Clipped the bottom at Clayton on my first run,saw the sky at one stage then collected the sail and board, broke the base 4 km walk back bruised heel for a couple of weeks....i think i was very lucky

30+ knots at Rye, Victoria in king low tide. Fin hit and somehow I went flying feet first. Must have tough bones because I hit the sand feet first with legs straight. My toes got squished in my booties and the bootie heel was half way up my calf.

The shallow water catapult felt completely different to other ones. Feels faster and hittting the sand can do serious damage.

jp747 said...

whatever happened to those snap away or quick release tabs for the fins

They are all resting on the bottom of shallow seas.




Not sure but perhaps the bolt through fin box revolution killed them?

With a Tuttle box there are things you can do. A standard tuttle will rotate out of the box if the bolts are allowed to pull through the deck. The deep tuttle will do it too with an assiduous bit of grinding on the top half of the leading edge of the head.

You can also set them up with a break away bolt or cross nut on the front bolt. The back bolt has to bend or break I think but the back bolt is not really necessary and you can sail quite happily without it provided you have the usual snug fit that you get with a tuttle. I rigged one up a while back with a break away cross nut on the front and a tether where the back bolt should go. It was fine for sailing but I never actually whacked the bottom with that one. Its time I did something about it again because I have lost a couple of fins since then - power box.

mrrt said...

Melville Water flat out in 20-30knots, low tide, missed the deeper section across the sand bar due to sun reflecting off the water.
Board stopped dead, -Mart

I hit the sandbar at Melville once - Pointman

Same as me. Watch that sandbar at low tide in the late afternoon!

Waterloo & mrrt

Sounds nasty..