im looking at getting a KA sym 23cm as a allround fin for speed/slalom and alphas in winds over 24 knots in my CA SP44 i think this will work well
any way what other fins seem to be good as what ive meationed,as a good all round fin ? i know that the C3 venoms are pretty good too.and the time machine 26cm.
Izaak, you are right on the money with that fin!
The KA Lockwood/McDougall is SO good that you buy the fin first and then find the board that works best with it! It is super-slippery, has limitless top end and still has the power to get you back upwind.
The rake also means that it gybes more easily than a straighter fin, and it even sheds weed!
This fin absolutely revolutionised sailing for me. It's hard to think of any windsurfing product I have tried that was such a quantum leap over what I had previously used.
The KA sym 23 is an excellent fin and does what it does well better than almost anything.
Strengths: Extremely fast off the wind, Massive top speed potential, very user friendly epecially control in chop, still gets upwind very good for a smallish speed fin. Sheds weed a bit.
The Time Machine 26 speed fin is also an outstanding fin:
Strengths: Extremely fast off the wind on larger speed board or slalom board and even better on close courses, Best Alpha fin I have tried by miles on small slalom board. Goes upwind as good as any slalom fin.
Sorry to hijack your post izaak - going a bit off topic but, would any of the KA fins be suitable for the larger sized (100 litre) Isonic's and/or Futura's? Is there any more info on these fins around besides what's on the KA site?
I've borrowed a ka 32cm slalom off slowie, and reckon its one of the best g-10 slalom fins around; providing some of the softness and speed of the tech falcon but a lot more drive and security. Personally I felt it gave a bit more feedback than the venoms I've tried, allowing you to figure out the best trim easier.
As far as im aware the KA fins go up to 37cm, and I'd assume this would be fine for the 101 iso.
I'd love to hear you comments about one of slowie's newer carbon assy's vs the 23KA AUS1111 :P
sounds like the ka for me and with those very positive comments, lockwood has got to be pleased even ka for that matter.
I’ve been really happy with the C3 Venoms one the best fins I’ve use so far, I did have Techtonics fins before and they are also very good fins but I do rate the C3 a touch better, cheaper too.
I haven’t tried the KA fins so cannot comment on them no doubt they are very good fins too.
The Venoms are pretty well priced landed for around $240 for 24-32cm for a high performance Fin that’s pretty good Value.
Like anything though fins can have a very personal feel.
Cheers Vando
I own 23cm Lockwood Assy,C3 venom 26cm and C3 strike 20cm, they are all great fins and it basically comes down to feel,Hamma has been using a 24cm venom and he has absolutely trashed the leading edge yet he's been flying with it as well as his 18cm strike.
If your sailing in one direction go an assy so much better it's like running on rails.
Izaak, I had some runs on a KA/L 21 Assy today,very nice and stable and I liked it a lot. A bit hard to tell if it was faster/better than the TM as their both great fins.Ordering my KA fin very soon.The TM 26 is a great allround fin, mine done a 40.4 5x10, a 26 Alpha and its impossible to damage by scratching or sanding not to speed fin that can do that. Given that your coming over soon ,a 1985 wave fin would be a perfect fit for you
Izaak,
My pride and joy of my fin collection is a KA lockwood McDougal 30cm slalom fin - I have very limited experience with other fins and only ever sail in open ocean but the first time I used it I realised just how critical fin selection is. Couldn't believe a fin could make such a difference. All my other fins are adequate (stock iSonic drake slalom pros) but if I had the funds and ability I'd be more selective. For price though the C3's seem to be the best value for money considering the guys who swear by them (Vando, Choco etc) and I am considering these for my next purchase.
Just to make it more interesting; Finian Maynard just won the World Speed Champs in Karpathos with a perfect score; 7 bullets after discards.
So what fins was he using? The new Tectonics Talon.
He does, however, weigh about 300kg, so draw your own conclusions from that.
There are quite a few reasons why raked fins like the Kas are really good for speed.
When you are going fast and you switch the power off,this can take the pressure off the mast base and then your nose starts to point at the sky - at this point a pointer style fin might be pointing forwards and that can spear off anywhere,generally ending in pain
Most of our big sessions at the PiT lately have had a sea grass sort of weed,one string of that on your pointer will leave you wondering why you are slow?or spinning out,generally ending in pain
All of the GPSSS guys that have gone over 50 have used raked fins :Van Meurs,Lockwood,Doeblin.
