New Ride, Wiggly Fin

I want a board that does it all. I mean everything. It needs to be fast, be stable, be able to carry stuff, be able to handle itself in chop with good nose volume, be able to downwind well, be durable, and be fun to paddle. Oh yeah, and be affordable. Is that too much to ask?

It actually is, mostly. Especially in this time of COVID, new paddleboards are in short supply and those out there are expensive. I needed something to be my daily ride. I was having a lot of fun with my inflatable SIC Okeanos, but I have to admit the daily pumping was getting… tedious. No criticism about the board itself, but the pumping. I was hoping to incorporate it into my daily workout routine, but the extra 20+ minutes required for inflation and deflation was an obstacle. Since I actually hate working out in the gym, I really needed to get back on my paddling game. I needed a daily ride that I could shlep on my car, deal with the Hudson in her various moods, and be a solid workout.

I started asking around for an Okeanos-style hard board, or even an Okeanos. I finally got in touch with Dariusz Garko who put me in touch a friend selling a 14′ SIC FX Tour. I had never heard of this model, but when I looked it up it was promising. The FX boards have the hull shape of some of the great downwind models like the SIC Bullet, but this model was more designed for cruising with tie-downs fore and aft and a 30″ width. It was the width giving me pause. That’s really wide and stable for me, but I was thinking about my knee. The torn ACL has been fine this last year, but I wanted something that would baby it a little. So maybe something wide was the right move?

The weird part of this model was the F.A.S.T. fin. It’s a fin you can literally steer, using a small lever on the deck. I had heard about this years ago but wasn’t sure about it. Steering has never been an issue for me, especially since I completed my ACA certification and learned all sorts of neat paddle tricks. It felt gimmicky, but at least it could be replaced with a standard fin if I didn’t like it.

I gave the guy an offer of $1,200 for the board, which was fair considering it was a 3-year old model that cost $2,300 new. It was accepted, and I scooted of to New Jersey to buy it. It was in good shape, like promised, just a few scratches. The seller showed me how to use the adjustable fin which looked fun. I had been saving the FCS board bag from my former board in case I got something new, and was glad when this new thing fit inside. Just barely (30 inches is wide for a 14′ board!), but it did.

One of my recent board obsessions has been nose volume. Yes, I know that’s kind of weird, but hear me out. When I did my four-day paddle I was paddling my wife’s 12’6″ Amundsen, which is a fine board for light chop and general cruising. Unfortunately the Hudson isn’t always light chop, which I dealt with a lot on that trip. We were getting winds and chop straight from the south, which meant waves hitting the nose directly. What was happening was that the slim, flat nose was going through the choppy waves, and the water was breaking onto my gear. It occurred to me that if the nose had a higher volume and maybe a different shape it would be going over the waves instead of through. That’s where my obsession came from. Though this FX Tour didn’t have the bulbous nose I was aiming for, it seemed to have enough volume for chop. That would be enough.

Taking the board into the water was interesting. My first voyage was choppy water around the Bear Mountain Bridge. I wanted to test the steerable fin (obviously), the nose volume, and how well the thing paddled in general. The answer was interesting.

First the fin. It took a little practice, but by planting my heel I could turn the steering lever with my toes. That truly did turn the board. It was a whole new sensation for paddling really, and kind of fun. I especially enjoyed it for downwinding, which I was able to do a little bit of in those conditions. It seemed less useful in other conditions though, especially since the fin itself is a little small. In crosswinds I could work the fin to adjust for the sideways movement and let myself switch my paddle from side to side. It was fun and definitely a little gimmicky, but I don’t know if it is necessary, especially when you’re experienced at angling your paddle.

Two issues I found with the fin though. I was never 100% it centered back. Was it always just a little angled to one side? I was getting a little paranoid about that. The other was that I couldn’t move the lever while my feet were in booties. The catch really needed bare tows in order to move it. I’m thinking of taking the whole assembly off during the colder months and just using a Larry Allison fin. (Gotta love my Larry Allison fins!)

Nose volume was fine, as I hoped. With the front chop I would sometimes take a step back to make sure the nose porpoised over the waves, but with the wide deck that was easy. I think this part is going to work out fine.

Speaking of the wide deck, it actually feels wider than it is. The widest part of the board is at the waterline, but the rails angle in some towards the deck. It makes the deck a little narrower but actually feel wider. This is one stable board! The pad is a little stiff, but most boards have the same issue. On a long trip I will probably need shoes to pad my feet. Ten tie-downs are pretty good for a cruiser, and I might even use it for that if I didn’t have this inflatable already. Even so, this is a very good board for day trips, especially if you’re escorting a bunch of people.

The board has very little rocker, and I need to see if this is a problem or not. I would have liked a little more. Honestly it may not need it, so I just have to see. It’ll take more than two sessions to determine that.