twin-fins-or-more-on-a-race-board/so it begins

[Larry Allison]

The Twin Race movement has come a long way. Thought I would share some show and tell. Please feel free to jump in my friends. Mahalo, Larry

http://www.supracefins.com/uncategorized/twin-fins-or-more-on-a-race-board/

[Larry Allison]

Hovie Comet Twin 12/6.

[Larry Allison]

Infinity Cutthroat going Twin

[Larry Allison]

Indigo 12/2 from Florida

[caseyg]

Thanks for the post Larry.  I love the debate on this subject.  Its been really interesting to hear such varying opinions on this topic.  Innovation is what keeps the sport growing.  Here's to the Crazy One's who aren't afraid to try new things and push the envelope!

Casey

[Larry Allison]

Fin selection for the Ventral /Probox Twin combos has grown pretty much in the last 6 months.

[Larry Allison]

Sneak peak at new carrying cases for Allison Race Fins in 2014.

[Larry Allison]

This is my 10/6 stock board that I ride most of the time. I ride it with Twins and a small Ventral in between. The Ventral gives the board projection like the kick fin does in the surfboard world. I was riding the yellow GT twins until I came out with the Smoke Lazy "S" GT twins in the first pic below are now my favorite in this board for Touring conditions.

[Larry Allison]

A batch of Probox Finsystems Twins coming thru for my customers.

[Larry Allison]

I had a shop owner call me one day and said can I retro fit some M&M Boards to sell in his shop by requests of some customers. I said yes only if I could ride them afterwards, he replied no problem. Here in the bottom pic you see a 12'6" and 14' M&M retro fitted with https://www.facebook.com/Probox.Finsystem  with a fin selection at the beach. We tested these 2 boards over 2 hours with 5 different riders including my self as one of the test pilots. My favorite for me was the Probox Twins , 4" by 10" and Large Ventral up front. I could not ride these 2 boards as a single fin period!

[caseyg]

For anyone interested in some more feedback from people who have actually done this to their board, see the comments at the bottom of the post.  Quite a few of them have chimed in with their personal experiences.

http://www.supracefins.com/uncategorized/twin-fins-or-more-on-a-race-board/

[Wood_Ogre]

Larry , I am surprised to see the fins so far forward on most of those boards. My fins started way forward and with each board I have moved them way back because the tracking is better the greater the distance from the point of entry of the paddle to the fins. Although the fins forward are better for turning.  Whats your experience with this ? It seems that for flat water paddling fin placement is not very critical. On the other hand surfing or down winding placement is everything !

[baddog]

Or ends.  It's certainly interesting, but unless a major production race board shows up with twins, I am doubtful this design will gain any traction.  It's a lot time, fins and money to invest in, especially for those of us who seem prone to blow money every year on the latest and greatest.  Remember when there use to be something called an unlimited board...

[Larry Allison]

Comment from Reid Inouye of Standup Paddle Magazine. The Hovie Race Board pics below is the board Reid was riding that he based his option on.

Reid Inouye Twins? Just when you thought it was all safe….. lets take it a step further and say “quad experimentation? 2010 quad’s on open water proved that right placement less the upper ventral fin can create more speed. Like the old ’60′s single fins that were re-designed from prior board makers, then various bottoms, rockers, rails, SUP is seeing evolution and unless you were there to see what happened in surf, you will remember what SUP was with regard to race just 5 years ago. After Hobie did the winning board at the 1st BOP in 2008?, SUP race boards changed forever. But with board design, comes fin designs and changes. In surf, single, twins, thrusters quads, 5-fins are all based on water displacement, propulsion, release and to say fins don’t make a difference is total crock. for those who are into performance boards there is an equation with you and your board and that equality comes to going fast and having fun. Real simple. All I can say is be open minded. Don’t sit there and think single fin race boards are the answer. If you are a board maker or a manufacturer, think like a dinosaur and you’ll get left in the dust. Same with a racer. Don’t give a shit about what people might say about what you’re riding, Just ride what goes fast or gives you the ultimate wave riding toy. As for the win factor, i like it in certain conditions. Flat water 12’6″ I can go either way. Single race fin is my preference. It there’s a side chop, back hop or forward lump I like the twin because you can push of the back keels and get speed. Now don’t get me wrong, I rarely race. in fact I don’t race anymore but if I do, I’ll ride the fastest board out there to get the edge. and some experimenting has already been started on quads and because race boards are more about going forward and less about surfing, even number back fins make more sense regarding forward and side to side balance than say 3 or 5 fins. Lastly, on a 14′ I can only say i like the keel ventral more than a single fin. Just my own preference though mainly because i can pump the back fins when i paddle and not feel like i’m going to do the “tip/recover” thing. Lastly, we’re not even close to design, fins, placement, etc. This is just the beginning, just be open minded. Remember the book “Green eggs and Ham”. Well next Larry will be cooking “Green Eggs and Spam” with teriyaki sauce and he doesn’t even know it.

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[Kevin]

Like the beer commercial says, it's only weird if it doesn't work.