: I don't know what the difference is between a foiled blade or a
: regular blade or what a regular blade is in comparison. I don't
: know the advantage of one over the other. I would really like to
: know what this is all about so good thing I don't mind asking,
: does anyone have a link I could read into in order to catch up
: with my lingo and overall knowledge?

Foiled blades are absolutely necessary at high speeds, such as would be attained windsurfing, in order to keep the flow of water attached to the blade. The moment the flow detaches air gets in and the fin will just go sideways. This is known as spin-out.

At low speeds this is not an issue, the benefit of a foil at low speed is reduced drag.

Lift, induced by a foil under side pressure, is caused by a low pressure area developing on the windward side of the foil. This is also minimal on a small blade at low speeds.

I would guess that the main benefit to foiled kayak skegs and rudders is the reduction of drag and a slightly improved angle of attack as mentioned in a previous post in this thread. At the speeds we attain though I would imagine the effects arenlargely subjective.

Let's face though, a foiled shape is not that hard to create, especially in mass production, and it looks and feels much cooler. So why not?

Pictured below is a windsurfing fin. For my next skeg I am considering getting one of these and grinding the head to suit my purposes.

http://www.windsurfingfins.co.uk/index.asp

For loads of shapes

Et