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Thruster to Single Fin mod

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Not quite a how-to guide, but just my take on what to do with an old board.

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I got this old board from a friend, probably mid-90s originally, that was in pretty bad shape. Ding, delamination, you name it ... However, it had some nice channels, good volume and felt good under the arm. It was a glassed-in thruster and since I always wanted to try and ride a single fin, I thought why not?

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Here's pretty much what I started with, I will not bore you with the details but here's what I did:

  • Seal the board and get it water tight. It was ugly but I wanted to painted anyway so who cares?

  • Cut the fins: this sounds simple enough but after trying with saw, carefully, I had to resort to use my angle grinder...

  • Sand all of it flush

  • Fiber glass cloth and resin to plug the holes

  • Sand flush again

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Then onto the mod: (sorry I forgot to take pictures of the process)

  • Mark out the placement of the single fin box

  • Rout it out carefully (actually much easier than I thought)

  • Fill the hole with resin (and work quickly cause it sets fast)

  • Lay out fiber glass over it

  • Push down the fin box in the hole and clamp it place

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The only tricky part is really to make sure the box is at the right angle, so it is best to install the box with the fin it it to make sure you have a 90 deg angle on each side and secure the whole thing in place with masking take until the resin sets. After that, once a gain, you sand it all flush :-)

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After all was set, sealed and sanded, it was time to move on to the next step. I hate wax so I decide to go full traction pad, except that got cheap rolls of traction pad material to make my own.

I also decided to add my logo in the middle: very labor intensive (print, draw the outline, cut and repeat) but I was pretty happy with the result.

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I then went on to paint the whole thing with a pattern that everybody tell me looks like spider-man: not at all the intent, I just like these geometric shapes and the colors.

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I used spray paint and loads of masking tape and I can tell you that spray paint takes time to master (I'm still not there yet): to get an even coating, no drips, etc etc... it is a bit of a nightmare.

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Finally, a clear coat (there again, spray paint mastering is key, I really struggled to get a glossy finish - actually did not succeed, some parts are glossy, some are not).

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I then added the dimensions at the back (I had to measure them myself, no indication of them whatsoever on the board anywhere), added the logo, painted the fin and voila !

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Fun fact: the first time I took it out, I got run over by a guy who clearly left the 3 marks of his thruster on the top, just above the pad :-( sand back, repair and paint again.

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In the end, it is a gorgeous board (I think, anyone can disagree ;-) and most importantly it rides great: easy paddle, easy to duck dive, plenty of speed and the "looseness" of the single fin is really fun ! not disappointed at all !

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