Fin Diaries: Kali's fin fellows

(edit) Backside hull ridin' wolf-style:



There's an 8" FibreGlas GL flex in KALI, a 6'3" Liddle Musko/go. Everytime I try a larger fin, the board gets "tacky", as in a tacky substance. Things are a changin'. These smaller fins I've been using seem to have given me access to more surfaces on this board, lending a way to transition amongst the many curves and contours of the board as it moves across the wave. I started using smaller, stiffer fins at beach breaks, as a flexy, and larger fin would auger the board into critical and terminal attitudes. The smaller fins bled off turbulence and allowed quicker recovery of the board. I see why pivot style fins help hulls since the boards have such "down the line", "locked in", and "committed" contours. The pivot fins loosen things up. Well, that's true when the board is listing in a light turn. Add the surface coverage consuming half the board in a committed high speed bottom turn and the fin will be apt to do some things "of its own".



That's an extreme, but it gave me an idea of what forces are at work during high speed and deep bottom turns when you have a longer, low rake and "noodley" flex fin.
This is where the story changes. Keep in mind that I am using smaller fins in smaller boards. Paired with a wide but foiled tail, the smaller fin seems to be the ticket. Now take a longer hull that's 7' and above, I'm confident that a longer fin would then be the "ticket" as surface area and foil of the board would even the fin's "effect" out. The idea of fins "I want to use" has no meaning to me any longer.

Next "Fin Diaries".....Lalo's Red fin and the spiral vee.

p.s. I guess I should elaborate on my documentation as my observations may ruffle some feathers (why they would is beyond me). All of my writing is from a personal account of my actions to explore waves and the boards I ride them on. Every experience will be different and I sometimes depart from the familiar to attain other experiences. This is what I do, and it is not a call to arms. Hope you enjoy your adventures as much as I.

Loser

The morning started well. I made it to the beach before sunrise and decided to get some night footage for the next video. Sets were rolling in nicely and I was getting excited about the prospects. Paddled out in the dark and waited for a set. Warmjet called me into a beauty and I dropped in. Camera rolling. The lights from the shore were dancing and warping against the face. In trim, I was stoked. Then, the wave suddenly began to section and closed out upon me. Lalo was ripped from my hands. The heavy feeling of dread knotted my stomach. By the time I caught up to Lalo, she was face-down on the rocks. When I turned her over, the camera and the mount was gone. This was the only thing left...



...I searched for two hours. No Joy. So my Pentax and mount rests, in the briny shallows of 1st point Malibu.

An hour later, I was catching waves in a frantic way, still blowing off steam from my recent loss. I took off at the top and the wave was pitching nicely. I was slotted. Swooping down to collect momentum and diving the rails for THE feel. This ride is great and I was finally used to Lalo as an extention...or so I thought. The inside section at Malibu is notorious for stealing boards but I was prepared, or so I thought. As the wave began to close, I buried the nose for a convenient surfacing out the back of the wave, it buried, but just a little too much. Lalo shot out the back of the wave with the force of a Neptune rocket and caught the strong off shore wind. I looked up at Lalo as if she were a kite. I was a bit mesmerized. I watched Lalo plummet back to earth, tail first.....DONK!


bummer.

ZOO STATION

As I peered through a cyber microscope, I witnessed some moments of extraordinary human interaction. Captioning the following would be inhibitive of the possibilities. What do you see? Courtesy of a SW swell after a dismal winter.







Nice lookin' sets though.