This is about a 72 HD 18 restoration in composite and do not want to take a way from this premise but X2 to TJ. If you like barrel rolls and instability in the corners with a virtually flat-bottom hull as in the HD 18, than don't install. The 73 I co-owned a while back came with the fin un-installed and was a PITA to drive until it was properly setup. If it is SL, Wake boarding, or something in between, eventually you need to turn around and head the other direction (ok....mabe the tubber crowd doesn't work a shoreline). Just my $0.02, KTB-
Thanks for the concurrence Jim. The fin usage and was placement was to complement and advance the handling of a flat hull and is needed in the corners. It wound be a big mistake to remove or not include it IMO, Kevin-
I guess I would be in the minority based on the replies.. IMO and recommendation.. take the fin off and leave it off... reasons.... mechanically... hard to get on and off the typical trailer that came with Dynes, susceptible to leaks and would compromise hull.. Skiing... When I ski, I want to ski in a straight line.. so I don't really care how it pulls a skier when your turning because you don't ski when turning.. Handling.. the barrel rolls that everyone seems to dislike, I prefer and I guess I feel I can turn the boat around quicker on an edge and get back to a skier than if there were a fin... also.. I guess I drove one of my previous dyne 18s with a fin and hated it... I immediately took it off... Its what your used to... I have ridden/driven a dyne 18 for over 40 years and expect it to handle the way it does without a fin.
No problem 64 dyne... everyone has their preferences and you certainly have a right to yours. I can understand that you have driven an 18 without a fin for a very long time and so prefer that. The 18 I drove in my younger years did have a fin and I prefer that. Let me address your reasons - not to argue but to point out the alternative thoughts. Mechanical - Trailers out there are designed for finned boats such as Mastercrafts etc and my trailer certainly supports a finned 18. The fin is susceptical to leakes but with a proper re-build and proper sealent that should be a non-issue. I would not just screw a fin on without knowing exactly what was going on in where the screws go. And screws - no. I designed and built a 3/4" piece of plywood to have bolts go thru it to secure the fin. This piece of plywood is totally glassed in and surrounded by composite to isolate it in case of rot. I also put a 6" round hole in the floor with an access plate to secure the fin with nuts and washers for future problems that probably will never occurr in my hull's second life. Skiing - If you ever want to do the slalom skier around the boat you have to have a fin. Straingt line skiing it really does not matter if there is a fin or not except for the pull of an advanced slalom skiier cutting. Handling - I have driven my share of high performance boats and a couple of them were flat bottoms. The 1st boat I built was an 8' copy of a GW Invader. I let a local high perf guy drive it and the 1st thing he said was to add a fin - which I did - and the handling improved exponentially. If one uses the edge to turn a boat (I am assuming the edge 1' below the deck on an 18) You are using the edge designed to flatten the wake to turn which means that the boat has to roll considerably to engage the edge with the water. Dynes were designed to stay flat even in turns to minimize wake. Again - each to his own and no one on this site will brow beat another member for his preferences.
So noted. The fin on my '78 18' is still fixed firmly in position and I don't have any facility to rebuild the hull in. My transom is waterlogged from the waterline down and I suspect that the underfloor foam is saturated with water. After hearing about the Tom Miller molds moving to D&S in Roscoe, Illannoy, (coincidentally the home town of one very lovely Danica Patrick) a phone call will determine the cost of having the hull rebuilt back in the mold.
Does Tom Miller still own the 18 mold? I was going to call him tomorrow. It goes without saying that I goofed up by not getting over to look at those 2 XRi motors. They would have been nice on my 89.
I had to remove the deck to re-position the fuel fill hole (see how to fill a dash hole) and in the next 2 picks you will see the edge of the port side of the deck and the top of the starboard side of the hull with a light gray substance on them. That is core adhesive. Then I popped the deck on and here it is from the underside: Then I glassed the rear arch to the motorwell floor - port side pic 1st. Still working on the corners. I did use a 1/2" roundover router bit on some scrap Coosaboard to fill in the area between the motorwell sides and top of the deckbut did not want to play with the big power tools after beer. I will save that for next trip. The really nice milestone is that the deck is now permanently attached. Now I need to get some muscle over to flip the hull for bottom work.