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Question about skegs

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 8:17 am
by zensuni
I am considering adding 2 little skegs to one of my plywood board.
I often have projects that I don't do eventually, but I think I will make this one happen, as it seems feasible to me.
Pretty simple, I will use pine wood to make the skegs, and use big screws to attach them. They won't be super thin at the base so that the screws can have room enough.
My question: I was kind of hoping that having skegs would make quick small turns possible (at least easier than with a finless board), in order to generate speed. Am I right to expect that or do I fool myself ?

Re: Question about skegs

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 3:35 pm
by rodndtube
You might want to test out some screw threw style fins used in the kite boarding community. You might also find this type of skeg for wake boarding and other board-riding communities.

Re: Question about skegs

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 7:47 am
by bgreen
This is a good opportunity to test your theory

Re: Question about skegs

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 4:01 am
by zensuni
rodndtube wrote:You might want to test out some screw threw style fins used in the kite boarding community. You might also find this type of skeg for wake boarding and other board-riding communities.
Sounds like a good idea. I looked it up on google, I found a lot of screwable wake board small skegs, it seems easy to setup on a plywood board and relatively cheap.

Re: Question about skegs

Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 3:38 am
by krusher74
if you are willing to screw them on in 10 different places to find where they work best then it will be an interesting learning process. (dont forget toe angles too)

I do think you are inherently fighting against an initial design that isnt the best for turning in the first place. My shorter wider paulowina board turns on a dime (can even do 360 spins on it)

Re: Question about skegs

Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:43 am
by zensuni
krusher74 wrote:if you are willing to screw them on in 10 different places to find where they work best then it will be an interesting learning process. (dont forget toe angles too)
I do think you are inherently fighting against an initial design that isnt the best for turning in the first place. My shorter wider paulowina board turns on a dime (can even do 360 spins on it)
I ride small waves, on flat plywood boards, you won't see me ripping the tube in big barrels, that is just a reminder of my situation and my needs in terms of performance :D
I'm sure a shorter/wider board would turn faster, although my long/narrow board is able to do cut backs, occasionally the bottom would drift a little bit if too radical but it is fun.
But, my question is about skegs; on a given shape (let's pretend it is a basic bodyboard shape), would adding skegs allow the board to go faster by any way ?
That is what I'm trying to figure out. If I find out that I don't need skegs I would more than happy not to put skegs on my board.

Re: Question about skegs

Posted: Mon May 06, 2019 11:39 am
by nomastomas
"on a given shape (let's pretend it is a basic bodyboard shape), would adding skegs allow the board to go faster by any way ?" There's no short answer to that question. There are just so many variables to consider. Wave conditions, bottom contours, board volume, not to mention the obvious fin foil and outline, I mean the list goes on and on. I'll address two factors; form drag and "feeling".
There is a certain amount of drag that accompanies the use of fins (In this regard the fins foil or lack of foil is a critical feature. Don't expect a flat piece of wood/plastic/metal shaped like a fin to do more than add drag). However, this drag provides added control (most control features, example fins, concaves, channels, etc, add drag). If the added drag allows the rider to access the more powerful parts of the wave for longer periods of time, then there can be an increase in speed. In other words, the fin(s) have to earn their keep. So, for example, I surf my 2+1 longboard on bigger days, which in my neighborhood tends to produce steeper/faster waves. The 2+1 set up allows me to make quicker turns and tighter-radius turns, which I can employ to surf back and forth, across the trimline to generate speed, or to maintain a "high line" in the upper-third of the wave face. My home break tends to be very slope-y, even with size, so taking a high line is advantageous for obtaining and maintaining speed. On smaller/slower/weaker days, the added drag of the side-bite fins far outweighs their benefits. So, on these days I just use a single fin. Likewise, on my quad fin T-Belly G5, I reduce fin size on all four fins on smaller days, and increase on larger days. Or, go from quad fin to twin fin on smaller days. That speaks to the advantage of having removable fins. It makes the design more adaptable. So, bottomline, **Fin area must match wave conditions**. If you used fins which were too large for the conditions, the board would have felt stiff and the drag would have been noticeable. You might erroneously conclude that adding fins makes any board stiff and slow. On the other hand, if you added fins that were too small for the conditions, the board would still be rather loose and drifty, with no apparent gain. In this case you might erroneously conclude that fins have no added value. Be prepared to experiment with fin number, size and shape.
But, just as important as speed generation, is the psychological component, a "feeling" that accompanies the use or non-use of fins. Finned boards tend to feel more precise more locked in, than finless boards, which feel looser and more drifty. We now enter the realm of personal preference. So, there is a certain amount of "Pick your pleasure" here. I can say that all of my TB customers have ridden body boards, a.k.a "Boogie Boards", and that all of them believe their finned TBs are faster. No one has ever said to me "This TB is as slow or slower than my Boogie board", not ever. Personally, I believe that the use of fins plays a hefty role in this speed generation, but that is not to ignore the contribution to speed of all the other design factors.

Re: Question about skegs

Posted: Tue May 14, 2019 10:27 am
by belly rider
wise man Nomas

Re: Question about skegs

Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 12:40 pm
by zensuni
Nomastomas, thanks for this super detailled post, that totally answers my question.

Re: Question about skegs

Posted: Fri May 31, 2019 5:36 pm
by bgreen
I have 2 boards that I have ridden both finless and finned. I can't say I notice any increase in speed when I ride them finned. There can be less control and the turns aren't as tight finless, but no loss in speed. As Nomas noted above, a lot of variables are at play that can influence speed. In small weak junky waves, fins won't turn a board into a speed machine.