Hi
Here is
some feedback from readers and riders and a small rant to end off with.
· Joos
has acquired two Zulu fins for his Severne Fox 105. In strong winds last week he sailed the board
with the new 34cm fin and his 6.0m NCX.
He tells me that the fin has turned the board into a perfect high wind
blaster. Carbon fettled by Robbie shows its class once again.
The
standard Fox fin is good but is also really powerful. Severne say the board (105) will take sails up to
7.8m and I believe them. The G10 fin will
hold a 7.8m sail with no trouble whatsoever.
The problem you have comes with a smaller sail in strong winds. The same fin can boss you around badly. Robbie’s 34cm fin is exactly what the doctor
ordered – fast, easy and rock steady in rough conditions.
· I
reported on Severne’s new race mast in the previous post and I stated that the
new masts were lighter than the outgoing model.
Well quite a few of you e-mailed me to correct this. Most of the new sizes are lighter but the 490
Apex-pro is actually a bit heavier than the outgoing 490. Sorry – I did not
look properly.
· Eric Kamminga
from the Netherlands is an old member of this site. I recall that he joined up when all of 10 people
had signed on. Anyway we have had many
discussions over the years, wrestling with equipment options and choices.
Eric
tells me that he has opened a windsurfing shop in Roden. If you are a Dutch reader living near Roden and
need some assistance, please drop in on Eric.
He is a kindred spirit and his shop offers some nice brands. He can also arrange repairs if required.
Eric's shop is in Kanaalstraat, (a common street name
in Holland I imagine). His website is : www.surf-store.nl
· Martin
Cross queried why the Starboard Kode Freewave was not included in my list of
recommended blasting boards. I have to
acknowledge that this board would easily hold its own against anything
recommended (just read the reviews – it is one fantastic machine) but I exclude
it because its centre fin slot has a US box.
This means that I would be unable to use any of my precious power box
fins. I am also a little unsure of the
stability of a US fin under extreme loading.
If your free-riding is more wave-orientated and your stance more upright,
then you should absolutely consider a Kode.
It is invariably the test favorite in reviews and as Martin pointed
out, quite a few fast fins are now available with US heads.
In the vein of the last point,
I want to express some unhappiness with certain brands within our industry. I use Severne in this example but other
manufacturers make the same mistake from time to time.
The example on my mind right
now is the new Severne Fox. The Fox line
represents a landmark in free-ride/free-race board design in my opinion – a
really important board. The biggest Fox is
140l/78cm wide – a light wind rocket.
Note that its weight is the same as the 70cm model. So far so good!
My problem is the fin box. Severne give us a power box in this Fox size.
Most buyers of this board are going to be old
sailors with good technical abilities. Such
people will have their own fin quivers and such quivers will almost certainly
include one or two good 44cm(ish) fins with deep Tuttle heads.
One of the first things one
would want to do on purchasing a Fox 140, would be to try it with a variety of
fins. Why on earth would Severne offer
such a board with a power box? No-one
has aftermarket 44cm fins with power-box heads.
Buy a big Fox but you can only
use the standard fin! Why punish your
target market in this way? The big Fox should be offered with deep Tuttle
box in my opinion. The board’s class and potential are on a level with any good (or even really high end) fin.
Ok – that’s all for now
Good winds
