Starboard Forums - Fin for iSonic 122

Canefire is a fine fin, but iSonic 122 dont need as powerfull & stiff ones
Very fine at all for Fanatic Falcon 07/08.........

I was very pleased of the Tectonics Tomcat 42 with 8.4 on iSonic 125,
but the testing of the C3 Venom 40 with 7.4 throw me on an other world.
The board flyes flat over the water & feel free as never.
40 is Ok for flat water & well powered, otherwise 42 is a good choice with 7.4.

46/48 is nice for 8.4 see under

By Ian Fox

Quote:

Actually I was personally pretty doubtful that the G10 construction would be so good for hi load racing in sizes above 40cm, but for sure the Venom has proved that wrong. Normally once larger or powerful riders get onto larger G10 fins, the fin tends to deform too much under hi loads (especially possible with wider boards like iSonics where the rider has increased leverage over the fin compared to narrower or traditional slalom boards). This doesn't happen with the Venom, and in fact the Venom gets better as it gets faster and pushed harder. Taken to the limit, the most dominant feedback/sensation from the Venom is the insane control the fin can deliver at high speeds, which allows the rider unlimited confidence to just push on harder ~ and giving a "real world" speed advantage. Carrying speed and power into and around jibe marks is also a real advantage (in tight racing) with Venom.

Typically with slalom /race fins there is a size/point at which the rider starts to feel "overfinned" ~ and the advantage (especially with bigger/wider/modern/iSonic type slalom boards) of carrying "extra" fin tuning starts to work against the rider out on the water ~ with Venom, this point has been pushed back (so further UP the range). In real world conditions this allows the rider to use (and benefit) from a slightly larger (usually about +2cm) fin tuning for a given board/sail/conditions combo, without increasing the risk or problems from being overfinned too early.

[ Yes, it's true that extra fin size can be argued (in theory) as extra drag and slower, however that really is more a tuning concern for super fast speed trial equipment and conditions, and experienced users of boards like iSonic will know the advantage of carrying a little extra fin in most open water racing. Out on a slalom race course the wind (+conditions) will vary a lot throughout a race- and most often there is more to be gained by being fully powered (finned) as much of the time as possible, rather than having the lowest drag (and thus highest theoretical speed) - but never getting into that "top speed" range to benefit from it ! ]

The Venom feel thru the water is very typical "C3" fast/slippery (lo drag feel) - but in a lot of ways you also feel the fin twisting and "working". Compared to carbon the G10 may feel a bit "less crisp" but the Venom is certainly reactive, smoothly and calm underfoot. It's also very tolerant to angle of attack variance (rough riding...) which is often a problem with super fast foils used in rougher conditions. After a few runs your confidence builds (more than expected) and it's more like "forget about the fin" and just go for it ~ as hard as you can. This is very much the experience of many riders who have tried and found the Venom allowed them to take their performance to a higher level - and now adopted the Venoms as their choice for racing with iSonics.

Based on the better than expected performance of the G10 in Venom 46 and 48cm, a 50cm proto is in development right now.

As mentioned above, the sizing on Venoms (for iS race tuning) normally runs about +2cm larger than "typical" tuning, so for your example ; Venom 38-40 with 08 101 IS-7,0 sail. Venom 40-42 with 08 111 IS 7,8 sail. Venom 42-44 with 09 122 with 7,8 and Venom 46(48) with 09 122 with 8,6.

Please let us know if you need further info or support.

Cheers ~ Ian