Select to expand quoteArea10 said..
Which one? There are loads. What do you want it for?
The WEED FIN you need for a Stand Up Board the weed was getting stuck between the Rudder Fin and the Board "Brutal"
The little weed deflectors like DJ posted work reasonably well. Although it's still going to be a problem sometimes if you live in a weed-prone area even with one fitted. It's an inherent limitation of a rudder. It is one of the reasons I gave up on a rudder on my 17 and fitted a fixed fin. There are large balls of string-like seaweed offshore around here that can be a metre or more across, and if you run into one with a typical rudder shape it will stop you dead and get tangled up with the mech something rotten. Plastic bags and other crap out there too. They obviously don't have things like that in Maui, otherwise I suspect rudders on UL boards would now be very different.
In response to our local conditions, Craig Richmond came up with the idea of fitting a fin box directly in front of the rudder and then he would put kinda a small half-fin in that and then have a rudder that was the other half. Worked pretty good, although inevitably there was a slight compromise in terms of turning the board. But you aren't gonna be turning your board at all if your rudder has just been ripped out by a huge kelp ball and you are now two miles offshore in high seas and 35+ knots rudderless...
Well I guess I'll just move along now, I thought Downwinder wanted a fin made of weed.... 
Select to expand quoteSUPerD said..
Well I guess I'll just move along now, I thought Downwinder wanted a fin made of weed....
That would be after a race then SUPerD if the Weed Fin was made into a cookie
I love hash cookies they are healthy for you and you get a mild buzz "Yes Please Mr Wizard"
That looks like one of those "sidebite" cookie fins you're eating Downwinder... 
Now I know it's none of my business, but have you ever considered a body waxing? You're Looking pretty furry. .... And blue...
Select to expand quoteCheck out this company in the USA. These guys are just starting to release fins, but they are already making a big impression on some highly competitive paddlers. I think they access to US Navy flow testing equipment or something. I chatted with one of theses guys and was immediately lost in the science and math of it all, my brain hurt, but am looking forward to getting some fins from them soon.
<div>cnc[b]fins[/b].com
Thanks everyone one for helping me out.
The WA weed is Brutal when it comes to racing. The weed fin is a must have, I'm just skeptic I'll be looking at all weed fins as there are good weed fins and s##t weed fins.
Select to expand quotemagillamelb said..
I can't tell you. It's a secret...
hahahah thats GOLD. I got the bias carbon cheap through a friend he told me to keep it quiet
I end up getting a lot of info on the weed fin, now which one to buy, or shall I just make my own.
Many folk who fish off fibreglass skis use a cable tie siliconed on just in front of rudder to stop weed and fishing line getting stuck.
Select to expand quoteMvsL said..
Many folk who fish off fibreglass skis use a cable tie siliconed on just in front of rudder to stop weed and fishing line getting stuck.
thats EXCELLENT I like it, looks simple I wonder it it's EFFECTIVE at 14-18km/h thanks MvsL
Anybody tried this system at high speed, ski's will get up to 21km/h constantly
Phil, Kissa had a weed deflector in for the race and didn't have the issues you had. He said he got it from the SIC guys in Hawaii. it was quite simple. It was just a little "lump" stuck onto the board that deflected weed away from that space between the rudder and the board. It would be very easy to do one yourself using epoxy putty.
This bloke is onto it Keith McCulloch http://cncfins.com they are testing a new weed fin for a rudder system, GOLD.
Keith said we are testing different materials for the skirt for durability and functionality that's the challenge for now. I'll let you know.
Best regards,
Keith
I told Keith if it works I'll buy the weed fin of him in June when I'm on Maui as it's easier to freight in the USA than International Freight, is brutal.
I reckon it's better to have a little deflector just in front of that little gap between base of leading edge of the fin and the board.
SIC do that 'lump' thingy that Kissa feels worked quite well and in my research I've found one that the Mocke boys in South Africa make for skis - 'mockepaddling'
The mini fins etc in front of the rudder do reduce the problem quite a bit. But if you have a very upright rudder and/or you are using it when you hit the patch of weed you'll still have problems sometimes. It's a major limiting factor for UL boards in weed-prone areas, unfortunately. I gave up on a rudder entirely and fitted a fixed fin instead and then the problem was solved. But in my conditions a rudder isn't much help anyway. I think they work best in deep waters.
Select to expand quoteArea10 said..
The mini fins etc in front of the rudder do reduce the problem quite a bit. But if you have a very upright rudder and/or you are using it when you hit the patch of weed you'll still have problems sometimes. It's a major limiting factor for UL boards in weed-prone areas, unfortunately. I gave up on a rudder entirely and fitted a fixed fin instead and then the problem was solved. But in my conditions a rudder isn't much help anyway. I think they work best in deep waters.
Yep agree with what you're saying Area10
I'm addicted to Unlimited boards I've been paddling unlimited now for 13 years from Prone to Stand Up
I've never paddled a 14 with a fixed fin and am not likely to either Unlimited boards are way more fun.
I paddle an UL with a fixed fin. Dunno why more people don't do it. Without the rudder mech getting in the way of your footwork, and allowing you to stand well forward when you need to, they really aren't a problem in cross-winds. A rudder doesn't help much in decent crosswinds anyway. Without a rudder you "surf" the board much more. For sure it takes more footwork, but that's the fun of it, isn't it? I think that the whole rudder business is a complication that a lot of people and conditions could do without, and if more people tried a fixed fin UL board, more people would ride UL boards. The speed and sheer scale of them is addictive.
A rudder on a 14 doesn't really make any sense at all in the conditions I paddle in - at least not on the design of boards they are available on. You spend most of the time at the back of the board and your front foot would be nowhere near the steering arm. So it would be a total waste of time. In shallow water, steep short period stuff you'd better get used to walking the board or you are stuffed, and a rudder isn't gonna change that.
I think people have bought the whole UL=rudder Maui thing simply without trying a fixed fin in their local conditions. But for instance the Ace GT seems to DW well for many folk despite not having a rudder. So free your mind, and you feet will follow! You'll be surprised at how liberating it is not having to worry about your rudder breaking, or picking up weed, or getting in the way of your footwork, and all that maintenance. Bump-catching in smaller stuff is easier too because you have a greater choice as to where to stand. So you might even find yourself faster on a "fixie". I was.
Select to expand quoteArea10 said..
I paddle an UL with a fixed fin. Dunno why more people don't do it. Without the rudder mech getting in the way of your footwork, and allowing you to stand well forward when you need to, they really aren't a problem in cross-winds. A rudder doesn't help much in decent crosswinds anyway. Without a rudder you "surf" the board much more. For sure it takes more footwork, but that's the fun of it, isn't it? I think that the whole rudder business is a complication that a lot of people and conditions could do without, and if more people tried a fixed fin UL board, more people would ride UL boards. The speed and sheer scale of them is addictive.
A rudder on a 14 doesn't really make any sense at all in the conditions I paddle in - at least not on the design of boards they are available on. You spend most of the time at the back of the board and your front foot would be nowhere near the steering arm. So it would be a total waste of time. In shallow water, steep short period stuff you'd better get used to walking the board or you are stuffed, and a rudder isn't gonna change that.
I think people have bought the whole UL=rudder Maui thing simply without trying a fixed fin in their local conditions. But for instance the Ace GT seems to DW well for many folk despite not having a rudder. So free your mind, and you feet will follow! You'll be surprised at how liberating it is not having to worry about your rudder breaking, or picking up weed, or getting in the way of your footwork, and all that maintenance. Bump-catching in smaller stuff is easier too because you have a greater choice as to where to stand. So you might even find yourself faster on a "fixie". I was.
I kind of disagree Area10 I love using a rudder. ( but I learnt from day one using a Rudder on a 18ft Prone Paddleboard to Unlimited SUP's) Using a Rudder does take around 2 years of Downwind paddling to work them out ( especially on a Unlimited Prone Paddleboard) The rudder will help you go faster Downwind because you'll see a swell coming out the corner of your you'll be able to get to that swell faster to glide on the Bump.
L to R iRONPHIL, Mark Raaphorst and Jack 12th July 2008. Jack did M2O solo on a SIC unlimited SUP with no rudder and Jack said it was BRUTAL paddling a unlimited SUP without a rudder (never again) Jack is from Big Island.
Check out this video I hardly even touch the Rudder System.
I agree entirely that for places like Maui, with deep water and big long period swells, a rudder is going to be much better. I'm just making the point that I don't think a rudder is best in ALL locations and conditions, and there can be a point where they bring more trouble than advantage. As downwinding spreads around the world into all sorts of new locations, I think we'll find a growth in the use of "fixie" UL boards, and in this respect I think SIC have made a great call having a fixed fin option on their 2016 UL boards. Very prescient, I suspect.
I own 7 downwind boards, which are all very different from each other, and the thing that strikes me above all is how incredibly different each one goes on different days and different locations. The same board can be a total dream one day in certain conditions and then a total dog the next day in different conditions. There can be a HUGE difference. I don't think there is much discussion about this because most people don't have multiple boards nor do they DW in multiple different type locations. Mostly they just have one board of a certain length and stick to pretty similar runs. So they have boards optimised for that. But you can almost certainly soon find conditions where they'd be unhappy on that same board. And a rudder is just another characteristic of a board that is invaluable in one situation and a total PITA in another, IMO.
I spoke with good mate Mark Raaphorst (we are teaming up again for M2O 2016 stoked) today from SIC Mark said they are inventing a NEW WEED FIN for the Rudder Fin I'll be checking them out in June when I land on Maui, so I won't come unstuck at the next KOTC 2016 by that WA weed = Brutal.
