Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => SUP General => Topic started by: LoudounSUP on August 25, 2020, 06:04:36 PM
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My 2019 SIC Air Glide RS comes standard with a rather large 9 inch fin. I can understand why - paddling inflatables on a straight course is challenging and I'm guessing that's why SIC went with the largest fin possible. However, when paddling unfamiliar rivers of unknown depth - a super long fin can be a big problem. Case and point, approaching the dock on the Potomac River in Sterling, VA, I came in too shallow and my fin grabbed a rock or log which send me flying. The Potomac gets super shallow in these parts and there were several times when i thought for certain my fin was going to drag, eventually it caught up with me...LOL.
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Yeah, been there, done that!🤣🤣🤣
Landed face first on the front edge of my board, feet in the air and all. Then rolled off the edge real sudden like. Laughing hysterically on the way in, mind you! Good times🤣🤣🤣
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Imagine what having a foil on a 90CM mast is like. I hit a wad or river grass today while flat out downwind. Instant faceplant.
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My 2019 SIC Air Glide RS comes standard with a rather large 9 inch fin. I can understand why - paddling inflatables on a straight course is challenging and I'm guessing that's why SIC went with the largest fin possible.
Those cheap plastic stock fins rarely has anything to do with functionality. Mostly with price and sometime stability. It's probably the reason you can't go straight. They wiggle like a dogs tail underwater and hinder your speed and tracking. Get a good fin, you should see a big difference.
Specifically for rivers with shallow rocky sections my go to was the Larry Allison 6" river keel. Those 3" difference in depth would did the trick for me:
https://youtu.be/14XeNIL2NIQ
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My 2019 SIC Air Glide RS comes standard with a rather large 9 inch fin. I can understand why - paddling inflatables on a straight course is challenging and I'm guessing that's why SIC went with the largest fin possible.
Those cheap plastic stock fins rarely has anything to do with functionality. Mostly with price and sometime stability. It's probably the reason you can't go straight. They wiggle like a dogs tail underwater and hinder your speed and tracking. Get a good fin, you should see a big difference.
Specifically for rivers with shallow rocky sections my go to was the Larry Allison 6" river keel. Those 3" difference in depth would did the trick for me:
https://youtu.be/14XeNIL2NIQ
Hey - thanks for this @ burchas. I'm guessing this would be compatible with my SIC fin box?
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True that. Initially, it's hard to feel a difference with better fins--when you're still struggling to stay on the board, do a decent stroke, and control direction the minor effect of anything other than what you are doing is buried in the storm. But once you start smoothing out and relying on muscle memory for most of the work, the effects of a shitty fin become obvious.
The #1 thing you can say for certain about Larry's fins is that the quality is there in spades. He's also willing to try things other fin shapers won't. It's hard to wrong with one of Larry's designs.
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You never know. Thought this 7 inch stinger would be grossly underfinned in a touring board. Works really well even in chop.