anyone ever put a thruster fin cluster farther forward? did you feel like it allowed you to turn from farther up on the board? I rarely surf them because I like standing farther up and not being all the way back on the tail…I was thinking 4.5 for centerfin trailing edge and 12.5 for the rail fins? this would be a wide 6’2 by the way.
gracias
adam
On my longer 2+1 boards, I have often used a thruster set in them, which has meant the rear of the centre fin ends up being quite forward ( 8" on my old 7’10"!! ). It loosened it right up and worked very well. Try it, 4.5" on a 6’2" doesn’t sound too extreme. You might lose some drive though.
thanks for the input. yep… i’ve tried WAY forwrd on a 2+1 and I may just end up routing out the center if it doesn’t feel good with thruster.
you never said your hight or weight
6’2 180
nah i wouldnt do that if id leave em back and muck around with outline and tail rocker.
fin placement is relative to tail rocker and boardlength / rider stance and outline. create a few standards and make small incremental variations.
tail rocker IMO
ADAM for how you describe your turning habits I would suggest trying a QUAD SET:
Front fins 1.25 from rail 1/4" toe back dots 11"
Back fins 2.5" from rail 1/8" toe back dots 4.5"
Think outside the box!
Kind regards,
surfding
surfding,
I was thinking bout that, but all the quads I have surfed feel more like a twin fin than a trifin…I don’t like twins at all.
Maybe i’ll put the back fins closer to where a center fin would be like your numbers
thanks
are you suggesting more or less tail rocker?
3.63 back center fin
11.25 front fins
Thruster
For the quad, a lot of the placement relies on tail width… if you’re riding a really wide board or have a wide tail, having all four fins close to the rail is a huge advantage in not making the thing feel like a barge. However, if your board has a more “traditional” outline without the absurdly wide tail, you can pinch the back fins closer to the stringer if you want. Kelly rides his quads pretty close to the stringer, but I think that works best since his board isn’t too much wider than a traditional shortboard.
Also, you’ll notice his turning is much more incremental than on a thruster. The thing about quads is they’re insanely fast in a straight line, but they scrub speed like nothing else. Turn too fast and you come to a screaming halt. If you turn in increments, however, you generate more speed through them and use the quad to its full potential.
I almost never ride thrusters anymore, but I do like them sometimes since I don’t have to be so conscious of my turning radius
more tail rocker rather then moving fins forward
The: “THEORY” of the back fins being closer together is so the board maintains some of the Thrusters Characteristics!
Always have fun!
Kind regards,
surfding
Check out Blair Surfboards in Solana Beach. He has been using forward fin Placement on his big guy boards for years.