What's the best weed fin?

[TallDude]

I have that same fin on my 14' Hobie. It doesn't track as well, but it surfs better with that fin. Works good in kelp. Totally sucks in Lake weed.

[Area 10]

Just to clarify, a weed fin is only going to slightly help you in kelp. As far as weeds go, the worst weed I have paddled in is the milfoil weed in Big Bear Lake which grows near the shore.  It's reed like and will wrap around a short foiled or vertical fin. I've seen the boards of people next to me and in front of me come to a complete stop and throw the paddler because the weeds wrapped around their fin. The reeds of the milfoil weed have little barbs that bind to each other. It gets thick and floats right surface. You have no choice but to paddle through a mile or two of it during the PaddleFest race. I've not only had no problems with my 'Eric Terrien' fin. In fact I don't feel the weed at all paddling straight threw it.

Yes, there are all kinds of weed. In the situation you describe I use either the Futures Keel fin or the True Ames SWT (Shallow Water Touring) fin. The SWT is probably the ultimate solution for really grim weedy situations.

But the OP is looking for a fin he can use for surf too, and downwinding. So presumably he's going in the sea, mostly, and dealing with kelp rather than lake or river weed. The highly specialised flat water fins like the two I've just mention are no good for serious downwinding or surf.

As mentioned before, the most important thing for a good kelp fin is to have the little "radius" (as the fin makers sometimes call it)  or ramp bit at the leading edge of the base of the fin. This is where stuff gets hung up. You've got to reduce the angle of that leading edge for the first inch or so.

I often paddle a canal that gets all manner of weed and flotsam in it in summer. The with a keel or SWT fin I can get through it, but the problem becomes the front of the board, not the fin. Flat water cutting-type displacement noses collect leaves, weed etc on the very top of the nose. It's amazing how much even a leaf or two slows you down. It's a good lesson in how much a clean entry to the water matters in pure flat water. In those situations you can actually be faster on a downwind board than a flat water one, because DW noses just glide over the weed etc. Crazy, huh?

[Badger]

What we have is eel grass. It grows in tidal rivers and bays.

It looks like this when it's growing but as it matures, it breaks off and floats around loose everywhere.

http://prepestuaries.org/01/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/eelgrass-FId.jpg

If you don't stop to remove it, you end up with a five pound clump of weed dragging on your fin. You can get it to come off by paddling backwards or standing on the nose. That's what I'm dealing with.

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[Area 10]

Well in that case, get the Fins Unlimited Eel Grass fin. You can't get more designed for your needs than that!

[Badger]

You got my hopes up but the FU Eel Grass fin doesn't look that great.

The Sea Grass fin would work better but isn't big enough for a board like the Search 14.

http://store.finsunlimited.com/finsup.html

.

[Bean]

Badger, which fin box design do you have, US Standard or US Surf?

[Badger]

Badger, which fin box design do you have, US Standard or US Surf?

Not sure I know the difference. Can't find any info on Google.

It's the standard Futures type box.  What's the US Surf?

[Bean]

US-Standard seems to be used by the SUP Co's that have a windsurfing history like Fanatic, Naish, Starboard etc.  while the US-Surf box seems to be used by the likes of 404, SIC etc.  There is not a huge difference but US Standard fins are a little thicker at the fin tab, set a little deeper in the box and has a distinguishing hump (like on the Naish fin below,).  Fins made for the US Surf box will fit the US Standard box but not vice versa (unless you do a little cutting/grinding).

I would bet dollars to donuts that Sonova, having a strong surf background, uses the US-Surf, longboard box. 

[Badger]

Yup, Sunova uses the US Surf box.

I've seen that US Standard hump on other fins, Angulo I think was one, and never knew why it was there.

.

[Bean]

Good to know, it seems eventually we'll all have at least one Sunova in our quiver...

[Area 10]

You got my hopes up but the FU Eel Grass fin doesn't look that great.

The Sea Grass fin would work better but isn't big enough for a board like the Search 14.

I don't think you'd find that the Sea Grass to be too small at all. Most SUP fins are too big at the moment IMO. The Search is very low volume for a 14ft SUP, and you'll be able to sink the tail fine, and it's got hard rails there so you won't need very much fin. You can go smaller than you think with fins that have plenty of tip volume (unlike a Dolphin shape).

Too much fin just adds drag. I actually prefer the 7" SIC weedłess fin to the 8.3" one for most ocean paddling. Much easier to quarter wind and waves.

Most people use large fins because their board is too tippy for them. But they'd usually be better off getting a wider board and dropping the fin size IMO.

If you want to be able to turn your 14 hard and surf it well then you don't want to overdo the rake. It's all about compromise, and you've asked for a couple of things that don't sit easily together (eg. weed-shedding but good for DW and surf).

The Futures Triangle cutaway sheds weeds well too, and there's a big one if you want to add stability. It's not the greatest DW or surf fin in the world, but it you want one that adds stability, sheds weeds, and tracks well then that is worth looking at too.

Fins are very personal choices. But in general you want to be going as small as you find gets the job done. And what you can get away with is probably smaller than you think. The old surfer's longboard adage that you need an inch for every foot of board (ie. a 10fter needs a 10" fin) does not apply to SUPs.

I wish someone made a weed-shedding (ie. more raked, and with a radius at the bade) squirrel fin (check True Ames Squirrel fin), but unfortunately no-one yet does. It would be an awesome ocean SUP fin.

[Badger]

If you want to be able to turn your 14 hard and surf it well then you don't want to overdo the rake. It's all about compromise, and you've asked for a couple of things that don't sit easily together (eg. weed-shedding but good for DW and surf).

The weed fin I'm looking for would be primarily for downwinders and flatwater.  For surfing, I use the surf fin that came with the board.

We do most of our downwinders on an inland bay. There aren't many opportunities for ocean downwinders around here. Weeds aren't a problem in the ocean anyway.

So far, I like the Futures CA Downwind and the RFC Prepper. They look like they would shed weeds and still turn well.

You're right, I probably don't need a big fin. The Search is stable even without a fin.

.

[mrbig]

Bean. +1 on the differences between the two. Old dog did a lot of grinding to get some Maui Fin Kai Lenny's to fit. Dremel the humpty dumpty bump into oblivion. New knowledge always welcome! Gracias.

Badger, we have the lovely eel grass here on the cape as well. The older JL weed fin worked a treat! Kelp and eel grass completely different so I will keep my yap shut regarding speculation on kelp fins.

[Bean]

Mr Big, I've thought about the MFC fin for my Jav, but I'm no Kai

[mrbig]

Bean, Ha! Me neither. I got a huge BOP 32 cm monster to stabilize my Tippecanoe Marlin in chop. Learned a lot about primary and secondary instability in crazy wind chop. And Exocet non-standard boxes!!

When I go to recreational paddles and real racers see it they all laugh!