Good day all,
Thank you for your help in providing great information. I have searched and I apologize if I missed something.
1- How good/bad is this fin?
2- For long distance flat/ choppy/ side chop racing are there much better fins?
- Mostly interested in tracking and speed for long distance and secondly the ability to steer in cross chop. Stability is of a much lesser concern.
Thank you!
I know the board well and also know the fin.. Great board.. Average fin IMO.
I've got a box of more than twenty fins and the fin I'd use is an 8 or 9" dolphin.. It may look boring bit it just works.
I like the fcs tooless fins because of their easy click-in system... and they're pretty cheap at about $60.
Thank you both. David you gave me some advice on the board a few months ago and you were very helpful. It is a great board. I read through an earlier post where you commented on that fcs fin, I mistakenly thought that referenced fins for DW. I will look at it for my application. Also will consider some of the DW fins for downwind opportunities.
Any other opinions on the stock fin or better fins?
A good flat water fin is often not always a good DW fin and visa versa but after trying heaps of different fins I have found the classic dolphin shape an excellent do-it-all fin that I'd only adjust size for different applications.. eg smaller fin for flatter water and smaller people and slightly larger fin for rougher water and larger people. Also different boards tend to work better with different fins and fins are a personal choice with no right or wrong answers.. Paddlers skill and technique also comes into it so in the end there's just different peoples opinions.. 
The fins I spoke of I have used to do all paddling, DW, flat small surf rtc and I have swapped them between 14ft and 10ft boards as well. Initially I found the wider fins gave me stability but this year I have done a lot more paddling so my balance has improved a bit and I have found either fin to be the same in a straight line. As DJ has mentioned before the fins allow for different directional changes. A wide fin makes turning harder than a Dolphin shape so on a wave of any kind that is not good.
Either way it's fun buying fins so get a collection and see how you go but after you become more skilled your feeling for conditions will change more than a fin will IMO.
