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Wakesurf Board Advice-Removing Thruster Fins


cmargosi

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Hi All, I'm a relatively new wakesurfer but I'd say I've moved my way into be a solid "intermediate" this year. I have a Hyperlite Landlock, but find that's best for beginner guests and quickly grew bored of that board (pun intended).  I have been riding a Hyperlite Shim with the middle fin and thrusters installed.  I demo'd a Hyperlite HiFi and liked the additional ability to turn quickly but ultimately the board was a 2019 blem and the shop was only taking 20% off, just didn't seem like a good value for the messed up graphics.  In the meantime, late in the season it's hard to find a lot of skimmers.  I was thinking of removing the thruster fins on the shim to see how it rides without them.  Thought I'd ask the more experienced folks here about that before I did it.  Will the board ride more like a skimmer then?  Will it force me to turn with the edges instead of using the thrusters?  Maybe you guys can help with with what I might expect? 

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26 minutes ago, cmargosi said:

Hi All, I'm a relatively new wakesurfer but I'd say I've moved my way into be a solid "intermediate" this year. I have a Hyperlite Landlock, but find that's best for beginner guests and quickly grew bored of that board (pun intended).  I have been riding a Hyperlite Shim with the middle fin and thrusters installed.  I demo'd a Hyperlite HiFi and liked the additional ability to turn quickly but ultimately the board was a 2019 blem and the shop was only taking 20% off, just didn't seem like a good value for the messed up graphics.  In the meantime, late in the season it's hard to find a lot of skimmers.  I was thinking of removing the thruster fins on the shim to see how it rides without them.  Thought I'd ask the more experienced folks here about that before I did it.  Will the board ride more like a skimmer then?  Will it force me to turn with the edges instead of using the thrusters?  Maybe you guys can help with with what I might expect? 

If you take the two outer fins out, it will ride more like a skim style board.  That board is a hybrid so you have options.  You will notice a difference and need to use the edges more on your turns.  Never hurts to try riding boards with three fins all different ways.  Even try taking out the middle fin and leaving in the two outer fins.  Also try riding it without any fins.  That is the beauty of having a hybrid board.  You have a lot of different setup options.  Have fun with it.

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We have a 2016 Shim (guest board) and ride the heck out of it. We only use the center fin on it and it will get loose/sideways, but nothing like a skim. Our primary board is a P5 Trident Carbon pro so it is about a 50/50  use. We have an 06 HL Landlock for the new riders to figure it all out before they transition to the Shim.

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2 minutes ago, Hemmy said:

If you take the two outer fins out, it will ride more like a skim style board.  That board is a hybrid so you have options.  You will notice a difference and need to use the edges more on your turns.  Never hurts to try riding boards with three fins all different ways.  Even try taking out the middle fin and leaving in the two outer fins.  Also try riding it without any fins.  That is the beauty of having a hybrid board.  You have a lot of different setup options.  Have fun with it.

With just the 2 outer fins it is still kind of a boring ride for most on our boat.

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I wouldn't say I'm at the point where I find the shim boring, I still have fun on it, but I find it challenging to do "hard" turns the way I was able on the skimmer.  Thinking removing the fins will loosen it up a bit...

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Whoa, got a chance to surf the board without the thruster fins over the weekend.  What a difference. This should definitely hold me over, turns so much better!!!  Thanks for the tips.

IMG_0910.jpg

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