Sunday a week ago I completed 90% of my gybes, this Sunday I couldn't complete any. The board and sail were the same (85L sonic and 6.4 Koncept), and wind similar. The only difference was the fin; a 28 weedy the first week, a 32 pointer the second.

Does gybing with a pointer require a slightly different technique ie weight further forward?, or was I just having a bad day?

BTW I nearly always sail with weed fins. This was the first time I have used a pointer in ages.

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Windxtasy said..

Sunday a week ago I completed 90% of my gybes, this Sunday I couldn't complete any. The board and sail were the same (85L sonic and 6.4 Koncept), and wind similar. The only difference was the fin; a 28 weedy the first week, a 32 pointer the second.

Does gybing with a pointer require a slightly different technique ie weight further forward?, or was I just having a bad day?

The differences would be from the center of effort changing. Further forward for a pointer than a weedy, which might explain your idea of weight further forward.

Not only that. More fin lift will basically raise the tail of the board as you lean the board over laterally, causing more rail engagement in the turn. At least initially when going fast.
Probably as much effect as moving the mast base a couple of cm or so, certainly in wave boards you can feel quite a difference in bottom turn due to lift.

my money is it's the difference in tips between fins or a difference in chord.

using a fin with a fuller tip will make a difference to your gybes as you have more power. I've got 2 mfc rc fins from years back that aren't the fastest fins around but the acceleration is mind blowing. coming out of gybes I can feel the fin start to accelerate.

I reckon you could get 20-30x more lift with that fin. Try a layup of carbon, innegra, S-glass and designed in the canaries

Back in the 90s when more upright fins started coming out with the bolt through finboxes, there was a big debate on them in pommy windsurfing magazines. The consensus was the more upright the fin was, the more difficult it was to complete decent gybes.

Yet my FSW boards gybe much better with a pointer fin than with curvy free wave fins. The extra lift and speed is really pronounced in the turn, holding speed and exiting faster. I much prefer them.

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ikw777 said..
Yet my FSW boards gybe much better with a pointer fin than with curvy free wave fins. The extra lift and speed is really pronounced in the turn, holding speed and exiting faster. I much prefer them.

Probably as a FSW has more tail rocker so more lift to keep it leveled may help it plane thru?

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Mark _australia said..

ikw777 said..
Yet my FSW boards gybe much better with a pointer fin than with curvy free wave fins. The extra lift and speed is really pronounced in the turn, holding speed and exiting faster. I much prefer them.

Probably as a FSW has more tail rocker so more lift to keep it leveled may help it plane thru?

Yeah, it's just the extra power. Modern pointers have awesome control too. I don't use fsw fins much any more unless I'm on wave sails.

It seems the concensus is that weedys do gybe differently to pointers. I guess the question now is how do I modify my gybing to suit a pointer?
I used the pointer because there was no weed and I did need to be able to point well to get upwind where I was (Augusta). Underpowered people without pointers were struggling to get upwind.

Same as being overpowered (more mastfoot pressure) or maybe flatter water (less need to engage rail well to avoid skipping out) - you need to figure out if the fin change means more or less trim required in what direction.

My best guess is that pointer with same area means more lift (as they are higher aspect ratio) - thus it will be nose down and require less front foot (or mast foot) pressure

But it also means mast foot forward a smidge (CoLR is more forward by a tiny tiny bit) which negates that somewhat?

It is a feel thing. (The vibe, Mabo, everything.... )

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Windxtasy said..

It seems the concensus is that weedys do gybe differently to pointers. I guess the question now is how do I modify my gybing to suit a pointer?
I used the pointer because there was no weed and I did need to be able to point well to get upwind where I was (Augusta). Underpowered people without pointers were struggling to get upwind.

me, I'd find another fin for those conditions.