Gday Crew, im on again about raceboard fins. Its a Never ending quest. Board- 2010 Phantom 380. (no wings) Me 105kg. 9.5m Severne RB n 9.5m Ezzy Lion n 7.5m Ezzy Lion. Standard fin- Drake R19. What a great fin!! This thing develops plenty of lift. Has great grip n has NEVER let go and is pretty fast in light-medium winds.
However over 18kts n using 7.5m Lion it really becomes hard to control. Too much lift, starts railing n squirming everywhere.
Looking for a highwind fin for my 380 Phantom n 7.5m Lion.
1. Do i look for same style of fin, but smaller?
2. How much smaller?
3. Any Raceboard relevant recommendations?

The Drake R19 is 64cm I think - that is a lot of fin.

For older raceboards with relatively narrow tails people tend to use fins of around 45cm with bigger sails.
I use a 42 on my F2 lightning. Phantom 377 comes with a 52 I think.

On windward/return courses it's been my experience that long fins on race boards actually slow them down as the fin doesn't play the same part on a long board that it does on a short board, until it's windy and then only on the down wind legs.

The Raceboard entry list for 2016 Worlds gives most of the fin and sail choices for competitors.

static1.squarespace.com/static/56c1a26c8259b5cdaf9433e3/t/583751ead1758eee1e6c0707/1480020460259/RBWorlds+2016+equipment+checklist.pdf

On my IMCO I use 34 cm standard IMCO fin with 9.5 m2 Ezzy Lion, 8.5 m2 Goya Mark and 7.4 m2 Mistral IMCO sail. I dont have any bigger US box fins at the moment but I get by fine with that. Probably underfinned in light winds with the big sail but the daggerboard compensates for it and fin is not critical for me. I have a big wooden dagger custom made (not standard IMCO).

My R19 is 48cm. Think its standard kit on 380 Phantom. For most sailing it is superb. But for high wind its too much fin. When loaded up i can feel n see the board squirming around on the fin. Just dug thru fin tub found BP Type R 42.5cm. Its a much stiffer fin. Would this be suitable?? My goal 30kts. 26.8kts so far.

RichardG, ive found the Imco responds well to a 39cm pointer by finworks. Its an old fin but works great.Especially in light air + 9.5m
PS. I sail my RB like a slalom on steroids.

the finworks pointer fins were the go to raceboard fin in the old days.

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olskool said..
RichardG, ive found the Imco responds well to a 39cm pointer by finworks. Its an old fin but works great.Especially in light air + 9.5m
PS. I sail my RB like a slalom on steroids.

Thanks. Do you still have the IMCO?

Yep still have a well worn Imco. Clocked it at 27.3kts. Dont sail it much now. Currently using 380 Phantom for lightwind. Then my ol SPEED Formula One for high winds.

Have you tried a more swept back fin ..pointers might be giving you the lift ..you don't want ..might be the go for DW racing ..
well it works for me I like FREERIDE fins ...
i've got a 95 litre race board I can lend you .

Tardy 95litre RB!! Guess id hafta use 70cm fin to get it up n going? Freeride of course. Bahaha!!!

ok i was being a bit harsh darkman ...i have a 117 thommen,it does 55-59 kms every time you take it out ...i just keep running out of room .
i have a 38 weed fin to put on it,that will get you up ..perfect for 7,5 lion sails ..

i hope you get some footage of you doing 30 knots on your race board ...that would be sick....pick a flat day.
i reckon if anything pops up in front of you you'd go straight through it .

back to subject ...i know how it feels ..with too much fin ..if you look at all the speed sailors ,smaller fin the better, less drag
you just have to find your happy size ,but i would say a 42 for your weight ,would get you to 30 knots ..

on my older RaceBoards like UltraCat or Mistral Equipe I, one was limited with the US type fin box
as RichardG mentioned - around 30+ cm was the do-it-all fin for that type of box

now with my Mistral Equipe 2, i have the option of a powerbox fin
with the larger sails > 8 meters I also use a pointer Curtis 47 cm
i now have a 52 cm freeride Shark fin that I have not tried on the MEQ2 yet ...

with smaller sails between 7 and 8 meters I tend to prefer a slalom or freeride fin around 40 cm
this actually corresponds to what i would use on a shortboard too - like my previous AHD FF 160 liter/80 cm
but then again , i am just an average joe windsurfer ...

Tardy, that 55-59kmh is where i want to be. 47.7kmh seems all i can get with setup as is. Im comfy n can handle more at this speed. But just cant break the barrier. Thinkin its now up to lady luck to get that sweet gust to achieve the blinder run im chasing. Later this week has a promising forecast. 20-25kt perfect for some raceboard rippin. Maybe its time to use the 8m Warp rather than the Ezzy.

Yeah as joe said ,pity it wasnt a powerbox set up ..

i don't think it's your sail .i was using my 7.0 nocam cheetah .
i was doing 55-56 Kms all day on my 125 tabou .then jumped on the thommen ,different board different Fin .same day same sail .
bang first run 59 Kms .it just was the 125 limit at the time .getting those extra few knot are tuff at times .
you can do it .

Ive Two Speed RBs one US one PB. Phantom 380 Tuttle. Been quickest on the USbox Speed running 39 finworks n 7.5 lion. My favourite Speed RB was away getting repaired. So i jumped on my spare n cranked it up. My other board is back now. So its time for a back to back 3 way speed challenge.

Go the Warp !
Thinking of your town every day.
Bloody Mexicans

RichardG , pic of Finworks 393 US
Well worn n still rockin. note my cutaway at base. haha. Fins n wrought iron gates just dont mix.

Imax1, you are welcome back anytime Just leave yr sombreros n ponchos behind. Boardshorts n yr sailing gear is all you need to retire here mate
Warp-inator may just be what i need to hit 30kt RB.

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olskool said..
RichardG , pic of Finworks 393 US
Well worn n still rockin. note my cutaway at base. haha. Fins n wrought iron gates just dont mix.

Thanks.