Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Gear Talk => Topic started by: sound_solution on June 24, 2020, 06:45:06 PM
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Any suggestions for fin choices for the 9'1" Creek. Surfing mushy NC surf. I love the board and my beloved Wide Point 10'5" feels like a beast now. Just wondering if alternate fin set up will give a different feel. I am using the stock 94 fins and they do feel a little looser than what I like. 160 lbs, daily surfer.
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If you do a search you will find most people think the stock sunova fins have way too much sweep in their shape.
of all the people I know (with the exception of Creek as he has so many Sunovas at any time) most people swap out those fins on the Creek, Flow Flash , acid etc.
Shameless Plug: I have a set of Gerry Lopez GL1's for sale in the classified section. They are essentially the opposite of the sunova fins. I originally bough them to replace stock Starboard fins that I also thought had too much sweep to help the board turn more lively, without going to a smaller surfboard fin.
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Hi Sound
Best fins I have found for my 8'7" Creek are Cdrive. I use medium side fins and a small stabiliser. Holds a line well on fast waves and still loose. I have tried Quoba fins also but prefer the Cdrive. Same set up on my 8'10" Speeed but use small Cdrive side fins. I don't think you need big fins on these boards with channels. I believe that the Cdrives were originally designed as a big wave fin but they seem to work well on standup boards.
http://www.cdrivefins.com/twin-fin-stabiliser/
Cheers
Bob
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Another thumbs up on the C-drives. Although I run mine as a Thruster. I am bigger and ride a 9' 7 so I have the large fins. I find they speed the board up a tad and offer more drive off the bottom particularly on those mushier days.
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Thank you for the suggestions. I am going to give the C DRIVES a try.
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Just a follow-up on my experience. I ordered the medium NVS C DRIVES thruster configuration at $90. They would not seat into the Creek boxes and the tabs had a ridge on one side that was not machined properly. Also the tabs looked too deep. I filed and sanded until I could get them to seat properly without a gap of at least a penny thickness.
I surfed two days with waist to chest high waves on the Creek 9'1". I did not perceive any improved performance or increase in speed. They did feel loose and I could move around quite a bit on the waves. For my mushy east coast choppy surf conditions I feel like the 94 Sunova fins were preferable so I put them back on. The next day with bigger surf I will put the C Drives back on and give them another go. On a glassy day with bigger waves I may like them better. No buyer's remorse and they may still be useful for me. NVS asked me to send a picture of the fin ridge and fit but I had already modified them. I may try them as the side bites on my Wide Point 10'5" just to see how that feels.
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Hi sound_solutions, welcome to the Zone!
Sorry I missed this post, I have been on a great run of surf lately, so I have been buried in video and editing.
The Creek channels require a fairly small center fin to loosen the tail up a bit.
I do have a lot of Sunova's, but I almost never use the stock fins.
My sides are generally smaller than stock, depending on the board.
On my Creeks I usually use FCS MF-1 Thruster set-up
OR, more recently, bigger sides with a smaller "pivot" fin in the center (Pic 1)
My pivot fin is from 1981, and long out of production, so I have tried other small centers to find a workable fin that is available.
This set-up keeps the drive, but lets the tail free up a little, and get looser.
Not sure if that's what you are after, but I prefer my Creeks loosed up a bit.
The Stussy Trailer from Pacific Vibrations works pretty well in small to medium size waves. ($24.99)
https://www.pacificvibrations.com/product-page/stussy-template-trailer-5
My buddy Ryan uses a tiny nub like the Ho Stevie one in the last picture... he says it's great on the Creek.... I'd have to test it to verify that
I bought some "Ho Stevie" quad fins that I love because they have small rears.
Unfortunately I can't find a center fin of similar dimensions
But here is a link to a nice Thruster set for $39.97... then just add a pacific Vibrations 'Stussy trailer" n the center
I find them to be good quality and work just fine
https://hostevie.com/shop/surf-fins.html
If you have any questions, please ask!
The 4th pic below is of an old 3" fin that works well in the center as well
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Thank you for all the suggestions and good information. After some experimentation I am now running the Sunova 94 in the center with the Cdrive medium side bites and really enjoying that setup in small surf.