Had a paddle on the mate's C4 this morning and that thing rock's in a straight line. I could paddle as hard and fast as I want and only had to swap sides to rest the muscles.
The question is, would a different fin give my Starboard 11'2" better straight line handling? I currently have the standard 8" Drake set about an inch from the back of the box.
I would say yes..for sure..But it will also stiffen the board up in the waves and it will not turn as well.
But then you could just put the original fin back in then..I'm about to try a smaller fin in my 11'6" Naish..It'll be interesting if it effects its flat water paddling.
The reason the C4 paddles better is more than just the fins..There's a heap of other factors..eg..Rail shape, board outline, tail shape and tail rocker.
I'll check with my friend and see what fin he is using in his SB 11'2" UB..Here's a pic of his board..His fin looks like a biggie.. 
DJ
A paddling speeds I think length has more influence on paddling directional stability than the fin size. What length was the C4?
I paddled both a Kona One 3.15m (not including step-tail, 3.5m with) with a massive 46cm (18") fin and a Windsurfer 3.6m with 26cm (10") fin to find the Windsurfer had better directional stability.
The C4 11'6" has a more parallel plan shape, is thicker overall, loads or rocker and has 3 fins.
The Star-board Ultimate Blend 11'2" has a much more squashed tail and a single fin.
I can paddle the Star-board quite ok in a straight line. It would just be nice to have a little more stability for flar water. It's nice to turn the brain off and paddle hard, especially into a 20 knot wind.
Geogo,
Jimmy Lewis has a huge fin thats used on big boards to hold the tail while nose riding. Its also good for flat water paddling and holds direction well.
Try these guys. www.supsurfaustralia.com
I am sure they would sell them.
Regards,
Scott
I emailed Star-board and Svein got back to me and said fitting a 9-10" fin would solve the problem straight away.
I'll still try some old fins before investing in anything good but I really like the idea of being able to tune a board for different uses by simply changing fins.
Hi Gorgo,
Just bought a fin in Maui to try out this very thing - it was only $48 so worth a shot. You are more than welcome to try it. It is a True Ames 9.5" The Slick - truth be known it was probably the name that convinced me rather than some deep insight into fin design!http://www.trueames.com/surf_select.php#anchor1
I'll send you a PM with my mobile.
Cheers,
Jonathan
That looks like a pretty cool fin shop JC . I was amazed by their huge range of fins - a fin for every situation.
I'll have to try a couple of fins and adjustments, out. I've noticed the massive difference in the handling of my board by just pushing my fin a few cm forward - I'm going to experiment with this a bit more - great topic Gorgo.
Did some back to back testing comparing a 10 1/2 Naish fin (very wide), 10" longboard fin (thin and raked), and the standard Drake 8" on my Starboard 11'2".
The 8" Drake is very turny. Five strokes would turn the board well off course.
The Naish 10 1/2 took about 30 strokes on one side with only a minor deviation.
The longboard fin was about half way in between.
The big Naish fin certainly makes the Starboard track straighter and makes flat water paddling easier. It does not transform the board completely into a straight line machine like the C4, which is not such a bad thing.
Just got back from a paddle on my Starboard 11'2" with a 10" Jimmy Lewis Penetrator.
It's actually a newer version than the one pictured and is a little wider in the base.
The board now tracks as straight as you could want on flat water. In fact, turning requires a fair amount of effort.
I'm looking forward to trying it out in onshore chop and strong headwind to see how that works.
I suspect it will suck in the surf but I'll try anything once.
Thanks to Marty at http://www.supsurfaustralia.com for sending it out so quickly and at a pretty reasonable price.
Nice....You could turn the board upside down and push it towards some swimmers.. 
DJ
Another benefit of the big fin is that catching waves is much easier. Just pick the swell you want and go for it. You can paddle as hard and as fast as you want and not have to mess around with corrections. Paddling into wind is also a lot easier.
Turning on the wave is a bit stiffer but it's a reasonable compromise. You can always put the smaller fin back in for perfect conditions.
Yesterday we had the unusual situation of 6 SUP and only 2 surfers. Everybody got waves and people were generally pretty happy. Perfect 2-3 foot peelers.
