CLOSE
Sign up to get news on contests, pro events, new products and special offers.
Andy McKinneyWe finally had a day with no wind and no waves! Amazing. The production freestyle fins available today are unbelievably nice, but unfortunately we need weed fins here in Cape Hatteras and no one makes a weed freestyle fin. So, it’s back to the basics: a hack saw, grinder, orbital sander and sandpaper.
I’ve wanted to make a new freestyle weed fin for a while now, so I took advantage of the lack of conditions and went to town on a beautiful, brand-new MFC weed wave. It’s always a little tough to make that first cut into such a nice new fin, but hey, sometimes you have to sacrifice a little to gain a lot.
I chose the MFC because it’s a little thinner and has a bit less chord length than a lot of other weed fins out there, and I wanted a faster, more-efficient fin than the one I’ve been using. Here’s the process I used to make my new fin:
First, I drew a rough outline of where I wanted to cut. I like to trace the outline of another fin instead of just drawing random lines.
Next, I used a hacksaw to make a few rough cuts.
Finally, I went to town on the dang thing — with a grinder first, an orbital sander second, and then I finished up with sandpaper. You want to thin out the tip and try to keep it reasonably symmetrical. The grain of the fin layup basically ends up being a contour map, so you can use the grain to look for random lumps or divots. You don’t have to go crazy here, trying to make it a perfect work of art. A few imperfections aren’t going to make or break the project, so don’t sweat it too much.
Helpful hints:
Wear safety gear An appropriate mask, goggles and gloves will keep your lungs, eyes and hands in good working order.
You can always make a fin smaller, but it’s hard to make it bigger Don’t take off too much material until you know what you’re looking for.
Try not to leave any concave areas on the fin Convex or flat will keep the water flowing smoothly.
Don’t sand the trailing edge into a razor-sharp knife! If anything, make it a little bit square and blunt to reduce the potential for slicing and dicing.
Use power tools — carefully This project took about 45 minutes. Hand sanding the whole thing would have taken WEEKS of effort, but one slip up with the grinder would have ruined the fin.
This fin ended up being just under 15 cm in depth.
But the cool thing about weed fins is that their span and low-end grunt tends to be much bigger than their depth would indicate. This fin, for example, has a span of about 20 cm and the chord length of a much, much larger pointer fin. I expect fairly easy early planing, reasonable top speed, great upwind capacity, and of course, spin out — whenever I want it 
And the best part of making your own fins? Well, testing them, of course! As luck would have it, the very next day offered up perfect 4.2 weather in the Buxton Slick! Here’s the first sesh on the new fin, captured entirely on a GoPro Wide Angle camera:
I’m stoked. The new fin is noticeably lighter than my last slab of G-10, making those little freestyle pops easier than ever. The upwind capacity and top speed were great, which makes all of that lost ground easy to make up. But I’m especially smitten with how easily the fin re-establishes flow at low speeds, which gives the board some directional stability after you come out of those spinny tricks. Good stuff (but of course, I’m biased as the creator), and a project well worth the time and effort!
Andy McKinney Rides: |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Read more of Andy’s blogs at lostinhatteras.blogspot.com. |
||||
Tags: cape hatteras
Loading ...
Useful information Andy - thanks. 36 degrees? Brrrrrrr. I am thinking the NC sun being out makes all the difference. What's that wetsuit thickness?
Nice video/nice riding.
Thanks Dan and Steve! I wear a billabong 6/5/4 with 5mm boots and dakine mitts once it gets below about 45 or 50 degrees. The suit is really flexible so it isn't nearly as restrictive as it sounds like it should be… That combo has worked for me down to 28 degree air in 36 degree water, too. But you're right- having some sun makes a big difference!
Nice blog post, as always, Andy. Randy Rhodes from Worldwinds in TX sailed a weed freestyle fin a lot last year in his Joker. You guys should compare notes… I am sure it would be a interesting conversation since you guys sail freestyle in similar conditions very far apart geographically.
Nice fin too, BTW. Even better demo with the video.
Looking forward to my trip up there in May.
Mark
Austin,TX
Hey Mark- Thanks! I'd love to chat with Randy about fins- have him shoot me a note. See you in May!
Hi Andy, thanks for reminding me that I need a weed fin. I know you didn't have the right one at the store in Oct. Could you please order me one for my 122L Starboard, whatever size you think is best. We'll also need one more universal, the single bolt tendon one. We'll be there April 24th. Thanks Andy
No Problemo, Marta! See you guys soon- April is right around the corner!
I think the fin probably worked well because of the scientific calculator.
i still use the fin I made after you showed me how.
live2sail
Keep up the good work with the blog Andy. See you in a month and a half!!!
Wind Alert ! Westerlies at the slicks for Friday. Wish i could be there.
Anybody use the Buxton slicks for speed, and GPS runs?
Need a video of you showing off the faster side of Tabou. Where's the Rocket !
How too's are your thing, but just can't relate to that fin man.
Why would someone want spin-out?
It looks like you've made a breakthough in your spin moves. It seems that not too long ago you were mainly documenting crashes and now your success rate AND amount of rotation are way up. Congrats!
Hey guys, thanks for the comments! Jerry- see you soon dude! Spring time is right around the corner….
HotMach- The slick is definitely a hot spot for speed but you've got to be very careful about shallow spots if you're using a normal fin. If the wind is super hard west or westnorthwest it usually floods the corner down there, so at that point shallows wouldn't be an issue. If I ask really really nicely I've got access to a Matt Pritchard custom 85 liter Tabou Manta race board…. Couple it up with the Hot Sails Super Speed 10 batten 6.5 I have at the shop… Man, that's some record breaking potential right there!! You've got me thinking now…
Hey Ken- a video editor can choose to put any clip he wants to into a movie
Trust me, I still crash ALL the time- that's part of the fun! I've just been digging the shorter movies lately, so the crashes are the first things to end up on the editing room floor…
Dude ! Sweeeeet!
Awesome Video!!! I usually get bored watching GoPro POV but not with your riding + really good place to mount it. Sick flat water too.