I promised to share some information on setting up the Manta 71. The background to this is that Anthony (our supplier), sent Ross Williams an e-mail asking for advice on this topic. Ross forwarded the e-mail to Ben vd Steen who replied thus:
From: Ben van der Steen
Sent: 17 March 2014 11:08
To: Ross Williams
Cc: cedric bordes; antony@capesport.co.za
Subject: Re: 2014 Manta 71
Sent: 17 March 2014 11:08
To: Ross Williams
Cc: cedric bordes; antony@capesport.co.za
Subject: Re: 2014 Manta 71
Hello Guys,
I have been
using the 71 a fair bit now and it does not seem to need very big fins
40/39
on 8.6
39/38 on
7.8
38/37 on
7.1
so Antony
your fins are for sure a bit big . You can also try the mast track a little
more forward if you keep tail walking .
The
footstrap position on the board is also a bit closer together than previous
years so you might want to put you straps little more apart .
I
personally use the back strap 1 hole from the back and front one all the way
forward or 1 from the front.
so try the
smaller fins play with the masttrack a bit and let us know how it goes
Ben van der Steen
This is interesting because it ties in with what several guys have been finding regarding fins for the 71. Charl changed fins from a 39 VMax to a 37 S11 and tells me that he immediately felt improvements in control and speed with his 6.7 race sail. I had no problems with the VMax 39 with my 7.0 Stitch but I am a lot heavier than Charl. The bottom line is that anyone trying this board needs to experiment with smaller fins than they may have had on previous Manta 71's.
Speaking of fins here are two tasty ones:
 |
| This is ERD's carbon slalom fin. Nice design and by all accounts one hot thing |
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| These are Silverline fins from KW Fins. What makes them different is the fact that they are hollow. I always take notice when a sailor who has been struggling for a few years starts to win races. Nicholas Warembourg (that is him below) is such a sailor. He is one of the people behind these fins so they obviously work. Look them up! |
(Our season is basically over but it looks as if we will get a few days sailing starting Saturday).
Are the KW fins just hollow for weight savings or is there another benefit?
ReplyDeleteAlso have you seen Chris Lockwood's Mark 2 fins? Looks like a lot of new hot looking fins are coming to the market!
-Kevin
Hi Kevin
ReplyDeleteI think that a properly designed hollow fin changes its shape when under pressure. This allows the foil to adopt a more efficient, asymmetrical profile (concave on the windward surface, convex on the leeward surface) and this is done irrespective of the direction being sailed. Cool if you can get it right!
Regarding the new "Clockwoods" fins - they look killer and all the feedback is really good. I am inclined to avoid fins with really sharp points (not so good upwind) but you can't argue with so many good sailors giving glowing reports. I would love to give one of these a spin.