Fin for iSonic 122

[morten.g]

I have a iSonic 122, and I always get spinn out when I use my 8.8 sail and the 46 fin that came with the board. (No problem with the 6.9 sail) My weight is 84kg, and i'm always going for speed. I'm thinking of buying a Drake R13 Race NR 48 , or a Drake R19 Race NR 48. What's the differance between those 2 ? Anybody who has other suggestions ?
Thanks

Morten

One of the most popular fins for the 122 is the Vector Fins Canefire 44cm.

[nonopr]

Morten.G If you are going to buy deboichet buy the SL4 in 44. But I do prefer a Canefire from Vector Fin in 44 or 46 depending if you are racing or not.
www.vectorfins.com

[MartinJE]

Hi

You can't go past C3 Venoms - http://www.c3-fins.com/C3_web/home.html - with an 8m8, a 46 for all round or 44 for downwind speed.

btw - I'd be using a 38 with a 6m9 on my 2008 iS122 @85kg ...

[mark h]

Hi Morten
The Drake R19 is more powerfull than the Drake R13, so only get the R19 if your going to be using in super light winds. For speed with 8.8m, a 42cm will be good, even though its smaller than your 46cm, it will not spin out. The R13 is the better all-rounder, powerfull, direct and pretty fast, plug in and forget type of thing. Out of all the Drake series of race fins, the R13 is the best. The Drake slalom Pro needs "twinkle toe" lightness on the back foot or will spin out a lot. I'm not too keen on the Slalom Pro and upgraded to Selects for the bigger iSonics. Its also worth considering the Select Proslam or Ghost in 42/43cm sizes.

[blazer]

I've suffered with spinout with the stock 44cm fin as well. Finally considering an upgrade. I'm 74kg and primarily use it with an 8.2 Vapor. Not racing just enjoy fast reaching. 44cm or 46cm?

[Lessacher]

Rake 30°, 35cm is 43 cm long,no spin outs, very fast and 100% carbon. Wolfgang

[IRL-250]

Get a 44-46cm Vector Fins Canefire. They are an awsome fin

[Papounet]

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

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

[Vando]

Agree with Papounet you have so much control with the Venoms.
I use the 46 with my IS122 and Loft Blade 8.5 and wow the boards really does trim nicely.
The Venoms dont seem to try and overpower you like some other fins, I use this combo up to 25 knots im 85kg.

ta Vando