I want to learn beach starting where the water is very shallow and I'd like to remove the main weed fin and replace it with only the two side thrusters ( about 10 cm deep) . The board is a Bic Windsup 11.5.
Beyond beach-starting, what should I expect from sailing only with the side thrusters in light winds? Or, what if I put back the regular weed-fin while keeping the side thrusters?

Thanks

Francone

Sailing under finned it will be harder to get planing and you will get pushed downwind. If the wind is really light and planing is unlikely anyways it probably won't matter, try sinking the windward rail and heading upwind. The entire rail of the board will act like a giant fin. This is the only way to sail non planing IMO, you can generate enough resistance on the sail to hook in with your harness.

Leave the center weed Fin, install the 10cm sides along with it or not.

if you actually launch on just the side fins on this aircraft carrier, you will NEVER sail back to Quebec, you will be on PEI, maybe Iceland.

quit trying to reinvent the wheel

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forceten said..
Leave the center weed Fin, install the 10cm sides along with it or not.

if you actually launch on just the side fins on this aircraft carrier, you will NEVER sail back to Quebec, you will be on PEI, maybe Iceland.

quit trying to reinvent the wheel

Actually, I'd love see P.E.I and Iceland again ! The last time I saw Iceland was 45 years ago on my way to Canada. Beautiful country! It was still daylight at midnight while driving from the Keflavik airport to Rejkiavik ! Great country for prolonged windsurfing sessions, too..... especially if you find an off-shore geyser with balmy warm waters all around and a couple of whales silently contemplating your skills. ..
Jesting apart, I sail on a relatively small lake, within a sheltered bay.The worst I risk is ending up in the shallows and having to do the walk of..shame back to the beach. ..No big deal. I won't end up in Iceland !

I know I am a bit unconventional, but a life without experimenting or..trying, as you say, to reinvent the wheel, against all the conventional wisdom, is a bit dull..If you are wrong, you are derided upon, but if you are right you have the immense satisfaction of showing other people wrong... , like A.Einstein's math teacher( the famous H. Minkowski.) telling him the he was not cut for maths and physics and suggesting him to find perhaps another discipline, because his questioning was too misguided, if not ... silly.

I am no Einstein, I am no good in maths, certainly not a windsurfing champion and you, as a sailor of experience, are probably right, but, on the other hand, when discussing windsurfing issues in this Forum or elsewhere, the correctness of some my seemingly "heretical " views has been more than once vindicated by my own experiences.
Isn't after all, windsurfing also an art ?

Francone

Beach start - knee deep water

SUP fin 20-22cm ish.

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Francone said..
I am no Einstein, I am no good in maths, certainly not a windsurfing champion and you, as a sailor of experience, are probably right, but, on the other hand, when discussing windsurfing issues in this Forum or elsewhere, the correctness of some my seemingly "heretical " views has been more than once vindicated by my own experiences.
Isn't after all, windsurfing also an art ?

I believe you are our "theoretical" windsurfer. Good on you. You work out the maths and the physics, and un-kink all the tangled mess of unthinkable complexities, publish your discoveries on this forum, and save us the trouble of having to do it ourselves.

Just give it a go, I don't think you will notice much difference on a big windsup in light winds

The normal fin on the bic windsup is pretty shallow, I don't think removing it and just using the side fins will make much difference to your beach starting efforts either.

You mean beach start like this?

Just go for it, then you could let us all know how it works.
But your best solution hasn't been invented yet, a retractable rear fin.

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Mastbender said..
Just go for it, then you could let us all know how it works.
But your best solution hasn't been invented yet, a retractable rear fin.

Retractable fins were about on some some?/a brand/s back in the '80's, they were spring loaded and retracted back.

Francone, no harm trying just start with the nose pointed off the wind and keep rig tilted fwd' as you step on, back foot on first, bring rail of board close to you/front shin, push away nose with via rig/mast foot . Biggest mistake most make is tilting sail back whilst steeping on at the same time and the nose turning/round up into the wind.

..here are some other fin choices,


Fin art....Some may remember the movie this was in and it was not Debbie does a D2..

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Stuthepirate said..
You mean beach start like this?

That video made me realise I've never done a beach start, just shallow water starts.

Francone makes me realized why I am not windsurfing at my full potential. So much theoretical stuff I never realized existed, and needs to be learned and understood. For me, I just jumped on my board, trim my sail, slide my feet into straps, hook in, lean back...up up and away.

Now there are the issue of your body weight and sail size. Then removal of fins to suit shallow water start. The trouble is this, folks, I have only one fin in the middle. Removing it will mean I will forever slide downwind towards South Africa ! But there is one solution...I water start in deeper water.

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Jupiter said..
Francone makes me realized why I am not windsurfing at my full potential. So much theoretical stuff I never realized existed, and needs to be learned and understood. For me, I just jumped on my board, trim my sail, slide my feet into straps, hook in, lean back...up up and away.

Now there are the issue of your body weight and sail size. Then removal of fins to suit shallow water start. The trouble is this, folks, I have only one fin in the middle. Removing it will mean I will forever slide downwind towards South Africa ! But there is one solution...I water start in deeper water.

Or beach start in Knee deep water

You have the blade backwards, the teeth should be pointing the other way, other than that, it's the perfect solution, I especially love the tail light, that's genius, hopefully it flashes when you hit warp speed. You get a 10!
And to think that people are afraid of getting hit by a foil, pisshaw!!!

Fins bite / watch you do not get your feet under the fins especially in shallow water with chop / you will get hit or jam your / foot some stage but feet will not go there again The big board like the one you have requires a centre fin because it will not track straight / sure put a smaller one in and use ya side fins / as you step onto the board it will give you more stability

Formula board with side thrusters

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Mastbender said..
You have the blade backwards, the teeth should be pointing the other way, other than that, it's the perfect solution, I especially love the tail light, that's genius, hopefully it flashes when you hit warp speed. You get a 10!
And to think that people are afraid of getting hit by a foil, pisshaw!!!

That's my board. It was designed to keep others off my wave and cut firewood

next week I may get try just 10cm sides on my windsup

On my Bic 10.5, I use the side thrusters with a center fin that's about the same size (12 or 13 cm). I use the board only in light wind, and that fin combination works very well. It lets me sail into really shallow water, which is great at places like Hatteras when the wind turns offshore, or when exploring new shallow areas.

I've tried thrusting without the centre fin. Doesn't work. I now use Viagra to make sure my centre fin is ready before thrusting

now THAT is hardcore eye M.

I tried my BIC windsup tri fin , 135liters with the sides only. It went better than I expected , it was 1 RCH above piss poor.
I can fathom no reason to use in this configuration.

I have used 11cm side fins (Makani Weedy Waves) with a 22cm FR Delta to help combat the chop, weed and shallow combination.

Pros - Gybes a lot better with this setup than just a Delta.
- Hangs in choppy water. You can feel the Delta just start to let go a whiska then the thruster fins seem to grab and away you go again.
- You upper wind range is extended.

Cons - Top end speed is lowered.
- A bit more weight at the rear end of your board.