That new board smell ...

[need 4 speed]

It's my understanding that 8 1/2" was a semi standard for WJ. The position from rail, toe, and cant are quite different from "modern" multi-fin surfboards. Before I scrubbed these last two boards , about 7" was where I was getting to and scaling fins down as I moved back. The fins I'm current running are 5 3/8"h x 5"b with what I would consider a fair amount of rake and a full tip ( with a non GG approved zit on the tip )

 

[flyinraptr]

It's my understanding that 8 1/2" was a semi standard for WJ. The position from rail, toe, and cant are quite different from "modern" multi-fin surfboards. Before I scrubbed these last two boards , about 7" was where I was getting to and scaling fins down as I moved back. The fins I'm current running are 5 3/8"h x 5"b with what I would consider a fair amount of rake and a full tip ( with a non GG approved zit on the tip )

Yep - so the tail is i guess what you would call a rounded diamond tail - i initially measured from the center point - measuring from the point on the rail it is 8 1/2.

 

[need 4 speed]

I measure from center/end

 

[flyinraptr]

Well ... after a week of dealing with whatever this bug Mrs. Flyinraptr and i caught - had enough crawled out of bed and ventured out for a sesh with the R2. Went with this fin setup ...



Conditions were chest to shoulder high fast hollow beach break waves. I'll try to tamp down the usual hyperbole on a new board after only 1 real session but the R2 has already surpassed my expectations. Admittedly, i've been riding more flat rockered boards of late so to hop on a board that has a decent rocker is a trip. Dropping in the board feels like it fits the wave like a glove - glides into the pocket and starts flying down the line - the feeling is ultra smooth - like driving with power steering for the first time. Small sample size but so far - my impression of the twinzer setup - is that it feels like the speed and hold of a quad but has the turning radius and the ability to adjust your line in the barrel like a thruster. i remember reading comments from somewhere - that twinzers are good for flat mushy waves but not good for steep barreling waves - i can now say what a bunch of BS that is. I had a couple decent barrels today and i can already say that i would take a twinzer in those conditions versus a quad or thruster any day. Early on there was one late backside takeoff - pretty steep - where the tail started to come around and get sideways as i was dropping in but was able to straighten it out quickly- probably got a little too aggressive ... the board feels so easy to ride you can't help but feel confident to start charging for more. I haven't ridden the 6'10" Apollo twin yet - but it looks like there will be some cross over as far as range with the R2. One thing i am still looking forward to is getting it out on a big open face and trying some big roundhouse cutbacks at speed. Hopefully, will get a chance to take the Apollo twin out this week.

Questions for the twinzer guys - do you mostly stick with the same size canard fins ... what effect does going with a larger canard fin have? Just curious ... the setup i ran today felt amazing.

 

[jkb]

Sounds awesome! Thanks for sharing!

 

[need 4 speed]

The EN looks good
what are you trying to accomplish with a bigger canard?
on my small wave board I have about 3/8" gap between, spreading the cluster

 

[flyinraptr]

The EN looks good
what are you trying to accomplish with a bigger canard?
on my small wave board I have about 3/8" gap between, spreading the cluster

Not trying to accomplish anything ... happened to notice in some photos of other twinzer setups - a slightly larger sized canard fin. Just curious as to what effect changing the size of the canard fin has. Yeah - so far the EN - feels good - plenty of drive - yet feels looser than say a large keel fin. I also have the Merrick AMT twins on hand - i'll probably give them a try to see how they work in this board.

Just finished my morning session - manage to snag a couple of head high bombs - made it out of one not so lucky on the other - LOL. Right now looks like the biggest learning curve is adjusting to the speed out of the gate on a decent sized wave - part of it is just getting over being sick - but man it is quick out of the gate. Probably could have ridden the 6'10" today - gonna give a go in the next day or so.

 

[GDaddy]

If you want more drive then use a larger main. The *ideas* behind the overlapping canard is to help initiate the turn and to make the main fin more efficient by directing more pressure over the foil. The additional cant on the canard helps with hold, something the regular twins have trouble with - they're good until suddenly they're not. That's one way the Bonzer runners extend the range of a singlefin.

One variation of the twinzer is the Keelhauler setup that ProBox and Bing came up with. Canard + small keel. I've used it on fishies and I liked it a lot better than the speeddialer split keel. It's surprisingly loose but it also holds better than a single keel when you're going backside.

One of the guys on Sways was molding a 1" sharktooth that he was mounting canard-style in front of thruster sides and even in front of singlefins. He called it the Supercharger and IIRC he was molding it out of polyurethane + diaper filler. Rusty used the slightly larger C-5 canards to do the same thing. They're not intended to add a lot more fin area at the rail, they're intended to divert more flow over the main fin.

 

[ghostshaper]

I've played with several different cants, sizes, fore/aft positions of canards. I've noticed that bigger canards, if put in the same boxes, increase overlap, and make the board more loose/slidey, which is what I don't like. If you could use bigger canards w/ the same overlap, it should do the opposite, but it's difficult to do unless you make your own fins or have boxes w/ a lot of fore/aft adjustability.

Try it and see if you come to the same conclusion.

I can't feel the difference in canard cant; however, cant in mains makes a huge difference to me.

I had a set of Herb's superchargers (upper left):

 

[GDaddy]

P.S., never use the Future plug for the canard. That design sux hard. Either go for the old FCS2 plug or half a Fusion box.

 

[flyinraptr]

P.S., never use the Future plug for the canard. That design sux hard. Either go for the old FCS2 plug or half a Fusion box.

Barry helped design a single plug for the canards that he used for both boards. So today - took the blue - 6'10" Apollo twinzer out for a test drive. Conditions weren't optimal for it - waist to shoulder high peaks - fading swell- energy has dropped off from yesterday ... but wanted to get it in the water and at least get a feel. I am surprised at the contrast between the two boards .... the Apollo has a ton of drive - in addition to the added length - feels like the concaves are a little more aggressive on it compared to the R2. I think Bonzer fans would like this shape - down the line - carving type of board. The more energy in the water the better this board will probably perform. I went with the Future EN twins as the main fins and of course the RFC canard fins. The EN's felt like they were too big for the board - felt like it had a couple more gears but the parking brake was on. Ironically - i think the RFC twin fin set might be the right choice for it. The board paddled well - catches waves with ease - felt solid underfoot - when the real waves get here April-May and its firing - this puppy will likely be my go to board.

 

[GDaddy]

Yeah, I didn't recognize the plug on Barry's boards. They look really good, though.



I hate this thing. The shape of the plug doesn't doesn't support the lateral loads from the fin, and the screw hits too low on the fin base. One reason Future boxes can sometimes actually break under torque is because of the length * flat edge along the sides.

A rounder shape distributes the load more evenly. That's one advantage FCS has always had over Future.

 

[ghostshaper]

Yeah, I didn't recognize the plug on Barry's boards. They look really good, though.

View attachment 85759

I hate this thing. The shape of the plug doesn't doesn't support the lateral loads from the fin, and the screw hits too low on the fin base. One reason Future boxes can sometimes actually break under torque is because of the length * flat edge along the sides.

A rounder shape distributes the load more evenly. That's one advantage FCS has always had over Future.

+1
ask me how I know:

 

[flyinraptr]

Must be kharma - still a good couple months at least til the normal start of the season but February brought a surprise this morning. Surfline was calling it 5'-7'. Definitely some bomber sets - paddled out right at high tide - lot of close-outs on the bigger sets but got better and smaller as tide dropped - unfortunately the wind went nuclear about 2 hours after paddling out ... here's a couple of quick shots i took right before paddling out ...








I had the blue 6'10" Apollo board with me - went with the RFC twin set. The pictures are the in-between sets - there were some bombs rolling through. There was a little apprehension at first - soloing it in solid surf - no one in sight in the water or on the beach with a new board and a new fangled twinzer fin setup. At some point you just have to suck it up - which i did - first wave was about high head - nothing special but the ease of which i was able to drop in and how solid it felt under foot - i immediately felt like - ok we got this. The RFC twin fin set felt perfect - the right amount of speed, control, drive and release. The highlight of the session - was paddling back out - and an in-between set rolled in - maybe 4'-5' range - a perfect right was lined up and i was in the right spot - albeit it was gonna be a late takeoff under the lip - i turned and went - made the drop no problem and was weaving down the line - got a little cover up - and did a hard rail carve off the bottom (felt great) projected up the face in a high line carve - as i hit the apex of the turn - i felt the strong offshore wind catch me - immediately thought i was gonna get stuck in the lip (which was starting to throw) and get pitched - i did a pivot off my back foot redirecting straight back down the face - the wave had already starting sucking out and i was looking straight down - now thinking i'm gonna air drop and do a face plant - stomped on my front foot - the board released from the lip and easily handled the drop - doing so i weighted my back foot and went right into a bottom turn and flew into the next section. That little maneuver - showed me a lot of what the board and the twinzer setup can do. I don't know how the twinzer setup will feel on flatter - mushy conditions but in fast hollow conditions - wow! You can definitely add me to the twinzer fan boy club!