Need help: flatwater hard boards for long-distance racing/touring

[robon]

I was paddling beside a guy last year during the Kalmalka lake crossing, and the back end of his board went all squirrelly, and he fell in. His click in fin fell out with about 10kms/6miles left to go.

[Lake Paddler]

I was paddling beside a guy last year during the Kalmalka lake crossing, and the back end of his board went all squirrelly, and he fell in. His click in fin fell out with about 10kms/6miles left to go.

Poor guy...Lucky for me, the front part of the fin was still attached to the box when I got out of water. Probably caused a lot of drag. This same thing already happened for the third time in a row...

[Lake Paddler]

Just came back from a 70 min session with my other half's 12'6"x31" inflatable touring board. Hit for the first time an average speed of 7 kph (while paddling for at least 60 min), versus 6.7 kph of 60 min paddling last Sunday with my 14'x28" inflatable and a dangling fin. The wrong fin placement did make a big difference, I reckon. Besides, I do feel that I'm slowly improving.

[baddog]

Just left my inflatable at the shop where it was acquired. Apparently there is something wrong with the fin system since the fin (FCS Touring 9") got pulled out of the box (by water) during all of my last three training sessions. The retailers weren't sure whether it is the fin or the box.

Somethings wrong with your retailer; it's not the fin, it's the fin box.  The inflatable fin boxes just suck.  It is what it is and nothing they can do.  Use a standard screw fin and tape up your fin for a tighter fit.  Most SUP manufacturers still use boxes built on the windsurfing standard (wider fin width) rather then the standard longboard surf box (narrower fin width).  I'd guess it's where they've gone wrong with the inflatable boxes.

All my standard fins wobbled in my inflatable boxes (I've had a few) and although the click-ins didn't wobble, they never clicked-in properly and I always knew I was taking a chance that they might just pop out.

I dig click in fins, but even with the much tigher and proper tolerance in the FCS II surfboard boxes, they still just fall out.  Part the reason, I run Futures in my surfboards and if I'm open ocean paddling, I never put in one of my click-in fins.

[Eagle]

Some fins and boxes just are not that compatible.  We have 12 different fins and 5 different boards.  Some fins simply will not fit unless you sand them down a huge amount.  Other fins are way too narrow with way too much slop even with spacers.  So have never gone the click-in route.  Best may be to find other fins that fit your box properly and just use them instead.  We have the plastic FCS Touring 9.0 but the traditional screw and plate.

[Lake Paddler]

Lessons learned. I'll see what the retailer has to say when he's back from the distributor. Guess I'll probably have to buy a standard screw fin.

[Lake Paddler]

Update: At the weekend I managed to demo two boards, a 2018 Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder 14'×25" and a 2018 SIC RS 14'x23", each for one hour. Both are very nice boards.

The Sidewinder is extremely stable, both primarily and secondarily, and is quite responsive to manoeuvers. It has a more prominent nose rocker which worked really well when riding motor boat wakes. The glide was okay but not impressive. What I do not like so much is 1) the lack of drainage holes: quite some water was flowing around when I was paddling, and 2) the quality of the deck pad: the owner had only paddled for around 15 times but dirt was everywhere and cleaning it was not that easy at all.

I had the opportunity to paddle the RS alongside its owner who was on a Joe Bark. What a nice surprise! The half displacement hull pierced very efficiently each small chop and it felt like flying. Finally I could understand why Mark Raaphorst named it the Rocket Ship. I was totally relaxed sprinting with the fellow paddler and did not have to worry about my balance. Even made several pivot turns which I failed to do 6 weeks ago on a 23" wide SB All Star. One apparent caveat is, as Area 10 already mentioned in another post, that the leash slot is too much forward---stepped twice on it while trying pivot turns. The water stored in the sunken handle was visually a lot but I could live with it.

Haven't made my final decision yet but would probably go for an RS.

[yugi]

Good idea to go for a good board right up front. Both of those are great.

I wouldn't worry about the forward leash plug. I had one and was worried when stepping on it but one gets over it quickly. It's even a nice feedback. When you're stepping on it you know exactly where your foot is.

The SIC handle is as good as it gets. All sunken handles carry 3 dl of water. Get over it. Strap handles also have their downsides [the plugs can get stressed and become leaks].

[mrbig]

Impressed with your balance. The SIC is 23". Sounds like it is working for you.
Can't go wrong with it!

[Eagle]

Nice!  Good to see the RS23 working out.  Sounds like a solid design if more stable than the AS23.  Mark seems to have found the right formula again. 

[Lake Paddler]

I wouldn't worry about the forward leash plug. I had one and was worried when stepping on it but one gets over it quickly. It's even a nice feedback. When you're stepping on it you know exactly where your foot is.

Good point! Hope I'll get used to it soon.

[Lake Paddler]

Impressed with your balance. The SIC is 23". Sounds like it is working for you.
Can't go wrong with it!

Thanks! Now I wonder how it would perform in light downwind situations (≥22 kts).

[Lake Paddler]

Nice!  Good to see the RS23 working out.  Sounds like a solid design if more stable than the AS23.  Mark seems to have found the right formula again. 

Unfortunately I don't have access to that AS23 anymore. Otherwise it would be interesting to do a head-to-head comparison.

[Lake Paddler]

Today I had the opportunity to set my feet on two boards: a 2017 Sprint 14'x21.5" and a brand-new 2019 Sprint 14'x23", in a narrow river with 2---3 kph flow.
As Eagle already mentioned in this thread, the 21.5" was one step tippier than the AS 23" that I tried some time ago. I managed to stay dry while drafting a fellow paddler who was on the 23". The glide was absolutely amazing but frequently making small direction adjustments to follow the paddler ahead was not easy for me.
I found the new 23" less stable than the SIC RS 23" that I paddled last Sun. The owner tried to explain to me how messy it could be at a mass start like the one in the 11 City Tour and started accelerating (he is a ~90kg power machine). We went head to head for a few meters before the wake sent me swimming. Definitely made his point.
I do not think I will race with a Sprint any time soon but paddling it is quite some fun, well, as long as I am not drafting. I was advised not to try any pivot turn due to the width of the river so I will have to wait for the next time.

[JEG]

its fun to paddle fast  but not fun when its unstable to paddle