Anybody who has made an adjustment to the fin on their slalom ski knows how one little move alters the entire

dynamics of the ski. That is why people have gone to great measures to protect their fin when it is not in the water. People have invented all sorts of methods of keeping the fin “ding free” and safe from being bent when in transit or even during shipping. I have seen everything from bubble wrap to sections of PVC tubing to add an extra layer of protection.

While there have even been a few commercial fin protectors in both wood and plastic made, none of them compare to this hand crafted fin protector sculpted by Darrell De Bey and finished by his wife Crystal. Each piece is a unique set of different woods, giving every
protector an identifiable one of kind look that makes it nothing short of gorgeous. A simple stretch cord wraps around the ski and fasten in a keyhole slot on the opposite side.

Darrell and Crystal De Bey make the fin protectors as a hobby and donates the proceeds to John O’Neill’s daughters, as we lost John to a skiing accident in 2009.  What they have crafted resembles more like a work of art than something to protect a waterski fin.  Compared to the wooden ones available on the retail market, this represents the Ferrari of fin protectors.

You won’t find these fin protectors on a store shelf or on a mail

order website.  You need to go to one of the Buoy Bash tournaments in upstate NY to get to the source.  Rumor has it they have a limited supply at this years Eastern Regionals at the Hidden Pass site in Penfield NY again.