Fins not aligned

quinnman's picture
quinnman started the topic in Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 9:29am

Hi guys need some advice on a new custom board I have picked up . Was really stoked when I picked the board up but have now noticed that the fins on the sides ( its a thruster set up ) are ten millimeters out in were they sit from the back of the board . There is also a hip in the tail that has ten millimeters difference from one side to the other.
How much difference will this make to the way the board handles ?
Havent taken it out yet , still letting it cure .

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 1:37pm

10mm out? Wow, that's a lot. I'd take it back to the shaper.

Craig's picture
Craig's picture
Craig Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 1:40pm

Hope you didn't drop the word asymmetric at all in the process.

Oh and if it's still curing, just nudge it all back to what it should be ;)

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 1:50pm

Don't wax it up......Poor quality ....full refund....no joy .....then name and shame.....2mm difference on the fins is to much ...10mm no fucking way.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 1:57pm

I don't know Udo, curiousity would get the better of me. What if it worked unreal? I heard a story that Tom Curren's '86 Bells Black Beauty had three different fins glassed onto it. Of course he's Tom Curren and the rest of us aren't but...what if this board worked unreal?

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 2:31pm

Really Stuart ,suppose you just shelled out $750 + had it at home curing in your lounge room eying it over every 1/2 hour and saw the error............id be spewing , although I know what you mean by it possibly working, Nick Carroll plays with offset set ups I think ?
Did my time in machine shops working to very fine tolerances which makes me a fussy prick ........and JIGS are made for a reason.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 2:11pm

Oh, I wouldn't be happy about it. But why not surf it? Tell the shaper you found the flaw after you took it out. Not like he can talk his way out of such a bad botch.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 2:15pm

Agreed, have a go and see how you fare. Might be perfect for your backhand and forehand and the subtle differences employed going left or right.

Then again, might be a piece of crap but you won't know unless you have a go.

fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21 Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 2:28pm

I'd still tell the shaper before I took it out and tell him if you still not happy after a surf, you want a refund or new board.

Craig's picture
Craig's picture
Craig Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 2:30pm

With both those stuff up in dims, I reckon he aligned the fin placement with the hip. So with the hip being 10mm out, so was the fin. Double Fail!

crustt's picture
crustt's picture
crustt Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 3:09pm

I had a 4 fin and one of the front fins was set 1/2 inch closer to the rail than the other, I rang the shaper as I knew being a perfectionist he would freak, I demanded a replacement and he just laughed at me. In all fairness it did take me 2 years to notice it and only because a mate pointed it out.
So I kept surfing it for another 3 years cause it was one of those magic boards.

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 3:23pm

Quinnman are the fins Glass on, fcs or futures ?
1/2" - Crustt ring specsavers.

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 4:01pm
quinnman wrote:

... the fins on the sides ( its a thruster set up ) are ten millimeters out in were they sit from the back of the board. There is also a hip in the tail that has ten millimeters difference from one side to the other ...

I'd be pretty annoyed too ... forking out hard earned and then finding errors, but, like Stu says, maybe, just maybe, it adds that special element that makes it a great board. Who knows, but, could be best to first take it back and talk with the manufacturer ...

On the flip side, I am a tad curious as to how you have actually measured these differences ... could you explain what you did?

Any chance of some pics of the measurements differences?

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 4:04pm
Craig wrote:

With both those stuff up in dims, I reckon he aligned the fin placement with the hip. So with the hip being 10mm out, so was the fin. Double Fail!

mmm, yes, feels like some common element. I'm thinking stringer ... ??

or, an alignment issue when the blank was lined up for the machine cut?

Hence, my query to q'man as to how the measurements were completed ...

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 4:21pm

Blank alignment issue on the machine cut, average stringer width over the length of a { 6'2 } ? surfboard could nearly be that 10mm error..As in laser dot one side of stringer on the nose and other side of stringer on the tail .

quinnman's picture
quinnman's picture
quinnman Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 5:35pm

Thanks for the advice guys . Will take it out and see how it goes and if it feels wrong I will take it back .
Measured it by putting a straight edge on the points of the swallow tail .

Craig's picture
Craig's picture
Craig Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 5:43pm

Can we have pics of the bungled shape?

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 5:49pm

Pics yes but cover any decals for now.

simba's picture
simba's picture
simba Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 5:52pm

I had a firewire firefly now called the el feugo that had the plugs about 5 mill out ,went good in lefts but was really stiff in rights also the decal was back to front,Firewire didnt want to know about it and consequently i dont deal with them anymore.
Also had a mate who had a mctavish 6-2 shaped for him years ago and one flyer was an inch different than the other side, but he liked it.......

floyd's picture
floyd's picture
floyd Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 6:06pm

True story as told to me by the shaper.

Apparently this very well known sharper was constantly being told by a very well known international free surfer that this particular board he had shaped for him was the best ever, the magic board.

Well that was until he snapped the fin out of it and damaged the fin box. Apparently the repairer told the surfer the fin was misaligned and the board went from the best ever to a dog in a nano second.

As the shaper said "not too bright in the head box that one"

indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 6:28pm

Not going to name and shame as no real point, but my flatmate on the Goldie had a run of custom boards with quite obvious screw ups from a big Goldie board maker years ago, he got two big screw ups in a row (and one minor)he use to bring them home all stoked, lay them out on the lounge floor and then me or him would spot the flaws, and he would have to take it back and wait weeks for a new board again, on one hand i felt sorry for him but it was also pretty funny as prior he always raved about there boards.

Crazy what some mobs try to pass off, i reckon there is heaps of guys with board flaws that they don't pick up out there.

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 6:51pm

I've had mates order single fins and get thrusters from one major name.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 6:55pm

udo wrote:

Pics yes but cover any decals for now.

Yeah, do the shaper this courtesy at least. No need for trial by internet

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 8:16pm
quinnman wrote:

... Measured it by putting a straight edge on the points of the swallow tail .

OK, try this ... put a straight edge over the back edge of the fins (glass ons), or fin boxes (best way is to put fins in and make sure fins are pushed to the back of each box, i.e. toward the tail), and draw a pencil line on the stringer ... then grab a layout square, square, or even a protractor (you know the half circle thing we all used at school to work out angles), and see if the line you've draw is actual at 90 degrees to the stringer ...

You might like to do the same across the end of the swallow tail tips ... see if a straight edge across them is actually 90 degrees to the stringer ...

Let us know what it looks like ... pic would be good ... and yep, like noted above, we don't need to see the decals ;)

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Sunday, 10 Aug 2014 at 3:43pm

Quinnman, what was the out come ,did you surf it after pointing out the fin error to the shaper,or get a refund or a replacement ?