Do G10 fins (due to more flex than carbon) perform better than carbon fins when sailing fast in choppy water? (assuming both fins were near identical in size and shape)
Certainly G10 fins that are designed to make use of the flexibility of the material are very nice to use in choppy water. C3 Venom's being a great example.
Not sure you would make a carbon fin in a comparable lay-up to the Venom though, as you wont be benefiting from the materials properties. Makes the "like for like" comparison problematic.....
A couple of us did exactly that test 3 years ago with identical Vector EX30 in carbon and G10.
The carbon had considerably better control in the rough.
Very dependent on the carbon lay up which varies a lot from one brand to another.
G10 Vector was a lot stiffer than the C3 venoms.
The C3 is real nice in chop.
Boogie designs around his chosen materials behaviour and his Sting is a good example of how much the outline can influence the flex and they behave very differently to the Venoms.
i tested a 34cm G10 vector fin, think it is the C3,yellow in colour,straight with narrow tip against a 28cm Curtis carbon fin with very wide chord in my 58 wide Kinetic Centurion.
the 28cm Curtis carbon fin went upwind way higher, across the wind and downwind performance i could not separate. the G10 will feel softer underfoot than carbon but not faster, i sold the 34cm G10 vector after testing.
soft fins like techtronic/vector stop the board lifting excessive in big gusts but at the expense of upwind performance.
these fins are best for downwind figure M slalom. the vector canefire is more straight + stiff although have not tested this model.
carbon fins with wider chord are my favourite but remember you need to go a alot smaller.
the model of Curtis fin is SR1, guessing it's over 10 years old, it is super wide but still smaller in area than the 34cm vector.
chris lockwood from W.A makes good carbon fins, i bought a couple of him, the 25cm very narrow chord i use in 25+ knots and the 26cm which has a wider chord i use in 20/25 knots.
the leading edge b3 not b4 i found were also particularly good fins.
Te Hau, was the G10 EX30 actually stiffer than carbon EX30? Surely the softer fin of the two would give better control in rough water, or is this belief just a fallacy?
No, the carbon one felt stiffer flexing them by hand.
There's a lot going in the response rate difference of the two materials.
The C3 Venom sure does flex a lot in the rough.
I like the flex with small sizes but personally I don't like it at all with the larger (38+) sizes and think they flex too much...... at least for my style (I'm a lead foot).
I like the big Stings a lot more.....big improvement.
the b4's were more popular by far than the b3's, so just my personal preference.
the b3's were less raked back and went upwind better.
i judge how good a fin is purely by it's upwind ability
the torquay fin company makes some good slalom fins,composite construction that have some flex and rake.
The torquay fin company hasn,t made fins for a least 15 years. Last i heard John was making caravans, more money less work he said.
race sails go upwind way higher than less tensioned/cammed sails.
my old tushingham raptor 5.4m was as fast as a race sail till i started sailing it into the wind,then no comparison in speed.
bigger the board + fin, higher into wind you will sail.
for me anyway,smaller sail will go higher if decent wind than bigger sail ,especially if using too big a sail on small board.
a small sail rigged full for power, with a bigger board means board will feel very light. with lots of board lift you can plane on far away rail [leeward rail] the board will then shoot upwind.
Has anybody compared Venoms to SO9's or Caspers ? Re the Venoms I certainly agree with the comments of great in the chop, quick off the wind and I do sometimes find its a struggle to stay upwind, mainly when just powered up for the combo that you are using.
Hi Sausage,
the beauty with the Sting is that you don't need to go big.
I replaced 44 Venom with 38 Sting. The Sting is better everywhere, light, upwind, and it still goes fast.
Great for shallow estuary sailors worried about ploughing.
Is there a C3 distributor in OZ or do most get them direct from NZ? What's the average price you're paying for the smaller venoms?
C3 direct service here in NZ is great. If in stock order to door 2-3 days. Good guys - keep you informed if they're waiting on fresh stock ... No reason to go past top quality 
