Mandala Canards

A pair of small canard fins drawn by Manny Caro of Mandala, made to sit forward and outboard of a twin as the front half of a twinzer.

Solid fiberglass, FCS compatible, in smoke or golden kelp, with the cant angle picked at checkout. The outline is classic and the area is deliberately low: 6.07 square inches on a 2.94" base, standing 2.85" tall, with a flat inside foil. Caro drew them to run with the Mandala twinzer rear fins, placed just forward of the twins and set out toward the rail, but the template is versatile enough to try in other combinations across a range of shapes and board sizes.

How that reads

A canard sits ahead of the main fin and breaks the water tension, so the fin behind it works in cleaner flow and will hold at a sharper angle of attack than it would on its own. Low area up front means bite without much drag added. The FCS base itself is drawn with no angle in it, so what the fin sits at is the cant you choose and the plugs the board has.

Who it suits

Boards drilled for a twinzer — fish, mid-lengths and shortboards with the extra pair of plugs forward and outboard — and anyone running the Mandala twinzer rears who wants the front pair on their own. Worth trying as small side bites too, where a low-area fin adds a little hold without costing much speed.