Fin wing necessary?

[Dacon62]

Begining at what boat speed and line length is the fin wing advisable to use?

I have heard that at the longer line lengths most guys don't use the fin wing and it really isn't necessary to use until you get to shorter lengths.

[ral]

Can of worms...

 

IMHO, at slower speeds not only it is not needed, it is detrimental.

 

However, telling someone to take it off might be a blow to the ego only surpassed by telling someone to get a longer Radar Senate instead of the mighty carbon top of the line weapon to learn the course.

[crashman]

Ah yes.. Wing or no wing

http://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/4794/bob-lapoint-on-wings/p1

[Siouxcitysmitty]

Dang, that hurts...I actually have a Radar Senate and now I'm learning I'm not good enough to keep my wing on! :)

[skialex]

Wing creates drag. It is something you really don't want when you straggle to get to buoy length with the minimum help from the boat. If you do not want to take it off, lower the angle from suggested, it still creates drag but less, some skiers say that ski feels more stable with the wing on (personally I’m not sure). Also take into account that less degrees lifts the tip, so you have to compensate with fin length.

I personally put the wing back on when I run into 34mh; I think Bob Lapoint says that the wing is needed when you run into 32off not before that.

Good luck!!

 

 

[SkiJay]

@Dacon62 I think taking the wing off makes you look good! Just about all good skiers know that until you can build more speed than you need, which is a lot faster than you may think, skiing without the wing both helps your ball count and the development of good technique (fin confirmed to be at factory setting).

 

The implication being that anyone who skis long-line with the wing on their ski is either a Wally or has a fragile ego. Fin-off is a knowledgeable, purposeful, commitment to making progress, and that my friend, is cool.

[PBD]

The wing is probably not really needed until 32 off. But with that being said there are a lot of skis that are coming out where the wing is integrated into the design and pulling it off can really affect the characteristics of the ski.

[Skoot1123]

I'm forward looking - so I leave the fin on - knowing that when I hit my 32 off at 34mph I'll look as cool as the rest!

 

Actually, I may experiment with the wing on/off this year to see where it takes my skiing.

 

All in all though - if your developing proper technique that is probably the best route to improve. Then, when you really need the wing (higher speeds/shorter line lengths) you'll feel it come into play.

[JonB]

When I was first learning the course down at Ski Paradise, 15 ft off - 30mph, Trent Finlayson took the wing off of my Connelly F-1. Told me that it was doing me more harm than good. I really didn't notice the difference but he thought I was skiing better without it. FYI

[eleeski]

You can unscrew a nut with vice grips, a crescent wrench or a socket. The goal is to unscrew the nut not which tool you use. Wings are just tools to get you to make buoys.

 

Personally I recommend putting the wing on when you hit your maximum speed . The wing makes things feel a little slower and that pass you mastered without the wing feels just like the faster pass with the wing. I don't know about making 35 off feel like 32 off because I've never made 32 off without a wing. The wing is a useful tool. Use it when needed.

 

Eric

[Than_Bogan]

@PBD Good point. The Nano One seems to "use" that wing in a different way than previous Goode's I was on. The ski actually feels a little faster with more wing (up to a point!). It's possible that even a relative beginner would want a wing on that ski.

 

But I agree with most commenters above that the "standard rule" is that it's better to learn how to slow the ski yourself (i.e. no wing) until you start shortening the rope.

[DW]

In this case yes and more is better!

[Waternut]

The best method to make me ski like cap and get really frustrated is to add a wing. Could typically get into 32 off with my 2012 strada towards the end of last year. Tried the wing twice last summer and had to relearn how to ski both times I did it and I only used 7-7.5 degrees.

[Zman]

I played with this last spring, coming back from being injury sidelined for 8 months. I got running consistent -28 passes with no wing. Did not seem to miss it. The thing I seemed to notice was a little better ability to generate speed through the wakes, and cast the ski out in the turn. Nothing drastic - just what I seemed to feel.

When I would run -32 sometimes it felt fine, sometimes not so good. But, I have good days and bad days even on easier passes.

It seemed to confirm the notion about -32 being about where things may change towards favoring use of a wing - but personal style and ability has to be a factor as well - along with ski design, color of your boat, how much beer you drank last night, etc.