Why do I need a river fin?
Have you ever been happily paddling away on a glorious paddle boarding day when as if by magic a hand grabs your board and halts you in your tracks depositing you unceremoniously in the water?
A classic case of FIN GRAB is the likely cause!
Unlike many other water sports stand up paddle boarding allows you to navigate almost any body of water and therein lay the challenge - it's why we paddle right?
Your paddle board is generally supplied with one fin - a big one - assuming they're not moulded in. The fin you have will be a standard water fin and probably a steep raked angle (closer to 90 degrees). A steep rake angle on your fin means it's ideal for grabbing weed and makes a great anchor that might stop you dead in your tracks!
So what about a river fin?
Some manufacturers have shipped their boards with a river fin too - Aquaplanet for example supply the STINGER with 4 fins - two side fins (thrusters), 1 deep water fin and a river fin but what actually is a river fin?
Firstly a river fin is shorter than the standard fin and quite often flexible allowing for shallow water bumps and scrapes that one may find in rivers and such but what makes a river fin different is the rake angle. Whereas a standard fin closely approaches 90 degrees to the board the river fin is more like 45 degrees meaning any weed etc simply washes off.
Directional stability is what a good fin is all about so most touring manufacturers supply a large main fin for their boards which help maintain a straight line when paddling. When a river fin is used your technique is more important if you don't want to zig-zag up the canal. The payoff with a river fin is that you can glide across all manner of weeds and branches without becoming stuck so a very handy addition to your paddle boarding kit.
How do you get a river fin?
Manufacturers of paddle boards are a pain in the backside creating all manner of fancy fin connections so it is worth contacting your board manufacturer and asking them if they stock river fins - next time your paddling over weed at your local hotspot you will be very thankful!