I have heard and read from time to time sailors wanting more fin pressure so they move their foot straps further back. Peter Voltwater once wrote he likes to sail with a lot of fin pressure so his straps are set all the way back. Could some one explain what this means.

More lateral pressure (sideways) against the fin.

Sunsonic dunno about the harness lines more back. Usually if they are not back enough then you compensate by increasing backfoot pressure to help you sheet in more ?

Doesn't work for me ( fin pressure) when sail is big and fin small ( receipt for spin out)
I am concentrating to do just opposite and moving weight forward , leaning back helps ( when going up wind)

Subsonic said..

More weight on the back foot, and therefore more pressure on the fin, in a nutshell.

Most people tend to ride/ like to ride with a bit more pressure on the back foot than on the front foot. Some people like to ride with practically all the pressure on the back foot, to the point that they are curling there toes backward to keep there front foot in the strap.

Generally if you've got a lot of fin pressure/ back foot pressure then there's a lot of load on your back hand, which generally means you're harness lines need to be moved back . It can also mean you're overpowered to some degree....

Riding with a lot of fin pressure can also make fin selection/size reasonably critical.

I don't know that there's any benefit to riding with a lot of fin pressure, every time I've tried it I've been on struggle street to pin the rig down properly, maybe another more expirienced sailor can enlighten you on what the benefits are...

I do that working upwind but didn't think it was due to the fin..?

new wider and shorter slalom boards (im on patrik 115) really love riding up on the fin.

when you get the right fin that will lift 90% of the board out of the water and not tail walk producess an unbelievably smooth and fast ride.
when you get it working the board just skims over the chop with out bouncing or dipping into the troughs so you dont plow thru the chop which slows you down.

To get this effect going you use a lot of back foot preasure and lift the windward edge with the front foot to get the air under the board.

By angling the board to windward your fin is no longer verticle and generats more lift
Image below shows this - bigger fins with flex will generate more lift and can take more backfoot preassure without spinning out - this is how formulae boards with huge fins get planing.

col5555 said..

I have heard and read from time to time sailors wanting more fin pressure so they move their foot straps further back. Peter Voltwater once wrote he likes to sail with a lot of fin pressure so his straps are set all the way back. Could some one explain what this means.

Being sailing with Peter Volwater for many years (PWA Slalom and locally) and his style is very powerful. I doubt any "normal" sailors could adapt to his style, like Colin refer to as sailing with a lot of fin pressure. If you can control it (having the foot straps all the way back) and drive a lot of strength / power through the back foot / leg, - then for sure it will be fast! Most racers would to some extend go towards this style with riding the board "very free" of the water, -But still have control,,

The fins needs to be very good and handle the "extra" pressure or it will spin out or lift you out of control.

In the end of the day (for top racing) it comes down to a lot of leg strength and choosing the right fin style / size is critical.
Some sailors can handle and control a lot of power on the fin and others not. Individual trim trim / tune and fin choice is key.

I can't say this enough. Try a lot of different gear and set ups from the other sailors and you will get a better idea of what feels good or not and you can make some mental notes and hopefully use it for your own tuning.

Lots more to say about this topic, but that's it for now,, in a few simple lines :)

Sailing with lots of back foot pressure teaches technique. Meaning it teaches you to rail the windward rail up for better upwind sailing,faster reaches and better bottom end thru the lulls.

In strong to overpowering conditions maintain back font pressure. To compensate you need to twist or move your upper body forward to kill the increased board lift brought about by moving faster.

With a softer fin,possibly non carbon,you do not need strong legs to keep the board from flying.