Fishing The Fly Scotland Forum

Dave Olley

Fins
« on: 15/04/2009 at 11:50 »
Answering the unfounded criticism of my beloved banana boat in another thread got me wondering about what I liked and didn't like about float tubing, and what made it better, and the upshot is that what I think improves the experience more than any other single factor is which style of fin you use.
I use large "diver" style fins and cannot for the life of me understand why so many tubers use the silly little half sized, semi useless "float tube" fins
As far as I am concerned buying a decent float tube and then trying to propel and manouvre it with tiny fins is like buying a Ferrari and equipping it with remoulds :grin
Once you get used to the slower more powerful kick you get with the big fin, and the amount of water you can grab when turning or manouvering you will never want to go back to the half sized ones.

Trust me lads SIZE REALLY DOES MATTER :z12

Noel Kelly

Re: Fins
« Reply #1 on: 15/04/2009 at 17:35 »
I believe you may have told me this at Haddo one day a few years ago when i was just about to buy all the kit. I went with your advise and totally agree, big fins are the business :z16

Peter McCallum

Re: Fins
« Reply #2 on: 15/04/2009 at 19:41 »
Must admit that at haddo I woulkd see the wee fins as less of a pain, the dive fins I use on wild lochs catch bottom quite often which is a bit of a pain. For wild waters, big is beautiful.

Peter

Iain Goolager

Re: Fins
« Reply #3 on: 15/04/2009 at 20:01 »
Quote
I use large "diver" style fins and cannot for the life of me understand why so many tubers use the silly little half sized, semi useless "float tube" fins

Caddisfisher, if you didn't set sail in something as big as a bouncy castle then you'd be able to use smaller fins!  :z7
You have a point right enough and I guess it's horses for courses. I find the 'girly tubing fins' adequate in most smaller water or gentle breeze situations but have seen the benefit of divers fins in more difficult conditions, granted.

I use the 'arm aching' Shakey which you know sits low in the water and therefore is affected less by wind and with the V shape should be easier to propell than the U shaped competitors.

Fishing weedy waters may also have a bearing on the size of fin used.

You are right to bring this up, as using (or at least having the option of) big fins might be easier on a sailor who may have knee problems.

You also mentioned a "slower more powerful kick" which maybe is more to the heart of the issue as I tried a variety of techniques of turning, steering, motoring, etc. when I started out and one concern I had was the possibility of inducing cramp in the calf if an overpowered erratic paddle was adopted.

Conclusion:-  I agree that larger fins along with some form of neoprene boot is well worth a try or investment if a loch of any size is to be tackled, if you have any knee issues they may help in achieving a decent output whilst being more sympathetic on the patellas, if you are walking any distance to a hill loch where the combined weight of the standard 'hard' fins and boots MAY be an issue.
For the average tuber I think the 'walter softy' of fins will be adequate.

I know the tubers on this site have their own preferences as to their kit and this is just a generalisation

Maybe see you afloat sometime - how will I know you? is your tube distinctive in any way? :z4 :z4


Iain

Iain Goolager

Re: Fins
« Reply #4 on: 15/04/2009 at 20:08 »
Quote
the dive fins I use on wild lochs catch bottom quite often which is a bit of a pain.

Peter,

may that have something to do with the fact that you are 7' 4" tall?

Jim Eddie

Re: Fins
« Reply #5 on: 15/04/2009 at 20:37 »
Well I better no get the big fins then,  I'm 8' 6"  :z4

 :z18

Jim

Iain Goolager

Re: Fins
« Reply #6 on: 15/04/2009 at 20:48 »
Jim,

aint that the truth, I'm sure you walk along the bottom at Haddo :z4

Dave Olley

Re: Fins
« Reply #7 on: 16/04/2009 at 10:21 »
Caddisfisher, if you didn't set sail in something as big as a bouncy castle then you'd be able to use smaller fins!  :z7
You have a point right enough and I guess it's horses for courses. I find the 'girly tubing fins' adequate in most smaller water or gentle breeze situations but have seen the benefit of divers fins in more difficult conditions, granted.

I use the 'arm aching' Shakey which you know sits low in the water and therefore is affected less by wind and with the V shape should be easier to propell than the U shaped competitors.

Fishing weedy waters may also have a bearing on the size of fin used.

You are right to bring this up, as using (or at least having the option of) big fins might be easier on a sailor who may have knee problems.

You also mentioned a "slower more powerful kick" which maybe is more to the heart of the issue as I tried a variety of techniques of turning, steering, motoring, etc. when I started out and one concern I had was the possibility of inducing cramp in the calf if an overpowered erratic paddle was adopted.

Conclusion:-  I agree that larger fins along with some form of neoprene boot is well worth a try or investment if a loch of any size is to be tackled, if you have any knee issues they may help in achieving a decent output whilst being more sympathetic on the patellas, if you are walking any distance to a hill loch where the combined weight of the standard 'hard' fins and boots MAY be an issue.
For the average tuber I think the 'walter softy' of fins will be adequate.

I know the tubers on this site have their own preferences as to their kit and this is just a generalisation

Maybe see you afloat sometime - how will I know you? is your tube distinctive in any way? :z4 :z4


Iain

Yes, the tube is quite distinctive, it has a small black mark about halfway along the starboard sponson :wink
As for using a tube the size of a bouncy castle my original tube was a Caddis Navigator II so I downsized when I got the fat cat :grin
I suppose that i would be quite content with half sized fins if all I was propelling was a half sized tube like the Shakey :cool:

Iain Goolager

Re: Fins
« Reply #8 on: 16/04/2009 at 12:33 »
Quote
I suppose that i would be quite content with half sized fins if all I was propelling was a half sized tube

Caddisfisher,
less of the personal attacks :grin :grin

Dave Olley

Re: Fins
« Reply #9 on: 16/04/2009 at 15:50 »
Caddisfisher,
less of the personal attacks :grin :grin

and this from someone who referred to my tube as a bouncy castle :z4

PDScott

Re: Fins
« Reply #10 on: 17/04/2009 at 10:01 »
Quote
if you have any knee issues they may help in achieving a decent output whilst being more sympathetic on the patellas

Iain,
As a sufferer from painful knees, I would think that the longer the fins, the greater the pressure on the knee joints. The knees are acting as the fulcrum and the weight of water moved each kick would increase the pull of the quadriceps on the patella and, consequently, the pain.
Peter

Iain Goolager

Re: Fins
« Reply #11 on: 17/04/2009 at 12:11 »
Hi Peter,

My knees are not the best either & I appreciate the physics of your fulcrums but I found the lesser revolutions and the more gentle stroke of the larger fins made for a less stressful perambulation for the same distance gained.

Do you use both? which do you prefer - from a joint friendly aspect?

Reg's

Iain

PDScott

Re: Fins
« Reply #12 on: 17/04/2009 at 17:07 »
Hi Iain,
I have never tried the longer versions, only the shorter Snowbee ones and these have suited me fine - perhaps I will be able to borrow a pair at the next float-tube day (if Mike can find a suitable date).
All the best
Peter

JohnA

Re: Fins
« Reply #13 on: 04/07/2009 at 11:37 »
Hi Guys
I just need to get my fins now....decided to go with the shakespear tube and the English life jacket.

The ones I used when I was up were Mikes snowbee ones right? What are the other ones you are talking about here and where can I see them online?

Oh..another thing, Mike did I hear you say there was somewhere in the Pentland Hills(edinburgh) that allowed tube fishing? There are a few up there and I can't remember what one you said.....or was I just dreaming that?  :z4

John

Jim Eddie

Re: Fins
« Reply #14 on: 04/07/2009 at 18:53 »
John

As you will have seen there are two shools of thought regarding fins , the float tube fins which you would have used at Haddo and the "diver type fins"
I'm in the fisrt camp though I have never tried the diver type. Appartently "force fins"  are very popular in the States (google them)

These are a random example of diver type fins

s http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MARES-AVANTI-QUATTRO-FINS-SMALL-BLACK-Brand-new_W0QQitemZ150355151535QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_SportingGoods_MasksSnorkels_Flippers_SM?hash=item2301dd8aaf&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1688%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

 :z18

Jim

 




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