Look what I've turned up....and I thought they were lost forever.
A selection, no, a veritable smorgasbord of early 80's "high-tech" fins from MultiFins who were based at Byron Bay at the time.
My favourite was the white "otter-fin" dog-leggy thing. It never spun out when jumping and landing at speed and it drew so little water it was great for beach starts! With hindsight maybe there's an issue with drag...possibly. Just a bit.
The blue "anti-cavitation" one used to go OK as well but I think it used to lose the plot at higher speeds. Remember that the sailboard speed record in 1984 was about 27 knots..so high speeds then were somewhat different from those today.
I still have the MacTavish wave jumper, a tri-fin that has survived 28 years of storage. Even the cockroaches couldn't kill it.
Anyone else remember using these old fin styles?

This first one might have been part of a Viking ship....yikes!





My old favourite "otter-fin" dog-leggy one. Futuristic.

These old fins were part of the progression of fin evolution. The correct names for this three are for the first one is called a footy fin the second one is called a strata fin and the third blue one is called a fenced fin . These early forms were various attempts to stop cavitation from occurring or progressing down to the tip of the fin. Some people are still using these fins today or maybe it's just me. The next step in the progression was the slotted fins which I still use and have found to be quite effective although maybe I'm just a dinosaur too.

Think the first one is the infamous "kanga cock"???

I think the first was used on a farm in the USSR for harvesting wheat.? :-)

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waterpistol said...
These old fins were part of the progression of fin evolution. The correct names for this three are for the first one is called a footy fin the second one is called a strata fin and the third blue one is called a fenced fin . These early forms were various attempts to stop cavitation from occurring or progressing down to the tip of the fin. Some people are still using these fins today or maybe it's just me. The next step in the progression was the slotted fins which I still use and have found to be quite effective although maybe I'm just a dinosaur too.

Thanks for that info. Yes! I do recall the names now that you've mentioned them although the slotted fin might have evolved from the swamp after I stopped sailboarding in '86.
Got any pics of the "Slotted One"?

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ka43 said...
Think the first one is the infamous "kanga cock"???

No the first one was called the "Sock fin", came on the early model bombora south Pac.
You might be thinking of this one

I think this one below is a "football fin". (Make sure you don't put it in backwards)


Just goes to show, when it comes to fins, most things work.

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WazzaYotty said...

Got any pics of the "Slotted One"?

Mate this was one of my weapons of choice when I was windsurfing many moons ago!

Those look more like modern art sculptures than anything functional...

Sorry I haven't been able to figure out how to post photos or video yet. New technology is still a problem for me.

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Ian K said...

ka43 said...
Think the first one is the infamous "kanga cock"???

No the first one was called the "Sock fin", came on the early model bombora south Pac.
You might be thinking of this one

I think this one below is a "football fin". (Make sure you don't put it in backwards)


Just goes to show, when it comes to fins, most things work.

Your sort of right the first one is just called the foot fin not the sock but you are right with the football fin.

Plastic Multi-fin Byron Bay slalom circa 1986. Still use it.....as an ironing board

And don't forget the "Canard Fin" which came out before the Slotted fins..
used two of the fins shown in the top photos
before moving on to the Tronsea Canard fins
then the slotted fins....
Love my new Fins !

The following is another slotted fin from the late 80s and a slalom fin from the early 90s






The following is my Caveman wave board from the early 90s. Its free with the above fins to good home.

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John340 said...
The following is another slotted fin from the late 80s and a slalom fin from the early 90s

The following is my Caveman wave board from the early 90s. Its free with the above fins to good home.

I've still got my torquay wave slot fin john and it gets used. the best fin I have in totally out of control cyclone conditions. it can let go half way through a gybe and be back on track before you've come out the other side on a new reach.

the ka wave fins had a fence type thing down near the tip. if you can find one second hand then get it. not sure why they stopped making them but was a brilliant fin.

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S018 said...
And don't forget the "Canard Fin" which came out before the Slotted fins..
used two of the fins shown in the top photos
before moving on to the Tronsea Canard fins
then the slotted fins....
Love my new Fins !

I remember those canard fins that used to hold the main fin in the fin box with those little grated teeth. Don't know if they made any real difference but the pastel and fluoro colours at the time made them "Soooo Coooool!"

I think this is a great post and series, so congratulations to all for this. A great resource is found at the location:

www.surfresearch.com.au/fs.html

You will see many of the designs e.g. football fin and also strata fin. It is also good to see recognition to Mark Paul for his early fin designs there as well.

The 1980s , like today were, a fantastic time for windsurfing and innovative ones at that !

I am just getting back into windsurfing and enjoying it immensely.

Unfortunately I did not keep any of my old 1980s gear but it included a stock windsurfer, converted Len Dibben (7'10 plastic fantastic type-sacrilege when I think about it today), mistral takeoff, two bombora new toys (really fantastic to sail although they had limitations), dave ellis (ex-glasser of renown at Cordingleys) wave board 8'6", bombora proto 7'11" with asymmetrical fin box..circa 1984 from Aidan Nicholson/Mark Paul.. and the best board of all was the Warren Thompson 8'6" pintail single fin circa 1987 which performed really well at Margaret River as I recall in 1988 and 1989.

Cheers and happy sailing !

What happened to Multifins?

Fins as Art well Photographer Tim Hogan thinks they are!

Check this out.

timothy-hogan.artstorefronts.com/the-fin-project

I have still got one of these in my tyronsea falcon

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stroppo said...
I have still got one of these in my tyronsea falcon

I see there's directions written on it where it should go.....to the tip

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sausage said...

stroppo said...
I have still got one of these in my tyronsea falcon

I see there's directions written on it where it should go.....to the tip

Stroppo, your absolute reliance on this fin in all conditions is duly noted. You are the main witness for the defence.
Oh, harsh call from the prosecution bench in Capricornia!! I do, however, concede that my written instructions are very clear and in plain view.
Okay....here's the courts verdict....we've got 20-25 knts coming through on Thursday ( we are led to believe)...I'll load the plaintiff fin in the....wait for it, wait for it.....the McTAVISH and see how things go. Can't say fairer than that.




Bob McTavish made this tri-fin wave board for me when his board factory was a converted cowshed in Lennox Head. She was launched, and I use the term advisedly, in 1984 and, oh boy, I loved her so much I would have taken her to bed every night if she hadn't been under 18....kgs!
It's still in great condition and will be reunited with it's partner in crime...the fenced fin. What a combo! Certainly the weight of glass and the narrow tail make it track straighter than a Plymouth Brethren...just needs 2 or 3 more sails on deck to get it to keep pace with the new namby-pamby lightweight modern rockets. No dents or dings on the deck of this monster.... Bob's brief was " if in doubt, add more glass". This was an age when footstraps pulled out like nervous virgins ( like that one?...one jump and it was all over sort of stuff) and the one piece masts broke easily unless stiffened with, you guessed it, more glass. More the Nigella Lawson look than the Kate Moss. Certainly the local boardriders kept well clear of the lunatic sailboarder fringe! They didn't like the fact that they couldn't hear us coming...hmmm...that doesn't sound quite right but you know what I mean.
But I'm rambling...........
...the jury retires.

How about stapling that fence fin onto Lorena B and taking it for a spin.
PS you've got me stumped on your SB moniker?

Edit - just figured it out...you were once a yachty

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sausage said...
How about stapling that fence fin onto Lorena B and taking it for a spin.
PS you've got me stumped on your SB moniker?

Lorena B? Do you mean this Lorena Bobbitt, the penis-slicer?

"Lorena Bobbitt made headlines around the world when she cut off half her husband's penis and threw it out a car window on the night of June 23, 1993."

As you do after as row in a restaurant.



Would the fence fin stop any bubbles getting to the tip? What tip? Long gone.
She's holding a pretty reasonable fin for smooth waters. Oh no. Put the fin down Lorena.

You've got me stumped on this Lorena B too, so...?
Hargs will fill you in on the SB moniker.

Wazza,
I've completely confused you for Fangman from Mandurah who has a very similar command of the English language. Had a look at your profile and realised he's 69 y.o. not 59. (and the fact he's posted in this thread too)

BTW - that knife would probably make a better fin than anything else pictured on this thread.

WazzaDinosaur, although a state of confusion is nothing new or indeed unusual for you, being the caring type I will clarify this somewhat for you, given your limited y.o. of 59, compared to my Einstein like 69.( y.o is of course being y-neural peptide output,not years old, nor is it Yeppoon Orgasms=those achieved solo, usually measured on a per week basis ). Below is the Lorena Bobbit. She is an early nineties Race board.There is not a rail that is not knife like and she promises to emasculate me every time I mount her. As Snags has so very unfairly noted previously, I have the guts just not the balls...

^ is that your new non-slip deck on Lorena Franga?......what'd you do, glue a yoga mat or boogie board to the deck

Here's my version of your LB board that is itching to emasculate me too. It's a Fanatic Mega (death) Shark

Spot on Snags - its a yoga matt from Clark Rubber.!! Seriously nice to stand on now when I put it on the beach to get a better view or work on my y.o. numbers... It possibly could be comfy to sail on too.. Whereas your Fanatic looks as so nice as it probably comes with flowers!

Multi-Fins made a very effective slotted slalom fin. I think it was 11 inches long and slightly swept back like a modern Freeride/Freerace fin.

In its day it was surprisingly fast and super secure in the rough stuff. For me, it was the first fin I had that I had total confidence against spinout in any conditions!

I had a few of them but, alas, all are lost now.

I think it would still make as good a Freeride fin as anything more modern!

Has anyone got a nice picture of the one I am talking about?

PS. I still have a couple of the later Multi-Fins slalom fins which go upwind like a stream train! They also made Hi Tech 12" and 13" slalom fins under license and they are even better upwind. Unfortunately, the upwind performance of these fins is inversely proportional to their downwind speed. They are fun to use in a big board on a light wind day though and I still do every now and then.

Unifiber also make a weed fin with channels which is a Lessacher design. I guess it it is still working now they had the right idea back in the 80's I think the problem back in the 80's was the fins were made of plastic and not very stiff and tended to break....well I remember breaking a few.

Yeah I have a photo of the one that you are talking about but I don't know how to post photos but I could if you can help me with this one? ?

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sailquik said...
Multi-Fins made a very effective slotted slalom fin. I think it was 11 inches long and slightly swept back like a modern Freeride/Freerace fin.

In its day it was surprisingly fast and super secure in the rough stuff. For me, it was the first fin I had that I had total confidence against spinout in any conditions!

I had a few of them but, alas, all are lost now.

I think it would still make as good a Freeride fin as anything more modern!

Has anyone got a nice picture of the one I am talking about?

This one resides on a friend's old TC Spacer that gets used as a SUP.


I had an orange one back in the day when they first came out, and yep... "In its day it was surprisingly fast and super secure in the rough stuff. For me, it was the first fin I had that I had total confidence against spinout in any conditions! "