Mako 150 fins setup

[fatkiter]

Greetings to all,

I recently bought second hand OR mako 150 (2014 model).

The board is really grate at making chop disappear and very soft on the knees . I really enjoy it

On the other hand it takes a bit of an effort to go upwind and it doesn't like to ride underpowered. ( being tall and heavy also doesn't help)

Currently I have it on single fin set up with straps on duck stance. I am thinking that kind of fins setup would improve Upwind ability?

Shall I add 1 more finn on each side? Below the central fin (like some light wind doors)

Shall I use 2 finson each side on the ends like normall tt ?

Shall I use 3 fins on each side ? I think that would make it super slow...

I would really appreciate your input

Thanks

[Herman]

Are you talking about drilling holes for extra fins or are you referring to the mutant set up that was available during some production runs of the Mako150?

[sflinux]

Leave the board alone (single fin bi-directional). Ride another board when underpowered, or rig a bigger kite. The mako likes to ride powered, likes fast medium to high aspect ratio kites. Learn to use the rail of the board, and not rely on the fins.

[fatkiter]

Are you talking about drilling holes for extra fins or are you referring to the mutant set up that was available during some production runs of the Mako150?

No it already has 3 set of holes on each side

[fatkiter]

Leave the board alone (single fin bi-directional). Ride another board when underpowered, or rig a bigger kite. The mako likes to ride powered, likes fast medium to high aspect ratio kites. Learn to use the rail of the board, and not rely on the fins.

I know what you mean and I am already using more of the rail and put some more pressure on front foot...

I can switch to different board but the problem is I like the mako alot. I like the way it feels and that it allows you to ride with your body in a bit different position than normal TT. I am just looking for ways to improve it's UW abilities

[Kamikuza]

Leave the board alone (single fin bi-directional). Ride another board when underpowered, or rig a bigger kite. The mako likes to ride powered, likes fast medium to high aspect ratio kites. Learn to use the rail of the board, and not rely on the fins.

This.

You can ride in Mutant mode too -- the pads go back a tad, and you can drop a surfboard style fin into the center holes. They used to sell a set for a three-fin set up, but IMO you only need the single surf fin.

And be powered.

[or6]

Be powered, and yet, don't be afraid to let it run, turn the board upwind without edging as you would a normal twin tip, treat it as a surfboard. My old mako 150 shot upwind like few boards can, and at speed.

[Herman]

The fin mounts are there so you could experiment to your heart's content but I would not spend big bucks as I doubt that you will achieve any great improvement. Unless money is no object!

With that type of fin mount you can not install a fin big enough to be the dominant upwind lift mechanism as in a race board. You therefore have to rely on the edge. Larger fins can help with edging but the optimum for this is still small compared to a proper lifting fin. (Sorry that I don't have a detailed explanation for this and I don't fully understand how the optimum for an edging fin could be defined.)

I suspect you will find that the effective rocker line of the early mako will always require power. Personally I think the 150 is too small to be ridden as a mutant by a big guy. I still keep my Mako but I take a lightwind TT or a directional as well to back it up if the wind goes light or there are too many lulls.

PS If you did manage to bolt on a big enough fin to drive you upwind you would not have enough board width to comfortably hold it down.

[fatkiter]

Thanks to all for the replies

I was not thinking to add surfboard fins since I want to continue using the mako on TT mode and not as a mutant. So I want to add kiteboard fins...

I will try tomorrow different configurations but I was mainly thinking if it would be of some benefit if I leave the middle fins as they are and add one more fin on each side bellow them (TT fins)

[Herman]

Good luck with your experimentation. I would be interested to know what you think works best once you have tried this. I would start with the addition of 50mm fins if it were me as any more may be too draggy but that is just a guess. But more importantly I would use whatever I had available rather than buy particularly as a first try!

Might be interesting to see if you can feel the addition of just a single fin on the heelside between tacks etc