It used to be when you bought a "new" weed fin, they'd come with a rubber wedge with stickly backing to peel off.
Once you peel off the paper then you stick that rubber wedge over the extra "lip" on top of fin that extends under
bottom of board (just in front of fin box).
Lately, (last five years of so) new fins do NOT provide you with the sticky rubber wedge. Thus...after a while that extra
"lip" of glass fin wears into (digs into) the bottom of board and eventually causing a hole that will need repair.
So: you gotta find your own sticky rubber to protect board from that part of protruding fin.
I've been told that the hand grip off an old boom works good. But you need to put contact cement glue on it.
Or maybe cut off a piece of an old bicycle inner tube.
I was at the lake and improvised. I stuck three layers of duct tape on the protruding part of weed fin and then cut with
sharp scissors the edges of the three fold duct tape so very close to the fin that no extra piece of duct tape was hanging out.
It worked GREAT! on my Fanatic Shark 142 liter board I overtook and passed up a fellow sailor who was on his Tabou Rocket!
So,,,this proved to me that my duct tape method did not cause any drag in the water.
When I took off the fin...the pressure of being connected to the board really smashed that duct tabe cusion nice and flat.
I've seen "many a used windsurf board" with that depression hole caused by a weed fin that had no cushion protection.
Quetzalcoatl out.
A Fun FIN FACT!
Moderator: MK