Kelly Slater Wins On A Quad!!!!

General Discussion
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And another thing:  for some reason, my transition from longboards (front foot driven for me) was first to twin fins and I never got beyond that.  I had some thrusters but I never settled in with them. I just kept going back to twins.  So when I stumbled on quads, it was just natural to go there.  Quad just solved so many problems for twins and kept the speed and kept the snappy-ness and added more drive/projections. 

I still have my notes on how to set up a thruster cluster, but I’d have to find them before building another 3 fin board.  I just don’t think thruster anymore.  (oops, correction, I’ve got that weird abomination A-Sym from George with 3 fins, but I wouldn’t call it a thruster.)

As I have said a hundred times to guys who have built boards for me ( and Mike you too),  my needs are simple:  go fast, turn a bit, and catch every wave I’m supposed to.

 

all the best

 

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[quote="$1"]

Mike, yes you did.  And I remember telling GL that I wanted one.  And the nose had to have some vee in it for reasons I don't remember.  I think I was wearing bell bottomed pants when I asked him for it.

But, thankfully with counseling, I got over it.

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 Now here is another question!  Would Kelly have won riding a quad while wearing Bell Bottom Pants? I Think Not.  Plaid golfer Pants would work much better in those conditions.

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I get the feeling that Kelly has won so much that he wants to achieve different things, like winning major events on a quad.  Was he the first to win a CT event on a Quad? Definitely the first to win the US Open on a quad?

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 I can just here the conversation in the shaping room.

 Al says ' Kelly what board should we make for Chops? Al I have have been thinking. I'm so good and all, that maybe we need to make this a bit harder for me to win. I need a challenge. "I see what you mean"  said Al A board that will make it harder for you to surf." " Yeah and get more people talking about me. "  Al opened his catalog of old discarded Ideas. After a few minutes, He said " I got it ! It's perfect! in so many ways!" Al was beaming. Kelly looked puzzled,what could Al have found in that old book of his?  Al held the page open so Kelly could see what he had in mind. 'Wow" Kelly exclaimed! A quad! " Riding one of those is like riding a board with a anchor dragging behind!"  You got it Kelly Quads suck almost as bad as those crappy Bonzer boards."  Kelly was lost in thought Al's plan ultimate plan finally hit him" Al i got it! quads will start selling like crazy. Not only that but fin sales will increase! You are a genius! Al looked at kelly smiled a sly knowing smile, then said " Kelly about time you caught on.  " Frekin Rusty aint gonna know what hit him. Come on Kelly we got work to do"

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As sarcastic as you are being…You are not completely off.   The short wide thing has been going full force for awhile. Firewire, Slater, and others decide to jump on them all of a sudden like they are some new thing?  Do you really think, having mastered the thruster and dominating surfing,  Kelly or any other surfer think they are getting some edge with some of this stuff? How about just surfing for fun and to help sell boards for some future project?  We know Kelly has been working with shaping and a machine.  We can read in the magazines and on the forums where young surfers who woudn’t consider looking at anything other than a stock thruster now are asking questions about shorter wider and etc.  Firewire even pretend like they invented that Patatoe log rather than copying other shapers/surfers ideas that have been around a while.  The list goes on. If it’s making news in surfing…there is likely a buck in it somewhere.  Would love to see Kelly win on a single.  I would then wonder if he was truly a total freak as we all know he is or if the subjectiveness of judging swings more for some surfers than others.

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Per your speculation, subjective judgeing reigns supreme.  (in my personal opinion)   The best humor is founded in truth.

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And as col. Nathan Jesseps once said "The Truth? You can't Handle The truth!"

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Well he put a trailer on his quad (5 fins for those counting) today at the Quicksilver in Long Beach NY. Saw him surf. Nothing wrong with that! 

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Awe Crap!!! Now I need to change all of my tooling.  Just saw him

boost an air on the 5 fin epoxy................  How am I going to retire

now to Bali?  I guess I have to really get dusty for once this year as

my ghost guy doesn't have the numbers for 5 fins and doesn't machine

EPS.................LOL

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Thanks again Kelly… for showing me your just now realizing something I’ve known for years. Maybe now the rest of the flock will catch up.

5472×3648 4.98 MB

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Saw that.  How about that gigantic air he went for in round 5.  Lucky he didn’t break his board or an ankle.

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Its great that you like quads billy, but not everyone does. And just because kelly rides them, doesnt make them the "best" or "right" boards for all people. Do you think you surf like kelly?. I think kelly could outsurf anybody here on whatever he chose to ride.

 

Why does it take kelly to win an event on a quad to "validate" them in your eyes?

 

Mark, happily not part of the flock!

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Beerfan, I could probably outsurf Kelly Slater on my surfmat, but then if we were both mat surfing there wouldn’t be a contest or scores, just pure fun… By the way, I love beer too, Belgian Poperings Hommel is my favorite pale ale on draft right now…

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My current fave is Sierra Nevada Torpedo. Its just become available here, so freaking good!!. To stay on topic, i like it better after surfing my quad :)

 

 

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Again… I never typed the words “best” or “right”. I never typed the word “validate” either.  Never typed “Because Kelly rode them they were the best.”  Never cared to have anyone care. Never needed to have what I know already backed up by anyone. I simply alluded to the fact that I think they ride better, and I simply feel that after 22 years of riding singles twins and thrusters I have found, through my own shaping and test riding, that I liked them more.  And I simply stated that those of you who might think the quad was not a competitive fin set up compared to a thruster design could now look to Slater and re-evaluate their feeling about the quad because he IS the best competitive surfer ever and he HAS chosen the quad as his fin set up of choice…and at one of the heaviest waves in the world no less.  I also mentioned Kelly’s shout out to Bruce McKee so that the doubters might re-evaluate the fin positioning of the quads they rode in the past and disliked and possibly adjust the back fins placement like Bruce McKee suggested to get a better working quad. And I never said the McKee system was a new thing or that because Kelly said his name some new wave of enlightenment would ensue. Why would I when we all know Bruce McKee has been doing it since the 8o’s? But hey…whatever. Seems like people like to embellish things with their own judgments… that’s fine, thrust on. All I care about is what I ride and shape and what I have learned through my own surfing.  My original post and my last comment were both pointing out that Kelly was only acknowledging for me what I have know and been riding and shaping for almost 4 years… and that’s all I said. You guys said all the other crap.


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 My original post and my last comment were both pointing out that Kelly was only acknowledging for me what I have know and been riding and shaping for almost 4 years....

I wonder if everyone who rides a thruster thinks the same the other 99% of the time thrusters win events, for the past, however many years??

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[quote="$1"]

My current fave is Sierra Nevada Torpedo. Its just become available here, so freaking good!!. To stay on topic, i like it better after surfing my quad :)

 

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i love that stuff too. also their standard ipa is delicious. I drank so much of that when i was living over there for a bit.

 

found some at dan murphy's here, have some in the fridge at the moment - but damn it's expensive.

just purchased myself a kegerator to go on the balcony for summer :)

 

ok back on topic now.

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From  strictly a layman’s point of view, or someone who’s never ridden a wave that heavy and tightly tubed…  I can only assume he figured a fast point and shoot type of fin set up might work great there…

.Am I messed up in thinking that particular wave is not suited to the slower vertical up and down surfing style that makes a thruster such a wonderful thing…?

 Like a top flight golfer picks the right club for each course, I can only assume K.S. assessed the type of wave that day and road what he thought was appropriate…   That’s what sets the top Pro’s  in any sport apart from the rest of us…

It also seems as Kelly ages and the pressure to prove himself probably  reduces somewhat, he’s seen trying more varied designs in boards and fin set-ups…     Pure speculation on my part here, but it seems he’s just having more fun now…

In a world where super talented athletes shoot themselves in the leg, get mixed up with drugs, organize dog fights etc.   I’d say Kelly has been the ultimate embassador  to / for his sport…

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I think you’re right on with that

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Maybe it’s not just me and Kelly… This stuff bellow should make a few of you irate. 

Enjoy.

 

http://cisurfboards.com/blog/2011/kelly-slaters-quiver-for-tahiti-2011/

"KELLY TAMES CHOPES WITH 4 FINS

In what has been regarded as one of the most exciting and consequential World Tour events in history, FCS team rider and 10 x World Champion Kelly Slater has claimed victory at the 2011 Billabong Pro in Tahiti riding a quad.

In total contrast to his US Open win at Huntington Beach earlier this month where he rode a quad in 2 – 4 foot beach breaks, Kelly has further validated the four fin set-up by winning “Chopes” in 6 – 12 foot heaving barrels.

Looking confident from his opening heat Kelly was convinced riding a quad was the right decision at the infamous Tahitian reef pass.

“I rode my K2.1 Quad set-up for the entire event, it felt really fast and comfortable in the tube. The quad set-up seems to provide a little more security especially in the barrel, it also gives you more control when you’re riding a shorter board”.

This latest victory puts Kelly on top of the World Title ratings, and while he’s yet to officially commit to an 11th World Title, its clear Kelly wants to challenge the boundaries of wave riding through board design and his choice of fin set-up."

 

http://cisurfboards.com/blog/2011/kelly-slaters-quiver-for-tahiti-2011/

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**“On another note, Kelly has always said that quads offered up unparalleled amounts of speed, especially in critical hollow waves. All his boards are set up as FCS five fin options. After a win at the US Open on a quad squash tail, there’s a good chance he’ll ride a quad in some of his heats!”

http://custom.surfboardshack.com/quad-fin-surfboards-the-next-best-thing-why-four-is-better/

**Why Do Quads Work Better?**

"Quads are way faster than standard thrusters or even twin fins. Most would think, how can they be faster with an extra fin…wouldn’t that create more drag? Actually, because both sets of fins are working together on the rail, there’s nothing to slow you down like the center fin of a thruster. Quads are a lot more efficient with speed.

Quads are much more responsive than twin fins or thrusters. The reason is that the fins are set further up the board which essentially puts the fins directly under your back foot. The end result is an ultra responsive board that goes where you want it to go and fast.

Four fins boast an extraordinary amount of holding power in larger surf. A large number of the world’s best big wave surfers use quads in giant surf at Jaws and Mavericks. Many of them claim that a quad fin board has better holding power and speed in giant surf. If it works well at Jaws, imagine what it could do at your local beach break?

Quad fins have a ton of versatility due in large part to the advent of the removable fin system. There are countless combinations of different fin setups you can use in your quad from fin size, cant, rake, angles, fin material, and more. You can basically find a fin setup that will work for your quad and if you have a quad that isn’t performing very well, you should probably check your fins."

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