Wednesday SE

[Johnny]

Michael/David - what are you guys running for weed fins on your quads? I think a saw Walu2 on a Goya. I picked up a 79L Da Curve Quad this summer when I broke my wave board at Davenport and tried it out yesterday but was a no-go without weed fins. Don't have any experience with quad fins so any wisdom would be appreciated.

[Michael]

Michael/David - what are you guys running for weed fins on your quads? I think a saw Walu2 on a Goya. I picked up a 79L Da Curve Quad this summer when I broke my wave board at Davenport and tried it out yesterday but was a no-go without weed fins. Don't have any experience with quad fins so any wisdom would be appreciated.

I use Makani Walu weed fns, I have an extra set if you want to try them. Is your DaCurve slot box?

[C36]

LOL were those boats still floating when it was all said and done or what?

They were still there when I left - lucky the peak of the wind had passed before the high tide showed up. Funny what some people do, like the sailboat moored to the SE and inside of the end of the White Rock pier on Tuesday (it was rocking around pretty violently in the swell). A couple of years ago a boat at BB broke free from its' mooring and was just getting pounded on the beach by the high tide shore break. I called the local police department and they were less than enthusiast about tracking down the owner.

Michael/David - what are you guys running for weed fins on your quads? I think a saw Walu2 on a Goya. I picked up a 79L Da Curve Quad this summer when I broke my wave board at Davenport and tried it out yesterday but was a no-go without weed fins. Don't have any experience with quad fins so any wisdom would be appreciated.

I use Makani Walu weed fns, I have an extra set if you want to try them. Is your DaCurve slot box?

The fins you likely saw were the black set of Walu Weed's (16 cm mains and 9 cm thrusters) in my Goya Quad. My understanding is the Walu Weed is a wave outline and the Walu2 Weed is more of a bump and jump outline that can be run as a twinser.

The Mano's I have used shed weeds really well and hardly ever pick or drag weeds. The Walu Weed's have a steeper leading edge than the Mano's and do pick up weeds in heavy weed conditions (when there are floating islands of weeds during the first couple of sessions each fall when the summer crop of weeds is ripped free). These conditions can be pretty frustrating and require lots of little chop hops or stops to clear the 'rake' of fins of the bundle of weeds they have collected. The guys at Makani suggested redrilling the pin hole at the rear of the base of the fin lower to increase the rake angle of the fin, but it usually only happens a couple of sessions each year so I haven't bothered. I have also considered running the 16's as twinser's to see if getting rid of the two thrusters would help.

Makani only had Walu's when I bought and I picked up 15 cm US box mains (4.5/4.0), 16 cm US box mains (5.3/4.5), 10 cm mini-Tuttle thrusters and 9 cm Mini-tuttle thrusters. The 10 cm thrusters proved to be too much fin for me so I sold them off. The 15's are definitely looser than the 16's, but often locally I find need more drive (tide, wind wave angle, etc) so tend to leave the 16/9's in for both 4.5 and 4.0 until the fins start to feel overpowered and too big. I hardly ever use my 5.3 on my 92 anymore (seem to go with big board/smaller sail over big sail/smaller board; the new sails seem to have more range; and I really like the feel of the 4.5 on the 92).

Hope that makes sense and is of some help.

[Johnny]

Thanks guys. Super helpful. Yes slot box Michael. Would love to try your set. What are your fin sizes? Did you match your weed fin size to your stock fins or go with Makani selector or how did you choose the sizing? In non-weed conditions, do you change back to standard fins or just run with weed? Do you find that standard fins perform better than weed? For my single fin setup, the Kaku 19 is a bit slashier and turnier than the Mano 20 but I think the Mano points better.

[Slappy]

Do you guys have to sand down your Makani fin tabs to fit in your boxes?

I have 2 sets of IWA kite fins and had to sand each tab for about 10 minutes to get them to fit in my boxes, one set FCS and one Futures. That's an hour and a half of sanding

[Michael]

Do you guys have to sand down your Makani fin tabs to fit in your boxes?

Most of them yes, once in a while they fit, the trusters are usually better.

[Michael]

What are your fin sizes?

I have 2 sets, one set was a prototype and is 14cm the other is their first batch of green G10 and are 16cm, I have 3 sets of thrusters 8,9, and 11cm.

Did you match your weed fin size to your stock fins or go with Makani selector or how did you choose the sizing?

I went with a bigger size for my quad and used the fin selector for my 2 sets of thrusters.

In non-weed conditions, do you change back to standard fins or just run with weed?

I just run with the weed fins for the most part, in my quad I liked the weed better.

[8mdude]

I missed the party. Got to 3rd around 3:45, just cash and Rémi out. By the time I pumped my 9m both of them were dashing for shore as the wind tanked. Headed over to ferry terminal and it wasn’t any better there. Heavy tunnel traffic both ways made it that much worse.

I thought I left you some. I guess the wind left with me -- sorry about that.

[C36]

Did you match your weed fin size to your stock fins or go with Makani selector or how did you choose the sizing?

I don't believe the fin selector included Walu Weeds at that time I ordered so I traded email with the guys at Makani. I just checked the fin selector and for 92/4.5 it says 16 cm mains and 9 cm thrusters and that is what I (170 lb heavy footed sailor) use for my 'big' set-up. As it turns out these are the same sizes as my stock mains (see below).

In non-weed conditions, do you change back to standard fins or just run with weed? Do you find that standard fins perform better than weed? For my single fin setup, the Kaku 19 is a bit slashier and turnier than the Mano 20 but I think the Mano points better.

Yes and yes. I switch back to the OEM MFC 400's (16/9) for big (5.3/4.5) and a second set of MFC 350's (15/9) for small (4.5/4.0). The Walu Weeds are good, but the OEM MFC's are better on all counts - acceleration, drive, grip, control, turning, and pointing. My guess is the flatter tail rocker of the quad seems to like the vertical outline of the MFC's more for both drive, cranking tighter turns (like the board is on a pivot), and slashing (not that I do a whole lot of slashing).

For my single fin setup, the Kaku 19 is a bit slashier and turnier than the Mano 20 but I think the Mano points better.

That would make sense as the Mano has more length in the base resulting in more upwind drive, but the surface area of the Mano works against tighter turns. I have similar sense of Manos (26, 23, 20) compared to my go-to US box fins on my other two boards.