Tomahawk Speed Weed Fin Project

One of my most popular DIY articles - DIY Fin mould, was never finished because I sold the fin half way through the the setup stage.  I plan to cover the topic in full as well as each of the stages leading up to making a mould for an original fin design.  The range of fins I have been working on are Speed Weed Fins.  They have a leading edge rake of 45 degrees and a thicker base similar to the new breed of stumpy speed fins.

 Why a Speed Weed? Well since we don't have any local speed strips around Adelaide anymore we need to travel 5 hours to Lake George for a "fix".  The Lake has weed beds that rise during the day creating perfect speed conditions, unless you start catching the weed on your fin.

My reasoning behind the design is as follows:

• 45 Degree Rake to shed floating weed as well as starting in weed beds.
• Thick base to reduce fin depth and keep the centre of lift as far forward as possible.
• Thick base to minimise twist and flex which are killers in weed fins for heavy sailors.
• Leading edge set forward of base to keep the centre of lift as fas forward as possible.
• 9.5 Percent Chord/Thickness ratio for a good compromise between power and speed.
• Notched trailing edge(on bigger fins) to maintain flow attachement at low speeds/high angles of attack.
• Full Carbon Fibre body construction for minimum flex.
• Glass Fibre leading edge for abrasion resistance.

I am no fin expert but I have done a lot of research and know what I want from the design.  If the symmetrical design is successful I plan to make poth Port and Starboard Assymetrical speed weed versions in the smaller sizes.

The symmetrical range will be (Right to Left):
T30 30cm 400cm^2
T28 28cm 361cm^2
T26 26cm 323cm^2
T24 24cm 287cm^2
T22 22cm 253cm^2
T20 20cm 220cm^2
T18 18cm 188cm^2

Starboard Isonic 137 2012 Preview

Fanatic Falcon 111 for Sale

Now that my new Fanatic Falcon 113 has arrived I am selling my Falcon 111.

The board is in good condition except for a few scratches on the nose.

$1450 - Price includes a Pro Limit board bag and Select S10 39cm fin.

Email me at timhemer at gmail dot com

Fanatic Falcon 113 - First Session

Here are some photos from my first session on the 113.

Words and video coming soon...

Fanatic Falcon 113 2012 Preview

 

Here are some quick observations of the 113(2012) Vs the 111(2011) 

• The rails are boxier in the tail and the straps are closer to the rail meaning a more committed stance. 
• The tail around behind the back straps is more bulbous flowing into a flatter and slightly thinner working area between the front straps. 
• With a quick check of the bottom with a ruler it looks like there is a little more vee(than 2011) under the back foot as well as some tail rocker(2011 had none). 
• There are still the double concave in the nose but this washes out into a vee right up the front instead of a flat like the 2011 model. 
• The track recess appears much deeper but I think this is partly due to more volume in the shoulder of the rail. 
• The track recess also extends right to the nose reducing volume and lift and increasing stiffness.

RS Racing Evo IV

RS Racing Evo IV and JP Slalom VIII

There are a few images floating around in cyberspace of the new RS Racing Evo IV.  The most obvious change is the break from the Iconic Burnt Orange.  The EvoIII started this move with a redder orange as well as blue and red printing on the body panels.  The new design is reverting back to a higher aspect ratio and looser mid and lower leech.  Smaller sizing is also changing and there is less choice in the way of dedicated speed sizes with 5.8 being the starting point.  Perhaps some limited edition speed specials will be produced.

RS Racing Evo IV vs Evo III

The advertising graphic only represents the colour, material and reinforcement changes and does not hint towards the amount the aspect ratio is changing as the outlines are identical.  There looks to be more reinforcing/opaque panels in the foot of the sail and less at the bottom of the leech above the clew.

RS Racing Evo IV Overlay