pepe47 said..
No, that profile was designed for the weed at albany. Hards gave me a description of the weed at lilacs and that was the profile that we believed would work with the weed 2inches below the surface and thick enough to make it difficult to move. So the call was for a fin with 40? rake for the first 2" then rake it at 45? then more towards the tip at 50?. It worked, and worked well, but it was slow. It was slow because the chord ratio was about 10%. Most speed fins are around 7.5 - 8%. So we took the fin that I'd been working on and raked it to 48?. The fin then worked to a point where Hards threatened to kill me if I fu##ed around with the profile. So, taking what I thought was an idle threat with the appropriate amount of disdain, I took a poo#teenth from the trailing edge giving the fin a nice subtle concave to improve adhesion. Then I made the second mold, with the improved trailing edge.
So now the fin works well at 7% and doesn't spin out, goes upwind like a pointer and gybes like a dream. I'm happy with the way it's turned out and thank Hards for not just the companionship and help but the time on the water together. Ya just can't beat that.
If you want to see some helpful, instructional info on fin molds go to whitelionwindsurfing.
What a generous man you are giving me partial credit
, The real genius here is Pepe and Pepe alone, I can remember Pepe making fin after fin, never being happy, and always building another improved version of an efficient weed fin, if it had've been me, I would've been ecstatic with version 2 or 3 and left it at that. I dont know what version Pepe is at now, probably somewhere between version #20 to #40. He has now developed a fin which is absolutely brilliant. I cant believe that a fin can be so efficient at 48degree rake, and for Albany its just brilliant, and to tell you the truth it works really well in the shallow weedy areas of peel. The same fin raked at 42degrees helped me to break the magical NM mark for me of 35kt NM. The 48degree rake fin helped my to get 26kt alpha after 26kt alpha in water where the weed was breaking the surface. Its just a brilliant design. Pepe's Studio & Bar is a fun place to visit, the mould's are like looking at porn when you're 54 and no longer produce testosterone. The ginger based alcoholic beverages create a magical wonderland where BS talk sounds like an intellectual discussion about the physics of speed sailing. A True craftsman and inventor, and a top bloke. We are blessed to have so many talented people in the Windsurf scene, from the great shaper Decrepit, the Skilled tradesman of Sammy, and the Craftsman Inventer pepe!! And all I said was "I reckon 48 degree rake for Albany Pep"
did you mold the fin or just the base 
