That is such a nice spot Tricky! Great work on the drone
I amazed that you fellas can get an FF20 and 7.0 combo to work at all, in my hands that would be a lesson in sailing sideways!

This is Tricky's video here ( for anyone who is having issues with viewing on GD)

Swindy said..
You see Ross, another man that needs a FF22 with that board and sail combo...

I agree Swindy, but for Tricky, the only difference between ploughing and sailing, is that he wears a rubber sailing. So if let him have a FF22 he'd probably end up in gaol for a neatly furrowed Stansbury seafloor.
Maybe a cutdown FF22 might keep him out of trouble...With a bit of luck the milling of the FF22pattern moulds will have started on the weekend and I will have them in my hands in a couple of weeks.

I have seen that guy with the pink sail, he's great
I think i was using a 28 lessacher that day, trying to get in as close to the FF20 as i could. Tricky's not so secret weapon won the day, that fin is giving me nightmares!

So here is my low tide, light wind Swoody. The donor fin was a solid 28 casting, that Swindy cut the guts out of and replaced with Balsa and fibreglass. I cut it down to just over 22 cm length, and re-shaped the tip and cut back for Powerbox. It is still very chunky in the foil because the donor was a FF 28, so I am hoping it will handle my big kit in shallow water. Final weight just a smidge under a kilo.

Some more cut-down FF news: Bill Millard took some really cool footage of sboardcrazy using a cutdown FF24 (->21). To my eye, the yaw with this combo looks pretty spot on the money.

.be

I took two Swoody's out for a spin. The first was a 22 cut down from a 28. (see post just above for a photo) This fin was one that Swindy had delivered as a 26 Swoody. Somewhat carelessly, I somehow let an angle grinder fall through the tip and made it a 22 Swoody instead. The idea being the ultimate heavy lifter short fin. I took it out with my vintage Xantos310 and Koncept7.5. The conditions changed quickly enough that I was soon overpowered on the 7.5 so my testing is still a bit thin. First impressions revealed no vices. It had far more power than the 7.5 required and as such was very easy to sail upwind and gybe. I had one crack downhill and the hit the 34knot mark in small chop before common sense prevailed. This version still produced enough vertical lift that the Barge and the arse that was on it were both twitching and barely keeping touch with the water. I think that might be the top end speed wise for this fin, simply because of the vertical lift becoming difficult to control. So my thoughts are, that it will be fine with my 8.5 and 9.5 in the shallows when a desperation sail is the order of the day and speeds under 34 knots are more likely.

The second Swoody I tried was also a fatboy, a 22 cut down from a 24 on loan from Swindy's personal collection. This fin still had the original base length, (and I think), only a small amount of foil thinning. The trailing edge was trimmed back to give the correct tip shape. I tested this fin back to back with an FF20 using a Koncept 6.6. The thinner and shorter FF20 theoretically would be the faster of the two, and it certainly felt more slippery. However, given the water state, wind strength and my weight, the Swoody 22 was the better fin. The Swoody 22 behaved as expected and once again had no vices, other than the cheap arsed dodgy paint job on the tip wearing off after I did an extended bout of trench digging in the top car park rocky bit. I think the Swoody22 provided the best balance of control versus drag and reinforced in my mind the need for an FF22 (I am hoping for news on the FF22 patterns soon). It will be interesting to see what difference there is between the shorter based and thinner FF22 versus its cut down 24 cousins.

I just txt him yesterday about this very subject. Soon as I can get another 20 off fangy that is my intention. I intend to reduce the surface area and re shape the foil reducing the foil thickness by about 4 mm, also put some wood in it. Not sure what length it will end up yet, it may be 17. If it works as well as my 22 speed it should be good. By just cutting the tip off the fangy fins seems to have little or no effect on their performance but does allow you to go in shallower water. I will let you know how it goes, if he doesn't have a 20 in stock I will have to wait till the next foundry run which hopefully wont be too long.

Ignore Fangmans comment above, turns out he has 2. Too many sparkles in the back of Sluggers van I think.
Ok here's the plan, not only am I going to do what I mentioned previously, I am also going to shorten the base and move the fin back 12 mm to compensate. I would like to go 15mm which is what I am taking off the trailing edge. If I go any more I am in danger of drilling through the edge of the alli on the front hole. Doing this I will have to put the fin in my Tuttle mold to fill the gap at the front with resin. I may also leave the cut out and try it without one, it can go back in later if it needs it. I may even try concaves on the trailing edge. This one should end up like a proper scaled down fangy fin. Once done I will hand it over to one of the team lightweights to test as it might be some time before my large arse gets to use it.

Swindy said..
Ignore Fangmans comment above, turns out he has 2. Too many sparkles in the back of Sluggers van I think.
Ok here's the plan, not only am I going to do what I mentioned previously, I am also going to shorten the base and move the fin back 12 mm to compensate. I would like to go 15mm which is what I am taking off the trailing edge. If I go any more I am in danger of drilling through the edge of the alli on the front hole. Doing this I will have to put the fin in my Tuttle mold to fill the gap at the front with resin. I may also leave the cut out and try it without one, it can go back in later if it needs it. I may even try concaves on the trailing edge. This one should end up like a proper scaled down fangy fin. Once done I will hand it over to one of the team lightweights to test as it might be some time before my large arse gets to use it.

Excellent to see that you finally got your Texta licence at school Swindy. Your work is quite neat and good job staying within the lines.
Actually, it was a good job going searching through my highly organised storeroom stash for fins. I found a couple of other fins I didnt know I had. For example, a MUF Delta19 that is in pristine condition - we can use that as a comparison fin now if we want to.

Made a start on the FF18 yesterday, its actually ended up 17.5. I have thinned down the foil as much as I dare untill I cut the hole for the wood. As its a hollow fin I cant be sure of the wall thickness untill I do. I have shortened the base and ground off about 2-3mm all around the fillet. There is still a bit of the cut out left but I suspect I will be re instating that anyway. The trailing edge now has concaves. Not knowing the science behind this I just copied one of my tribal Ws. The wood section is going to be smaller on this one so not to interfere with the concaves.



I would have liked to have finished the cut out for the wood but drilling the first hole had a little accident when the drill grabbed and span the fin round which put a nice slice in my hand. Perhaps next time I might clamp it down.



Four stitches later I was home in time to watch the royal wedding.
Fangman was so concerned when he heard of my injury, concerned that the fin wont be finished by Thursday when a storm is due.
As I am now on FF workers comp the boss reckons I can come down on Thursday with the fin finished and do light duties. Rig his sails, carry his board to the water and anything else he can think of. Such a caring person.

Swindy said..

I would have liked to have finished the cut out for the wood but drilling the first hole had a little accident when the drill grabbed and span the fin round which put a nice slice in my hand. Perhaps next time I might clamp it down.



Four stitches later I was home in time to watch the royal wedding.
Fangman was so concerned when he heard of my injury, concerned that the fin wont be finished by Thursday when a storm is due.
As I am now on FF workers comp the boss reckons I can come down on Thursday with the fin finished and do light duties. Rig his sails, carry his board to the water and anything else he can think of. Such a caring person.

Year 8 metal work class Golden Rule. Clamp your work. You were lucky it was only your Palmolive soft hand. Imagine if you had damaged your fin! Sigh....If only I had a heart.
Oh and I forgot, FF management will be suing you for negligence, and a failure to take proper actions to protect a FF from damage. We will also be seeking damages on the behalf of the FF for the psychological trauma suffered when you slapped it with your hand.
Thursday, dont forget to organise the catering van.

powersloshin said..
I tested the ff20 this weekend at Budgewoi: very shallow and lots of floating weed islands, went really well upwind and felt very smooth. Saturday had 5.8 and 69 lts board, at the end of the session I cut 2-3 cm off the tip and went back: it was going better over the weeds and easier to start without affecting performance.
Today I tried it with 90 lts board and 6.6 and it could still handle it, but I felt I was at the limit for that size.
It would be great to have a FF18 'speed' model for speedboards ...

I found the 20cm FF great with the 80 isonic with 6.2 or smaller sails at LG.
I've also tested it at Budgy and found it great in 20kts plus although I'd like to use it more often.Its been too shallow for me to feel safe and use it in the flats .
The 21cm cut down from the thicker foiled 24ff works great with the 87ltre isonic and 7m where I keep to the deeper parts of the flats.
I have a 18cmFF ( cut down 20cm) that works well with the 80ltre - probably best with 5.7m -5m.I haven't used it a lot due to the shallow depth at Budgy .
Yep I'd like to try a cut down 22 for an 18cm. Maybe it would handle the 6.2m?
At the moment I'm a bit cautious and using 16cm kestrel fins there if I want to go all through the shallows.

Out of the mold. If I work overtime today may have it finished for a test tomorrow.

With a full size Tuttle head the fin looks sooo small. I don't think I will get to use it often but if it works will be worth it for the big days. I'm thinking 5.5 or smaller on 87 ltr or smaller board for my slender 93 kg.

All fins are worth Swoodying Ross.
Lets not discriminate.

fangman said..
Yep Swindy that fin is looking on the small side even for you.
Did you do any pre - weighing? I am just wondering, at what point does the amount of work required to make a woody, balance out against the weight loss? That is, on how small a fin is it still worth Swoodying?

It depends if you have the work ethic of a student I suppose.