Maui Ultra fins Delta XT 24 review 135L Rocket 8.6 TurboGT

Had my 1st go on my new Delta XT 24cm last weekend.

It works!

Ok here's the context it was used in: A lake, full of weed, many weed patches at the surface, hence the water conditions are very smooth, or with very slight chop. The wind was 12-16knts, however I had to change down from 8.6 (2017 Turbo GT) to my 8.1 (2016 Turbo - very different from the 8.6 GT) as the wind picked up to 15-18knts.

My impressions:
Planning / grip to push against: Good
Upwind: good
Speed: Average (by feel)
Gybing: good, but need to be careful

The fin doesn't alter the trim of the board like some classic weed fins do, hence it feels quite like a conventional fin. It got me up and planning easily and went up wind well. Speed felt ok, however this was hard to judge as I wasn't GPSing it. Gybing was good however you had to be carful not to be really aggressive in choppy water as you could spin it out on turn in. There was a slight tug when going through the weed beds, however no weed was court.

Overall I was impressed, it did what it said it would do on the label. Sure it doesn't have the performance of your high octane slalom fin, however it got me sailing and having fun in conditions where it would be impossible to sail in with conventional fins.
I liked it well enough to order a 20cm one for my 7.0m and 115L and hopefully I'll have a go on it this Saturday if it arrives on time

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Dean 424 said..
What width board where you using? If you where going to use a 7.8 and 8.6 on a 115 (70cm) what size fin do you think? Thanks

You would be looking at a Delta XT 20 or 22 depending on your weight and how much grip you want.

i am impressed - 24 is half the length i would use with an 8.x meter sail !!!
so, it is good for weeds AND shallow waters

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BBsurfer said..
Hi KJ,

you mentioned in your post that the 2016 Turbo 8.1 is very different from the new 2017 Turbo GT 8.6.

Since I?m interested regarding this sails, could you give some information regarding the differences.

Thank you
Bernhard

My rocket 135L is 76cm wide, its a 2016 model, I'm 87kg. I also have a 115L Tabou Rocket 66cm wide, plus 7.0m overdrive and 5.6, 6.2 Reflex 7 along with some speed boards.

Bernhard - Yes they are quite different sails. The 2016 8.1, feels more like a slalom sail, more like my overdrive. The top end is great, it doesn't get "back hand heavy" when starting to get over powered or a gust hits. Bottom end is ok, but not the greatest. It gybes well, the cams coming around quite easy, easier than my 7mOD, but not quite as easy as the GT. With my 135 is takes 12-13knts to get me going, its great fun 13-16knts, really like it in mod to powered conditions.

The GT is a different beast. There is a lot more area in the head of the sail. The bottom end on this thing is really good. I get going in 10-12knts with my 135L. There is a strong and steady pull with the bottom end, that pops you up onto the plane. The sail gybes really well with the cams popping over easily and the sail does feel light in the hands. However with sails there is always a compromise; it does get quite back handy heavy when it starts to get powered up and becomes uncomfortable to sail. You can't tune this out.

Even though the gap I have is only 0.5m between the sails, it's more like a 0.8-1.0m gap. I can't really make up my mind with the GT some times. I would like more top end, however my objective with the set up was for a light wind cruiser. I've tried 3-4 cam racers in the past in the large sizes, however they become very heavy when the wind is marginal. The GT is light and easy to flick around, almost feeling like a non cammed sail to manoeuver, it's really great in this regard. Overall the GT meets my light wind objective, I just change down early when the wind gets up

thanks for posting .
I'm also looking for a short fin ,
I have a 115 rocket and use a 7.5 usually with a 36 weed fin
do scrape a lot on low tide days .
maybe I could use a 22 '@ 96 kgs .

My 20cm XT arrived on Friday and I gave it a good go yesterday. 20knts, 7.0 overdrive R8 (fully powered) 115L rocket. The water level was bit higher than the other day, hence there was slight more chop on the lake. However I also got right up into the weed beds where the water was dead smooth.

The fin worked well, no problem in the chop (however the chop was only slight) and it cut through the weed beds no problem ( I shat myself first run wondering if it was going to catch - I did the un hook chicken) , however no problem.

The speed felt better than the 24cm (135L & 8.1) however up wind wasn't quite so good. You still had to be slightly careful at turn in on the gybe, but less so than on my 24cm and 135L. Down wind speed runs where ok, however not like a speed fin when you bare away. Overall I really like these fins, they feel quite conventional and easy to get use to quickly.

Tardy - yes a 22cm would be the one. I felt the 20cm with my 115L & 7.0 was a little marginal when it was light

Fin looks good ...and gives a better idea with the picture with the fin on the board .
this will mean I can get out in the water earlier with the lower tides up north .
with this smaller fin .
it has good area so I should be able to get up wind in light 14-16 knot days .on a 7.0 x15 4 cam tushingham.
i have a 2015 115 ,ltd rocket .shape remains the same .great board .
thanks .

it was hard to watch the kite s in low tide last year sail at low ..it's our turn.
36 -22 =14 less fin ...that's a lot of water .

will check sail surf Australia for supply .

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MrCranky said..

KJ said..
My 20cm XT arrived on Friday and I gave it a good go yesterday. 20knts, 7.0 overdrive R8 (fully powered) 115L rocket. The water level was bit higher than the other day, hence there was slight more chop on the lake. However I also got right up into the weed beds where the water was dead smooth.

The fin worked well, no problem in the chop (however the chop was only slight) and it cut through the weed beds no problem ( I shat myself first run wondering if it was going to catch - I did the un hook chicken) , however no problem.

The speed felt better than the 24cm (135L & 8.1) however up wind wasn't quite so good. You still had to be slightly careful at turn in on the gybe, but less so than on my 24cm and 135L. Down wind speed runs where ok, however not like a speed fin when you bare away. Overall I really like these fins, they feel quite conventional and easy to get use to quickly.

Tardy - yes a 22cm would be the one. I felt the 20cm with my 115L & 7.0 was a little marginal when it was light

How well did the guy on the Goya quad do?

not so good, he took his quad out as it was a better option than his single fin, however it was still catching weed badly

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KJ said..

not so good, he took his quad out as it was a better option than his single fin, however it was still catching weed badly

Actually I was wondering why you were on such different sized gear. Did he expect to get planing?