Hi
I have a Airush Monaro V4 and have the stock fins it came with. However, the other day I rode a different board. I was not expecting much of a differerence but WOW difference was huge. Whilst my Monaro V4 was 3* better to wind the ease and stiffness of this other board made it so much easier to ride much more direct feel.
My Question is was this down to fins, board or the whole package? I need to get some new screws to put the other fins in my board.
Has any one changed just their fins? What was the difference?
I reckon it's all in the fins. There's so little of the board in the water if you're riding it properly that it's not going to make much difference in a straight line.
What were the fins in the other board? The i've had a look at the Airush fins from the M-V4 and they do leave a fair bit to be desired.... I put mine in a box for when I sell it... Didn't even try them.
It's all in the fins windsurf formula boards come with cheap fins as do kite formula boards
So the next question is who is selling fins? Do I have to buy on line or is a WA kiteshop stocking some? even better to have a demo set I could try with?
In my opinion - smash in 20 hrs to learn how to ride a 70cm raceboard- spend another 30 Hrs getting Ok around s race coarse in all wind condition - then spend another 100 hours to get as fast as possible around a race coarse- then you might warrant getting the best ( very expensive fins).
Personally I think a top racer could use any board or set up and smoke 95 % of the field with a combination of experience, skill & being very very fit.
Every board has very different riding characteristics and some like my Alex Aguera LW very challenging to ride as it has a super powerful tail outline & and has taken me 50 plus hours on water to get it working without killing me in massive crashes trying to ride at 100% in all directions at my current skill level - but now I love the board. Alex Aguera now has an new easier HW model to purchase & ride but that's another $2000 so I have to use what I got now and make it work.
I reckon get on water- put in lots of time - kite with as many others as possible - find a buddy with similar skill set and train together and eventually you will get faster.
From what I can see on water Damo & Alty are smoking fast on that board and fin set up. I still reckon Damo could smoke 90 % of race board riders on his Sector.
I have over 250 hours on a race board & still learn new things ever day.
Forget the board/ kite / fin questions & get riding - if you get to the Gold fleet in World cup Melbourne- the best rider who has best set-up for themselves & top skill set will float to top. AKa Johnnyheinekin - I reckon he could ride any setup and still be world champ.
JohnnoKeys. See ya all racing in Melbourne. 
Hoooooooly sheeeet! I tried the stock fins in the Mv4 yesterday.
Put them in a box Steve, and never ever bring them out again. I don't know how you managed to ride that board for all this time! Do yourself a massive favour and grab a set of nice fins from any of the big names in fins. Tectonic, Vector or Meanlines.
i have been riding my monaro v4 on the stoc fins for 2 months now, rista's arrived yesterday, i will keep you posted on how they go
Disagree with Johnno on the fins bit - start with good fins, as it will be easier to ride and you can stay on and learn faster. You can buy direct from the manufacturer. I am not a good board rider with no surfing etc background and am working hard to get in tune with the board. I would have no hope on stock standard fins. Personally I have found Ristafins the easiest, some of the others are a little more technical. You buy direct from them at www.ristafins.com
I started on old windsurf fins with no side rake.
I then got some Meanlines and its whole different story.
you should get used to your board and then worry about fins.
theres plenty of options out there.
email the manufactures, find the one that suits, then buy them in australia.
most popular fins are in stock in oz now.
Top of the line fins would have to be the best value for money upgrade you can make. I rode stock Cabrinha fins which were great for getting going and learning and then upgraded to Ristas after a couple of months. Huge difference, chalk and cheese really. The old fins made the board feel 'unstable' when going up wind where as the new fins have a 'locked-in' feel so you can just focus on speed and height 
If the board comes with stock fins ride them for a couple of months while your figuring it out and falling off a lot and then upgrade :) If you have the option of getting the board with top of the line fins even better.
... are fins sizes part of the box rule? Cany you put anything on or is there a limit?
cheers,
Robbie 
ps back in my windsurfing days, fins size made a huge difference and I found bigger is not neccessarily better, depended upon what sort of performance I was after.
I agree with all comments on good fins - docyle has great advice - learn to ride the board first & fast - as upgrading will end up costing you a packet now$$$$$$ as tomorrow someone will turn up with a faster board, kite, depowersystem, straps, fins, race lines, bar, harness, fin cant, & smile ....
Box rule 50cm fins Max
but everyday I see alot of guys who can hardly make it round a 3 km race coarse with any type of consistancy thinking the latest & greatest raceboard and new set of latest and greatest race fins will make a HUGE difference - I've seen guys jump from 1 race board to another winning brand and make almost no difference - additionally I just saw last week a local guy who is a top class freestyler & world class wave rider just get the latest carbon Rista set of fins $800 bucks plus - and he struggles to limp around a race course and falls off on 90% tacks & gybes and has many months to go before he will be competive in any race - but he told me his new fins were amazing - what the!
Steve,
I don't think you've completed your apprenticeship of at least 20+hrs to get comfortable on the board?
How many hours have you had on your board?
I see you sail on the river which is extremely gusty and this does not help when one is trying to master a race board. Although when you next sail on the ocean you will notice a tremendous improvement.
The Monaro has great design features to make it ridable and fast. Look at the international results and the board is way up there. You will also note the top boards are all very close and at the end of the day it's rider skill and hours upon hours on the water. The difference between the top positions are all so close; consistency on all legs and smooth fast transitions. Get this right and then start worrying about the fins.
Atly and Damo have/had standard fins like yours and they are both fast, but remember they've been riding this style of board for a few seasons. Although they are changing fins (I think) they have learned to ride what was supplied and can ride hard and fast.
Master what you have and put the hours in. As Johnno pointed out +20 then another +30 and then some more.... I've done about 40hrs and I'm only statring to get into the grove.....
Don't get so despondent keep at it and at it...
Chao
If you can afford the fins then get them. My opinion is they make a big enough difference to learn through ease of downwind alone.
I look at it as it not going to make it harder to ride, undoubtly they are faster, so there is no negative to it.
As for cost 750 is a great price for the quality product your getting. Look after them and they will last a life time.
Everyone keeps say "expensive" why??? So I just looked at current prices for the cheapest Olympic class the laser. 300 for rudder and 680 for centre board. Then the standard price for formula windsurf fins is around 300. So for what we get I think it's very reasonable.
If anything the only over priced gear is the board itself. What we pay and what we get isn't up to standard. Personally I'd be happier paying 2500-3000 per board knowing I was getting something that was a full carbon pre-preg board that would then last me a few seasons. Lift the min weight a kg or two and build the things strong.
Money is always a hard subject but one mans expensive is another mans cheap. So maybe 750 isn't a worry for some.
If you want to spend 1500 for a board with fins it's an awesome start and learning platform yes. Throw on the rista's or other options and it will boost the performance a lot that's if as the guy say your doing everything else right.
Just an observation all the east coast guys saying get the fins and the west coast guys saying just learn with them. Funny to see the two sides.
Cheers for all the feedback.
I am now up to 22-25hrs on the board. Feeling more comfortable...well except for the 25kts plus we had for the racing yesterday. Massively over powered on a 9m Rebel
Upwind is ok although I still can't tack to save my life (from all the sharks) downwind is a different story, I just can't seem to get stable or comfortable and 200m without a wipeout is good. Where should my feet be particularly my back foot on the downwind. The bord feels so loose and unstable. Put a couple of small waves/chop and I am wiping out all the time.
Advice please.
The next few weeks I will be on my Monaro v1 training for the Lighthouse to Leighton race. Had some speed runs on it today and its fast across the wind and so much easier to ride than the v4.
Any advice is great
Mate pull your rear fin out and have a look at the foil. My experience with the stock fins sounds exactly like yours, loose, unstable and always wanting to lift up and tailwalk when running fast downwind.
This was my culprit, an asymmetrical foil on the centre fin. I swapped it out with another rear fin and all of a sudden.. SUPER stable board. Was amazing!
Fins .. fins ... fins. Get a decent set. You can't learn spending half your time in the water. It will be instant improvement. Maybe the other advisors don't want you to catch up!
Thanks Rhys.
Will look into more fins. Where can fins be bought? If i get my Dad to drop in to Kite Power in Sydney do you guys stock fins?
Sammy at WINDSURF and SNOW have a set of MEANLINES 42.5 and 38
they work great on my NORTH LTD and the word is the AIRUSH suits them too.
pretty good price too
Hey Steve. I have been on my new Rista fins (on the Monaro V4) since Friday last week. I have found them to make an incredible difference from the stock fins.
I have spent a lot of hours out on the stock fins and grown relatively comfortable with them. It was great that they were included with the board so that I could get straight onto the water and start learning. However, now that I have got the Ristas I can really see the difference that a change in fins can make.
They are incredibly comfortable to ride - stable with no bad habits or surprises. It almost feels like it cheating to use them. Although it is fairly early days, I can see that it is going to make a considerable difference to my riding.
One thing though, is that I am a little concerned with the sharpness of the fins - so far I only have one little cut on the wrist. Dale you may have noticed on Sunday, has legs that are littered with cuts and gashes from his fins.
Now, I have to admit to having a fair bit of trouble in Sunday's 25+ knots races, but perhaps that is more to do with the amount of training I have done in 25+ knots winds on the open ocean than anything else.
Next time I catch you on the water, have a go of my board and fins. I am sure you will be wrapped with the difference.
Would love to be but I cannot get off work - it's going to be very difficult to get out this week. I will definitely be there Friday, Saturday and / or Sunday afternoons though.
Just ordered a set of three c3 fins from nz for my alex alegura slalom board should be here asap
