Have been on board for 6 months but the side swell and wind where I paddle makes the board a bit tippy with the 11.5" dagger fin. have to paddle cross the swell and wind most days. Looking at Jamie Mitchell Race fin or Shapers 9" Open Ocean or Shapers 9" Ocean fin. I just want to get stable and not be so tippy with side bumps and swell. Any advice on fins selection.
Check with your local Naish dealer and see if they have the big dolphin fin that comes stock on the 11'6" Nalu..
If not they should be able to order it from Naish.. They're not expensive.. Get the cheaper GS version..
IMO it's a great fin for this board.. and even better than the others mentioned..
Thanks for the advice. Is the fin you mention the Open Ocean 9" fin (see below) with the dolphin shape or the 9.25 SUP Racer fin shaped like an axe (see above).
Of those two fins, the Racer one - which is basically a surfboard hatchet style - would be better for what you want.
Interesting that the Shapers (maybe all Shapers?) shown appear to be rebranded Futures Jamie Mitchell and Kurt Byron fins. I own both of the Futures variants and neither is ideal for what you're after. The JM is too turny and although the KB is a good ocean fin, it tracks a bit too much crosswind. I'd recommend the new Futures Cali or Hawaii downwind fins which have a nice combination of tracking, control and surfability. The Cali is my favorite ocean fin (for SoCal) and I own or have tried most of the Futures SUP fins.
Yes I agree that that Futures Cali DW fin is a pretty good all-round ocean fin. I like it. But it won't add much in terms of stability, which is what the OP wants. For stability you want a fin with big area low in the water. Jimmy Lewis used to do a massive 13.5" monster that was great if you wanted stability and control. JL still do an 11" one that is pretty decent, if a bit heavy. Or you could try a 10.75" longboard hatchet fin (like the Rainbow Pivot Grande) which is a fairly similar shape to the Racer one above but is bigger. That shape is quite popular with my friends who have Naish boards they want to tame, and the base isn't so huge that it is impossible to redirect when paddling against cross-winds. Personally I like a squirrel fin for paddling in choppy waters, but that probably doesn't give as much stability as the OP wants. What the OP wants is actually pretty impossible because a fin that is good in cross-winds is not also going to be one that adds a lot a stability. So there is going to have to be a compromise somewhere. The biggest Pivot Grande is a pretty good compromise in my experience (they also surf quite well) whereas the Futures Cali is a bit more performance-oriented and would probably be favoured by paddlers for whom stability is less of an issue. Fin choice is a very personal thing though.