Should i have fins on my wakeboard

As mentioned, riding a flat-bottom wakeboard without fins is super slippery feeling! Using fins on a flat wakeboard helps riders stay locked in when going straight, or when leaning in to a turn. As you get more advanced and learn how different boards feel, you may like to change a fin setup. Many people ride with only outer edge fins, removing the center fin. This is the basic idea of the whole issue.

If you want a quick reacting board that maintains a straight line while standing upright but locks in to turns quickly, fins are for you. Having fins on your wakeboard helps direct the flow of water in a way that really helps the board commit to an angle and stay there.

Basically, having protrusions from the bottom of your board that are sharp can catch on edges of rails, make large scratches, or cause other damage to the rails and ramps. These fins are not meant to take hits like that and will simply crack from the extra force put on them.

Metal fins are more likely to damage your board vs. Even if the fins themselves are fine, getting caught-up on an obstacle may damage the board significantly because of the screws. Screw holes can widen or crack your board, allowing water in to the core and possibly ruining it.

This one is heavily a personal preference issue. These boards are often designed to ride extremely well without fins at all. Often times, these boards rely on the rider being able to turn well and set a good edge in to the wake to be most effective. So adding a fin for a beginner might still help a bit. I would still recommend removing the fin though once you are good enough to stand and turn consistently behind the boat or at the cable park.

As a personal note, I have not yet ridden a board with molded-in fins that I felt like I wanted to add an extra fin to. As with many things in wakeboarding, personal preference and riding style is king. When it comes to wakeboard fins, personal preference is probably the biggest factor when deciding whether or not to use them. I would recommend riding with fins for a while no matter what if you are a complete beginner. They help keep the board pointed in the right direction and keep you balanced and on track.

Once you get comfortable standing-up consistently and are able to carve around behind the boat with nice, smooth turns; try removing the fins. It will be a completely different experience! My Settings. Trick Tips. Girls Who Ride. Collegiate Wakesports.

Other Watersports. More Topics Tow Vehicles. Waterfront Property. Non-Wake Items. Cash Store. Points Store. Mark Forums Read. Thread Tools. Send a private message to rubberduckey. I should also add that removing center fins from a beginner board is not a good idea. Most beginner boards don't have well defined rails and using the edges to ride can be difficult without the center fins. Most intermediate and all advanced boards would be no problem.

If you would stop tearing up your gear it wouldn't matter. If you do decice to put the missing fin back on, use the extra bolt from your kneeboard. What "extra" bolt from my kneeboard??? That's in the bottom of the lake, thanks to Josh Actually, I have that all fixed now and it's ready for Josh to ride again for some Finless because I got an impromptu lesson and the guy made me.

I found my Maruis was faster and more forgiving without fins. You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Restore formatting. Only 75 emoji are allowed. Display as a link instead. Clear editor. Upload or insert images from URL. Welcome to TheMalibuCrew! Fins or finless? Followers 0. Reply to this topic. Recommended Posts. MalibuBuzz 0 Posted August 12, Well, I guess it depends on how much chop you are talking about.

I guess it gets to a point where if it is too much chop, I get back in the boat, fins or no fins. But I like riding in a slight chop. It gets enough air under the board where you can cut as fast as you want fairly easy. If you have some big honking fins, and you come down wrong, then you really dont have a chance of pulling out of the trick, and may hurt yourself. Versus learning how to edge without them, and having less drag on the board, and possibly sliding out a few rough landings instead of catching a hard edge, and tweaking your knee or something.

Make any sense? Tried finless and it felt VERY slippery. Similar to going from long skiis to trick skiis. I was all over the place. I put the fins back on that night, but will try again when I have more time to experiment.