are glassed on fins any good?

[Naomi_10]

just brought a new board with glassed on fins and just wondering are they as good as removeable ones?

[oslo]

As far as I know, they are just as good.

I will always go for removable fins as it is better for travelling, and you can change fins for a different feel.

[surfinforlife]

I prefer the removable ones, not sure how accurate this and I do stand corrected, but if you snap the removable ones they are designed to break off and not damage the board. If attached fins are snapped then they can damage your board and are probably more expensive to get fixed. But dont quote me on this....

[oslo]

but if you snap the removable ones they are designed to break off and not damage the board.

If you hit something with a fcs fin, it will make a hole in your board. Other designs won't.

[surfinforlife]

but if you snap the removable ones they are designed to break off and not damage the board.

If you hit something with a fcs fin, it will make a hole in your board. Other designs won't.

Really?? I use FCS fins and i snapped one of last week and it broke flush with the board, so i could remove the stub that was still in the fin hole and then I put in a new one, the guy at the surf store said this is one of the benefits of FCS fins.

[kitesurfer]

FCS are designed to snap off in the plug. Sometimes they don't and the plug rips a hole in your board and that can be either that they haven't been installed properly by the glasser or maybe the fin has been pushed up into the board!
Glassed on fins are stronger but don't travel as well and you can't experiment with different fins.
It's down to a personnel choice as to which is better for you!

[Brent]

There is a school of thought that says that glassed-on fins are better. Ironically most of these people making this call are pro's in magazine articles who neither have to worry about trashing fins on rocks & ding accidents nor excess baggage & space when travelling.
I think many impressionable surfers base their opinions on what these guys say - frankly I cannot tell the difference when surfing.

[dougirwin13]

Fancy seeing you on here kitey... What's taken you away from Sways?

-doug

[grub]

Fixed or not, it’s a personal preference... I like fixed but generally go for removable purely for ease in travel. With reference to which system, as much as people swear they work the fact is that the majority of FCS tabs don’t snap like they should; this could be a result of bad fitment but could also be attributed to both the diameter of the fin holders and the strength of current models of FCS fins.

I haven't seen them on many boards out side of Australia but a good system is the swivel fin system...



This plug goes through your board, ie. from the top of the board to the bottom. Unlike FCS and the like, when you do have the miss fortune of damaging a fin the fin snaps rather than causing damage to your board. I believe that FCS were original designed to do this but now seldom do. An added advantage of this system is the ability to alter the fin angle which in turn dramatically changes the dynamics of your board. Have a read about them if you are interested:

http://www.designawards.com.au/ADA/97-9 ... 82/082.HTM
_________________

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood"

[kitesurfer]

Just fancied a change of scenery for a bit. But you'll find me all over the place though, you just have to search for "too much wind" or "way too much wind"!

[Dec]

swaylocks and surfing-waves....thats a horrible clash. Especially as sways has now been taken over by roy stewart (the guy in pink with a 130ft surfboard).



STICK TO SURFING-WAVES!!!

[grub]

...Roy Stewart (the guy in pink with a 130ft surfboard).

arhhhh , so those things old Roy rides are SURFBOARDS... for a moment there I thought they were dead wholowed out trees and thanks for clearing things up... it always looked like a hot PINK jump suit but I have never been sure.
_________________

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood"

[Dec]

ha ha...I am not sure whether that actually is a surfboard...it look like those ancient hawaiian boards (trees that fell into the water...or giant oil tankers)

[kitesurfer]

Well i like to keep abreast of all sorts plus sways is a huge goldmine for surf board building info!