth trying too much...

Reminds me of Blue Dog on the reef at Lord Howe Island. We could just see him from the boat shed, about 1.5 km away, floundering about. He eventually drifted ashore and turned up on foot. " Tide went out, lost the fin on the reef couldn't find it." He explained. Old Pete grabbed me and a dinghy, "We'll go and get it hop in". The search area in my mind was 500 by 500 metres. What a goose chase I'm thinking. He motored straight up to it, "there it is". I can still see it now, the JP logo peeking from under one of a million pieces of coral. Couldn't believe it. He pushed me overboard, I picked it up. Still can't believe it. Some people can just find stuff.

Thanks guys ..tribal fins look quite good ..

OK, stupid question.

How important are fins? Are plasticky-looking painted stock fins that come with the board invariably bad? Do chips matter?

Fins matter a lot ..some fins that come with the board are good and suited to the board ..if its plastic ..it will probably be a nasty fin with little performance .Depending on what type of sailing you are doing .straight up and down fins or pointers are for racing and heading up wind .freeride is just for cruising jumping and just having a good time .wave for sharp turning landing side ways etc ...
but yeah a good fin makes your board ..talk ..
bigger fins for bigger sails .and small for small .
finding the right fin is a must ..but then to have a collect is even better ..I only have 12 fins ..but I have 4 boards ..so not that many really.
some of the fins ..say 4 I don't even use .. Because Im too heavy and use big sail ..therefore. Big fin .unless it 30+ then I 'll grab a 28.
yes ..sand your chips smooth..