Dont know why anyone would red thumb a post like this.
Ive been mucking around with an old Caveman weedy of 40cm. I cut it down to 30cm and its kind of like the Delta weedy in your pics. Id seen them in a mag and thought the fin shape was interesting and like the Concordes tail.
Im still hand sanding it to get the foil right but when its finished Ill post some pics.
In the article they said the Delta speed gave up upwind ability but in straight line speed there was hardly any difference. So who knows??
Interesting though.

I green thumbed the post. Anyway I'm really interested in the Delta fins. They are a great concept and if they work reasonably well I wouldn't mind getting fins of this type as they would be good at places like Canton Beach and also some of the river estuaries which are currently unsailable with normal fins.

gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?date=2012-06-20&team=29

In the post the point is raised about the front of the fin being like a "cow catcher" as it hangs over the front of the Tuttle box.
The old Caveman I am working on sticks out at least 5cm and this was the "problem" Pete mentions.
Last night I tried it in the main board I will be using it in, noted the gap when fin snug in the box and then using super high tech materials (duct tape and epoxy resin) made a simple mould cup and filled in the gap to make it flush.
Should be ready to sand and fine tune this afternoon.
I will try and get some pics to post. Its not up to the quality of the Delta and needs more work to thin out the very thick foil (Sam P) has drawn a line I am working to "fan" it to.
The angle is 45 deg.

Waiting4wind said...

I've been looking at these fins my self but wanted some feedback on their performance, and now we have it.

The only potential problem with fins that overlap the bottom of the board is that even the tiniest gap on the leading edge will catch weed. So you need to make sure its a perfectly flush fit.

Does anyone know the angle of the fin? It looks similar to the black project which is 40 deg I think. From hat I've seen, you need at least 45 deg for heavy weed.

Oops edit, it doesn't look similar to the BP, looks like a bigger rake angle.

The bottom of the base of the deltas protruding forward of the fin box has a strip of black foam so that the fin can be fitted flush against the hull of the board.

The Delta's have a rake of 55

Hey Sausage, Swan bay can get pretty choppy but its not an open water chop, its a short sharp wind and tide induced chop. The Delta has its pro's as well as its con's, its crazy to say that one particular fin is the best in every aspect. Each fin has its perfered aspect and the other areas are just delt with, for instance i use a 20 assy at Sandy to go fast but getting back up wind sometimes is extremely frustrating, but thats the fin.
So the Delta is a fin that i will use at home when the tide and water are at their lowest and the water is at its flatest, normally when its like this sailing sometimes with a 28-32 would be out of the question, now with the Delta more doors are opened. When its deeper and a bit rougher i will use my 28 or 30 Slalom weed, but the Delta still is very sailable, it won't push upwind as high as a pointer, but come on, its not a race fin and thats not what it was designed for.
It loves to be powered up! i find when you are in that marginal wind when you should have rigged one sail size bigger, it is in its non preferred area.
As for the fin in front of the fin box, its hasn't been an issue for me, when i recieved the fins i spent a bit of time custom fitting them to my boards so that i had a perfect tight fit.
The Delta is a site specfic fin, if you love going fast and water depth and weed is an issue these fins are great and they won't disapoint.

Legless, as for the fin lift generated, it doesn't totally come from length, the Delta's have ample amount of surface area to produce plenty of lift, i have no problem getting for 90ltr board to lift and ride high on the fin, my last session peaking at 40knots.

Hope this helps a few sceptic's believe, i have a swag of them now and are quiet willing to let anyone have a go if they see me about.

sausage said...

Is that honeycomb matting on the Delta 20 only a graphic inlay or does it have some 'structural' qualities?

The honeycomb looking mat appears to be Soric - a polyster based hexagonal core material containing microspheres. It is the resin infusion equivalent of coremat allowing resin to flow through the channels and the hexagonal cells to reduce weight. The result is a sandwich type structure similar to the pvc skin on a sandwich board.

Without seeing the fin in the flesh it is hard to tell if it is a moulded fin with the core offset from the outline, or a fin machined from a pre-fabricated panel.

There are at present two sailors in Hervey Bay (soon to be three)
who have purchased Delta Slaloms (20,22.24).
Hoping to use at Burrum Heads as well as at Hervey Bay (very shallow).
Just waiting for some wind to try them out.

JonesySail said...

Think I must have been asleep! Only just getting onto these weird triangle fins!

Shallow water is a killer for windsurfers everywhere, especially on the Sunshine Coast.... I have an unwanted z framed boom,(that was straight!) broken a few board noses over the years all courtesy of last second killer sandbanks...

This could be quite a revolution for the sport, open up many spots that have been unsailable or tide restricted!

If you can hit 40knts on one of these fins, handle chop well, gybe well, still get upwinish, apart from sailing upwind or lightwind sailing why would you not want one?

Am I missing something? More reviews?

They've been around for a year or two but ive never seen any reports from someone using them. So it s good to see some taking the plunge. Be keen to hear how they work for you ploppy

The white honey comb in the New version of the Delta has been done to reduce the weight and cost of the fin.

careful in shallow water... I just spoke to Mattias in Sweden and he is yet another shallow water victim- off the water for 2 years with a shattered foot.

I'm listening, not paying attention, but listening.

I remember reading in one of the magazines back in the 80s of a sailor in one of the NSW lakes coming to a sudden stop in shallow water and ending up a paraplegic . Any sailing in shallow water is not safe, especially with a harness. With a delta fin and soft sand the stop isn't as sudden but still fast enough to throw you off. I will continue using this type of fin and sail at speed over shallow water, and unhook as much as practacle, but it does give some margin of safty over using a standard fin sailing in areas where there are sand bars. You should always be aware of where the shallow points are and what the tides are doing so the time spent sailing over ankle deep water is limited and more often than not it will be at the point of gybing.

At least at the Pit if you hit the bottom you get flung into deep water.Having broken my back once i have no interest in testing my luck again. Be very very careful

I have a piece of my knee removed as a result of a shallow water crash. it was painful then but it's allways here to haunt me as there isn't enough ligament left to avoid premature wear...and it is wearing way.

The bank I hit, i had sailed over a number of times fully powered, however a small lull had the board sitting a little lower and that was enough to stop me dead and shred my knee!

But, I have done the other knee as well in deep water. Landed a jump badly, one foot came out of the strap the other didn't...pop!