Picked up a bunch of fins recently. One was this hand shaped surfboard fin.

it's worth a look if you are chasing a centre fin for a light wind three fin setup or a single fin board. it's fibreglass, flex feels good, i like the outline a lot and the foil seems pretty good.
bit of a deal for the price.

needessentials.com/collections/accessories/products/hand-foiled-10-whale-single-fin

Looks ripper do you think it is G10/11 or a vinylester like the old glass fins?

It reminds me of volan. So either standard glass or volan w epoxy

The foil is so good. I almost don't believe its hand shaped.

Looks a great fin for onshore single fin board

Many years ago I worked at a fin company while in Maui and great to see the process. They had a pre foiler who ground off 75% then the guy just concentrates on getting a good shape. I did the logo screening, spraying and final sand (scouring pad).
Most that came through were well shaped but there was the odd one that was below average.

Ive contemplated trying to hand foil some fins. Seems like it would take some skill. Are there any tricks the experienced guys use like foil templates

Been travelling for work but for someone like yourself that has built your own boards and has computer design skills you will be able to foil your own fins. Imagine you take your foil section and draw a box outside it for your fin blank then you will be able to draw the cuts on file and scribe them onto the blank.
I would recommend having a really good mask and extractor fan and get of those pin gauges that you can check the foil shape (also very handy for board rail profiles).
Below is a good link to start you off foiling fins.
I foiled one fin and got carried away making the trailing edge really thin and sharp that I was waterstarting, the wind was light and kicked and badly cut my foot requiring stitches.

www.swaylocks.com/forum/48115/foiling-fins-teaserexplanation

I've got 3 more sets of those here in Oz if you interested, obviously brand new in the original box

www.zulufins.com/products/zulu-arcarbonquad

16+10 and 15+9, plus couple of sets to test drive if you wanna feel the difference

dm me for prices and shipping

Aloha,
Matteo

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Gestalt said..
Ive contemplated trying to hand foil some fins. Seems like it would take some skill. Are there any tricks the experienced guys use like foil templates

As a beginner foil maker I've had good results. There are starter figures to go by.
After the plan shape...
This is a rough guide..
Max thickness , one third back.
Maximum thickness 10% of chord length. = maximum grip , slowest.
Minimum thickness 6% of chord length = minimum grip , fastest.
Just for fun fact ...... you can use a smaller fatter fin. Being smaller is also faster.
I know my figures are going to start fights here , but it's a good place to start.
Flex and twist adds a curve ball that fries my pea brain .
A sheet of G10 or G11 is a good material. Not horribly expensive. Then you have to cast it into a head. Or get 10 mm thick stuff for a US box.
Go for it if you have something in mind that you can't buy. It's a bit of work.
Pics
ps: The more I try to understand fins , the more my brain hurts. There are so many variables that rules don't always make sense .
The best advice I got here years ago was , " try as many fins as you can , and just keep the ones you like.
Everyone has that old blunt hacked fin that they love.
And if your thinking of making a set of 3 or 4 for a wave board , good luck.
Id suggest deciding how much toe in is correct and go from there

Been making my own fins for years and still prefer fibreglass thruster windsurfers, forty layers 4 Oz and pattern from the master Ken Mackenzie Margaret River

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Imax1 said..

Gestalt said..
Ive contemplated trying to hand foil some fins. Seems like it would take some skill. Are there any tricks the experienced guys use like foil templates

As a beginner foil maker I've had good results. There are starter figures to go by.
After the plan shape...
This is a rough guide..
Max thickness , one third back.
Maximum thickness 10% of chord length. = maximum grip , slowest.
Minimum thickness 6% of chord length = minimum grip , fastest.
Just for fun fact ...... you can use a smaller fatter fin. Being smaller is also faster.
I know my figures are going to start fights here , but it's a good place to start.
Flex and twist adds a curve ball that fries my pea brain .
A sheet of G10 or G11 is a good material. Not horribly expensive. Then you have to cast it into a head. Or get 10 mm thick stuff for a US box.
Go for it if you have something in mind that you can't buy. It's a bit of work.
Pics
ps: The more I try to understand fins , the more my brain hurts. There are so many variables that rules don't always make sense .
The best advice I got here years ago was , " try as many fins as you can , and just keep the ones you like.
Everyone has that old blunt hacked fin that they love.
And if your thinking of making a set of 3 or 4 for a wave board , good luck.
Id suggest deciding how much toe in is correct and go from there

not sure I have time which is a bit sad. I was gonna have no choice with a light wind shallow water fin idea but then I bought the flinks freestyle fin and it solved all my problems.

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' mackenzie said..
Been making my own fins for years and still prefer fibreglass thruster windsurfers, forty layers 4 Oz and pattern from the master Ken Mackenzie Margaret River

Great photo!!