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Triple fin failure


eleeski
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Looking at the surfboard hanging from my shop inspired (?) me. So I added a couple of fins on the side of the tail and built a smaller area fin. The ski was totally loose. Made 6 turns but never made a pass. So I droped the fin as deep as I could. Actually it was deeper than I could as it pulled out of the fin box crossing the wake and is now halfway out to one ball at the bottom of the lake at Imperial. Note that the ski still felt loose on the couple out of course turns I tried. Test 1: failure.

The fin in the photo is a reconstruction of the aluminum fin I tried (since I couldn't find the real one - I really wanted my oversize orange wing back).

Eric

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So I put my "normal" fin back on with the wings. The ski turned OK - actually my onside was really good. I ran my 22 off opener. Missed 28 - but I've been doing that a lot ever since Horton put that BallOf Spray sticker on my ski. So I ramped up the intensity a bit and attacked the course. Coming into 2 ball nice and early but a little fast, the tail of the ski exploded out of the water. It was like the fin cavitated or unported to violently and unexpectedly jump out of the water. Test 2: failure.

It was a pretty nasty high energy fall. I stayed in both bindings but tweaked my ankle. I should be OK (the finger points to where it hurts and is a bit swollen) but the test is over. The extra fins are out of the ski and I can't get to the lake for a while anyhow.

Eric

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Since water is not compressible, I wonder if the issue was due to a lack of ability to get enough water to pass through the "box" between the wing and bottom of ski? Maybe try tips on the wing instead.
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@eleeski

I can not believe you are so irresponsible! What were you thinking? It is appalling!

 

You should never ever test crazy stuff like this without video. This story and pictures of your foot are entertaining but a video of the whole thing would have been intertube GOLD. Now go get your camera and try it again.

 Goode HO Syndicate   KD Skis ★ MasterCraft ★ PerfSki  

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Drop a dime in the can

 

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don't give up man- I'm sure the first guy who said "i'm going to stand on this piece of wood as a boat pulls me across the top of this lake" seemed pretty crazy. I, however, am going to stick with my factory setup on my vice this weekend.
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@ShaneH Is being "drunk" worse than being "Eric"?

 

@DW You probably have the right technical idea for the failure of the fin to stay in the water.

 

From the feel of the ski, fancy fins are not relevant. It is possible to make a ski feel very loose with tight turns or quite stable through fin adjustments. Choose an adjustment that is a good compromise.

 

Eric

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@eleeski You've either got to be a test pilot or a crash test dummy at your day job! Either way, you are my hero man!

 

I'm with @DW on the non-compressibility of water thing. The "ball of pressure" created by this wing-between-fins complex would naturally migrate towards lower pressure i.e. the surface. You'd likely overcome this issue by simply removing the wing. Lord knows there must already be enough drag to haul Frankenski down to cornering speed.

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Triple fins suck. Too much interference, complexity and undesirable side effects. Maybe on a trick ski set up for slalom (or an ultra wide ride?) but not on my skinny tailed skis.

 

The results have me thinking.... Maybe a giant wing? Ventrals added wing area. Add that area into one wing. At least if that fails I can grind the experiment down to the dimensions of my lost oversize orange wing. If I survive the testing.

 

Er

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