Bigger fin for Rio M

[olzcyk]

I have a 2007 rio m with a 5.8 rig and have bought now a bigger 9.0 sail. What kind of a fin shoud I get to pair it. I'm 95 kg 187 cm and just learning to plane with foorstraps and harness. All I'm looking is early planing.

Second question is about harness lines. What are the disadvantages of too long lines? Like 32"

[Roger]

Hello olzcyk,
With your 9.0 m2 rig you would probably want a fin around 56-60 cm.
Your 2007 Rio M is 90 cm wide, so a fin in the 56-60 cm range should give you
optimum early planing, but not be so large that it becomes hard to control and speed.
The disadvantage of having harness lines that are too long (too long is a relative term,
and depends on the type of sailing you are doing, and the length of your arms) is that you cannot put your full weight on the rig with your arms fully extended.
If you cannot extend your arms far enough to reach the boom with your full weight committed to the harness and lines, you tend to continue to take a significant amount of pressure through your arms.
As suggested in the other thread "Harness and footstraps"
http://www.star-board.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5858
currently active here, you really cannot determine what length lines you need and what your boom height needs to be until you are pretty much back in the footstraps with your rig fully raked back.
When you reach this level, you will find that your max speed, best control, and highest comfort level all depend on being able to get virtually all of your weight off the tail of your board and transmit it through the rig and down to the mast foot as mast foot pressure.
If your lines are too long, you won't be comfortable, you will be dragging your butt in the water or hitting occasional chop with your butt.
You need to get your lines set so that with your arms at full extension, the harness and lines take your weight when you are in the "Figure 7" stance.
If you have to lean back farther to get your weight onto lines that are too long, you won't be comfortable and you wlll hit chop or drag your butt because your hips are too low and the harness/lines are not pulling your hips up to get the weight off your board.
32" is not too long for some sailors, and it's very much too long for shorter sailors with shorter arms.
Yes, you can raise/lower the boom to compensate, but having the boom too high or too low is not comfortable and does not allow you to really get the Fig. 7 stance.
Hope this helps,

[olzcyk]

Thanks Roger for your swift answer. I'm thinking of these two models, any comments? or this

[olzcyk]

Well messed up the url:s for the images totally. I was considering these two models:

http://www.onlinesurfshop.de/product...0-TU-deep.html

or this:

http://www.onlinesurfshop.de/product...0-TU-deep.html

[Roger]

Hi olzcfyk,
I'm having trouble with your links.
It comes up "No Products".
If you are looking at the Tekknosport fins, give me a model and I can get the picture on the Tekknosport site.
If you are looking at the ON fins, I 'm not sure if ON has a website.
R

[olzcyk]

The links worked fine this morning but not anymore!?

Yes it was Tekknosport and the models were: G-10 Free Race 560 TU deep #12523 or G-10 Free Race 590 TU deep #12515 or T-Zone Race 620 TU deep #12508

One problem more at my local lake is the weed which get stuck on my fin. Is there any weed fins that "large" that would work on my board?

-eddie-

[Roger]

Hi olzcyk,
Tekknosport has a 40 cm weed fin that would work pretty well, but I'd suggest
the Lessacher Design Duo Formula Weed as perhaps the best "big" weed fin on the
market for formula sized sails.
I have the 40 cm LD Formula Weed and have sailed it with 10.5 m2 rigs and it works very well.
http://www.cameraid.com/Lessacher/weed.html
Actually it looks like you can get the Lessacher Duo Weed Formula from Tekknosport
GMBH.
The other fins you are looking at would all be good!
I think the Free Race 590 or T-zone 620 would be the best, but not for weedy waters.
Hope this helps,

[olzcyk]

Helps indeed! Thank you very much for your information. I appreciate it a lot. Great site you have here!

-eddie-