On blasting boards? I don't understand what it's supposed to do.

Speed limiting device so your hair doesn't blow off.

What blasting boards?
FSW yes to make it better at dual use..... but are they on freeride stuff now?

I have a 93L Fsw and the side fins Give it great grip. I can use a 6.2m free face sail with the stock 21cm centre fin and drive it pretty hard without spin out.

extends the boards wind range and allows the board to have a broader range of uses. you can have a one board does all setup. especially with the wider design around at the moment.

on the weekend one of the guys sailing with us was on a 115lt severne trifin in very strong wind. he said he was selling his other boards because he didn't need them anymore. i think it was the dyno.

my own board custom built maybe 7+ years ago was designed as a one board solution and is a widow maker (tri fin). i use it in small surf, on flat water and for bump and jump in either single fin or 3 fins depending on conditions and what i'm doing. the rear footstraps get set single for freemove stuff or double for blasting with bigger sails. its an 125lt board and with three fins extends the controllable wind range from 20 something to 30 something knots as long as you're not in big swells. fins range from 24cm freestyle fin to 36cm freeride fins to wave fin with side fins. sometimes the freestyle fin gets the side fins.

being able to change the fin setup makes an enormous difference to a board.

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Shifu said..
On blasting boards? I don't understand what it's supposed to do.

Have you been in a remote cave ?

the single fin still excels at many things, multi fins end up a personal preference, on wave and FSW boards.

High wind control, increased reactivity rail to rail.
more here: windsurfing.lepicture.com/tips-and-tricks/

Surely the number of fsw boards over 100l being used in the surf or extreme b&j conditions must be tiny, yet these boards are sprouting extra fins like weeds. If I want to sail in wild weather I just use a smaller board. It's always going to feel and perform better.

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Shifu said..
Surely the number of fsw boards over 100l being used in the surf or extreme b&j conditions must be tiny, yet these boards are sprouting extra fins like weeds. If I want to sail in wild weather I just use a smaller board. It's always going to feel and perform better.

Nope

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Shifu said..
Surely the number of fsw boards over 100l being used in the surf or extreme b&j conditions must be tiny, yet these boards are sprouting extra fins like weeds. If I want to sail in wild weather I just use a smaller board. It's always going to feel and perform better.

nope x 2

Com'on master shifu we've discussed this before. Consumer-user getting older+fatter+slower=bigger boards & more fins, more fins, more fins will always be better for rapid controlled changes in direction. Now stop baiting us fat old buggers who dream about turning corners and need bigger boards to get out there. and get back

Its not really about body weight. Even light guys can benefit.

it's about designing wide boards that bring the benefits of extra width in light winds but then sail like smaller boards

not only are they wider but they are shorter. The fin setup enhances the volume distribution.

an 80kg guy is gonna benefit as well. But on a smaller board then 100+ lt.

So when is a tri-fin unsuitable for blasting use?

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Shifu said..
So when is a tri-fin unsuitable for blasting use?

I have never sailed a tri-fin but I have been sailing twin fins for more than 10 years. At least in the case of twin fins, I think you lose some potential speed, but in normal sailing its not much. When you think about speed runs, that's when you start to have problems with drag.

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Shifu said..
So when is a tri-fin unsuitable for blasting use?

1. When speed is the only thing that's critical
2. When you don't turn
3. When you don't want to ever try , something you haven't done prior
4. You can't afford to purchase one
5. When you don't desire to convert a single fin to a tri fin, this is but adding side fin boxes to an existing single.
6. When all your boards have center boards, because that's what you learned on.
7. When All the TEAM Rider spots are taken on fin companies twin, tri fin, trailing tri fin, quad slots.
8. When all your boards say FORMULA and long, long fins

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forceten said..

1. When speed is the only thing that's critical
2. When you don't turn
3. When you don't want to ever try , something you haven't done prior
4. You can't afford to purchase one
5. When you don't desire to convert a single fin to a tri fin, this is but adding side fin boxes to an existing single.
6. When all your boards have center boards, because that's what you learned on.
7. When All the TEAM Rider spots are taken on fin companies twin, tri fin, trailing tri fin, quad slots.
8. When all your boards say FORMULA and long, long fins

Pffft! I turn all the time with a single fin. Works great. I remain unconvinced.

I prefer single fins for upwind ability, lightwind or speed/slalom.

but your missing the point. tri fin blasting boards work as single fin boards and tri fin boards so just pick your poison for the day.

It depends on your definition of a "blasting" board. Most people here are talking about FSW boards and on those multi fins definitely have a place especially the more maneuver oriented designs. Sure you can "blast" on them but in my world they are not blasting boards, I call them all-terrain as they are designed for maximum versatility.
A real blasting board is just that, a board that is designed for straight line blasting in a variety of water states and are easy to high speed carve gybe. Examples are the Fox, Futura and my Masterblaster . These are what i would consider a true blasting board not a FSW which is an all-rounder. In the case of these boards the designers would never consider a multi fin setup.

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Brent in Qld said..
Com'on master shifu we've discussed this before. Consumer-user getting older+fatter+slower=bigger boards & more fins, more fins, more fins will always be better for rapid controlled changes in direction. Now stop baiting us fat old buggers who dream about turning corners and need bigger boards to get out there. and get back

Agree 88 liter wave board was the floater for hard core waves.
Trogging was a real balance when the wind dropped.
Always good to have more volume to float into the lineup, once on the wave - apparent wind and line up your turns
Back on subject of tri fin boards like starboard kode and severne dyno give you inner strap position and either single or multi fin for more versatility depending on surf locations and wind directions

Ah, so the FSW boards are becoming a bit more wavey, hence more fins than a fish shop?

^^ yes and rightly so, the main complaint from wavesailors was they were all F and no W .......... on the other hand they've never done freestyle well either....
To make something that actually turns like a Dyno (its pretty WOW!) but still fast is no mean feat but you have to get the fin area forward to have any chance of turning ability.

I love love my 3S for just getting going fast and jumping in small waves but as soon as there is a decent wave I start to turn and :( :( :(
The triple's ever so slight tradeoff in speed is made up for by the ability to turn a bit better. I'm going to add sidies to the 3S for that reason

Now what I wanna see is the floppy tail on the Windtech on a true thruster FSW.
3 fins and floppy tail to turn.
Or setup the big fin and screw the thing down to lockout the floppy bit - or even dial some tail kick out.
Now we're talking dual use for fast B&J and also ride some waves OK

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Shifu said..
Ah, so the FSW boards are becoming a bit more wavey, hence more fins than a fish shop?

where as the rocker is getting less wavey. the big complaint with most fsw boards were slow to plane and draggy.

flatter rockers fixed that. which is why people are using them as blasting boards.

First time I used thruster set up for bump n jump I hated it, the stock fins provided would skip out on a certain point of sail & try to kill me, not very friendly to knees. So I shelved using them for some time, but I saw more guys using them over last 2 years. I asked questions & everyone said the same thing, the stock centre fin is too small.

Last week I tried it again for a couple of sails but went up a size in centre fin. Much better & did not notice the sides at all. Made board more free/skatey yet enough grip for straight line, planed it up well & upwind was good. With the centre still being 6cm shorter than I would've used with a single it settled the board down & much nicer feel/no fin lift (I traditionally set the board with single wave fin size single so already 4-6cm smaller than most use for blasting). Pushing too hard gave it a gradual slip rather than break away spinout if single.

They are slower??? It kept up with the same person the single setups always did, still did 30 knots & slipperyness felt fine. The limiting factor being change to severne blades which are less stable/more wavey than my previous loft wavesails. I didn't want that board to have a good turn of speed preferring it to take the edge off in challenging conditions.

So im a definite convert now , still playing around a little with side fin placement/effect.

When tri fins first came in (again) there were several myths about, but I guess we know what's going on now.
If you want to go fast then the single fin is still best, and that's because the longer fin gives so much lift that the board raises up onto a shorter tail section and therefore planes faster.
The single fin also gives the best lift-versus-drag, which means in the right hands they plane earlier.
The downside of the single fin is that you can get too much lift from a long fin, and then the board starts tail-walking. The long fin can also dominate the ride, and you can feel like the tail is wagging the dog. In particular, gybing a single fin requires more commitment when it comes to technique and weight placement.
Tri fins, on the other hand, are simply more user friendly. You can carry a lot of fin area without the board tail walking and so they appear to go upwind more readily. The shorter fins used, also mean the board turns better, making gybing easier. If well powered then you won't notice that the board is a bit slower to plane.
The downside of any multi fin set-up is having all these fins to fit, giving you too much choice, and there's also the extra weight of more boxes in the back of the board.

Upwind on a tri fin is much better than a single.
Of course a comparison between a Formula board and a 85 liter Tri fin is mute.

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Shifu said..

forceten said..

1. When speed is the only thing that's critical
2. When you don't turn
3. When you don't want to ever try , something you haven't done prior
4. You can't afford to purchase one
5. When you don't desire to convert a single fin to a tri fin, this is but adding side fin boxes to an existing single.
6. When all your boards have center boards, because that's what you learned on.
7. When All the TEAM Rider spots are taken on fin companies twin, tri fin, trailing tri fin, quad slots.
8. When all your boards say FORMULA and long, long fins

Pffft! I turn all the time with a single fin. Works great. I remain unconvinced.

Another myth debunked , the earth is not flat.

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Shifu said..
On blasting boards? I don't understand what it's supposed to do.

It does adds weight and drag!

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duzzi said..

Shifu said..
On blasting boards? I don't understand what it's supposed to do.

It does adds weight and drag!

Umm, drag does increase, by what degree ? This poses the question What do you want the board to do ? Go fast, turn fast , catch more waves?
The weight it depends on the comparison , between what size fins


MFC SINGLE Fin G10 42cm= 558 grams

Tri Fin, 2 additional boxes weight 104 grams
2 additional 14cm side fins= 138 grams
center fin, shorter than the 42 , say 28cm = 396 grams.
additional epoxy for side boxes 70 grams, glass and carbon that quantity , not measurable .
Total for this is 656 grams

calulate weight difference between a Tuttle or powerbox in single, as 100 grams more than a long US box , used on the tri fin.

single fin = 558 grams
tri fins= 656 grams
add 100 grams for Tuttle or powerbox

single fin = 658 grams.
tri fin = 656 grams.

my Tabou Rocket 135 liter has such a tri fin setup. The weight are from all items I have weighted, I could shave a few off the tri fin, by more selective finsthe single fin this length needs to be G10.

i did not nit pick bolts found on a Tuttle vs screws.

This is when a tri fin or thruster set up will be advantageous.

i'm not sure the points made in this thread are up to date with current board design and why tri fins boards are being used for blasting. most of what has been said applies to old school shapes.

the industry is pushing the limits of board theory. look at the latest shapes on your beach. do they look anything like what was being sailed 5-10 years ago.

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RichardG said..



This is when a tri fin or thruster set up will be advantageous.

Love this pic off Longy by PC. It was just so cool and new. Can nearly see my place too